English drag performer and comedian Douglas Byng was BOTD in 1893. Born in Basford, Nottinghamshire to a middle-class family, he showed an early interest in the theatre, to the horror of his parents. In 1903, aged 10, he was sent to Germany where his elder brother owned a lace factory. He studied music, German and lacemaking, returning to England before the outbreak of World War One, where he worked as a costume designer. In 1914, he joined a theatrical touring company, performing in light comedies and eventually graduating to juvenile lead roles. He became a major West End star in the 1920s, appearing in drag in pantomimes and co-starring with Noël Coward in the 1925 musical revue On with the Dance. He later opened his own nightclub in central London, developing a drag cabaret show, performing with pleasingly filthy sexual puns. Many of his songs become popular hits, notably Mexican Minnie and Milly the Messy Old Mermaid, though his lyrics were frequently censored by the BBC. In 1931, he took New York by storm with his cabaret show at the Club Lido. He returned to London in 1934 to appear in Cole Porter‘s revue Hi Diddle Diddle, giving the first public performance of the hit song Miss Otis Regrets, and had a great success in the 1938 musical Maritza, writing his own lyrics. During World War Two, he undertook several musical tours to entertain troops. After the war, he appeared in a successful West End revival of Feydeau’s Hotel Paradiso with Alec Guinness, repeating his role for the 1966 film version. While chiefly a stage performer, he made occasional appearances in TV comedies The Passing Show and Before the Fringe. He continued performing in cabarets and pantomimes until his 70s, retiring to a Georgian apartment in Brighton owned by gay actor Bobby Flemyng and tenanted by other seasoned homosexuals. He died in 1987, aged 94.