LISTEN: This campy star of the ’30s Pansy Craze was gloriously shady and super gay
Stoughton “Bruz” Fletcher was the son of one of the most dramatically rich (and richly dramatic) families in Indiana. His family’s predilection for mess may very well have helped inform his campy stylings as an entertainer.Fletcher was originally meant to perform at Club Bali on Sunset Blvd for a two-week engagement in 1935.
Instead, his lilting voice and smart delivery drew in droves of Hollywood’s who’s-whos and bought him an astounding five-year run at the club.His star performances were attended by the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Louise Brooks, and R*nald R*agen, as well as being a favorite star-spotting ground of the LA Times columnist Hedda Hopper.Fletcher’s barely-coded queer innuendo and flair shine through on songs like “Keep an Eye on His Business” and “Spring in Manhattan”, and his gossip-laden “She’s My Most Intimate Friend” proves him a perfect chanteuse of shade.His sparkling wit kept him playing the stage for years, as well as branching into writing novels and plays.
Even with his laundry list of talents, his legacy lives on most ardently in his recordings.Listen to Fletcher regale you with the hilarious tale of his “Most Intimate Friend”:.
