American actor, playwright and drag performer Charles Busch was BOTD in 1954. Born in Hartsdale, New York, he was raised in New York City by his aunt after the death of his mother. He studied at the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan and Northwestern University, writing and performing his own material after finding it difficult to get cast in plays. His work was typically a pastiche of classic Hollywood melodramas, in which Busch played the leading lady in drag. In the late 1970s and early 80s, he toured America with his one-man show Alone With a Cast of Thousands. He developed a cult following in New York’s cabaret scene with camp comedies Lesbian Vampires of Sodom, Theodora, She-Bitch of Byzantium, Psycho Beach Party and Die, Mommie, Die! His 2000 play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, written for actress Linda Lavin, played on Broadway in 2000 and was nominated for a Tony Award for best play. His other plays include Our Leading Lady, a biopic about 19th century stage actress Laura Keene; The Divine Sister, a pastiche of The Sound of Music, Doubt and other Hollywood portrayals of nuns; and The Confession of Lily Dare. Though primarily a stage actor, he had a recurring role in TV prison drama Oz, appeared in Addams Family Values and starred in film versions of Psycho Beach Party and Die, Mommie, Die! He is threatening to publish his memoirs in 2023. His 2023 memoir Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award. Busch lives and works in New York City; his current relationship status is unknown.