Murray Hill (performer)

Murray Hill is a well-known New York City comedian and drag king entertainer. He is the entertainer persona of Buzzbee Gallagher, although this persona is maintained even in private settings. Murray Hill is the self-proclaimed "hardest-working middle-aged man in show business,"

In The Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures, Judith Halberstam praised Hill for "transforming masculinity and exposing its theatricality with profound results."The New York Times called him "the current reigning patriarch of the downtown performance community" and the Seattle Weekly called him a "pioneer" of drag kings.

Hill started performing in 1995, when the East Village's cutting edge chic waned as the neighborhood gentrified, the art galleries moved for cheaper rent in Chelsea and the music scene shifted to the Pacific Northwest. His famous impersonations include Elvis and John Travolta. Hill was part of a 1990s wave of comedians and performers whose talent stood out in the Lower East Side and East Village scene, emblematic of the neighborhood as portrayed in the musical Rent.

Hill is a frequent emcee in Lower Manhattan of such events as the annual "Ms. Lez" competition, a bingo night with co-host drag queen Linda Simpson, and a variety of burlesque and theater performances.

Hill was the opening act for a tour of the rock band Le Tigre and has opened up for The Gossip. He has performed at parties given by Joan Rivers, Ivana Trump and Liza Minnelli, and his acts incorporate homages to Joey Adams, Benny Hill, Sammy Davis Jr., and Henny Youngman.

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