Sarah AJ
Marilyn Lanner 1962 from "Letters 05 from Female Impersonators Vol 5" . AI enhanced, upscaled and manually coloured.
This is Marilyn Lanner, pictured in the 1962 Nutrix publication "Letters From Female Impersonators Vol 5 (www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/qj72p717w).
In her letter, Marilyn talks about how she procurred her wig and got her first job as a female impersonator.
Sadly, there is no further information that I have uncovered about Marilyn. I wonder if she ever achieved her dream of living full time as a woman? Although she does crop up on the cover (and I assume within) of "Female Impersonators On Parade Vol 5" which is another Nutrix publication (sadly I only have a screen grab of the cover available), which seems to have been published in the same year.
Here is her letter from 1962
===============
Dear Editor:
I have been an amateur female impersonator for the past ten years and had often longed to turn professional and get money for doing the very thing that I would gladly do for nothing. Now, much to my delight, I have the chance to turn professional and work in a New York night club.
I long to do the things that real women do. I enjoy keeping house and spend many hours cleaning and dusting my apartment, while attired in the top of a shorty pajama, which was cut in feminine style.
Of course, I wear a tight-fitting bra and nylon clinging panties underneath. Long dangling earrings are a must part of my costume and while I wear the clip-on type, I have been thinldng of having my ears pierced so that I can insert some of the dozen pairs of earrings which are an essential part of my wardrobe.
After trying on some of the cheap nylon wigs that are sold by mail, and getting disgusted with the results, I have saved sufficient money to have a wig of my own made up to order by a New York concern specializes in making custom-made wigs for the theatrical trade.
I thought that it would take several months to have a wig specially made to my head and facial contours, but much to my surprise and delight, it only took two weeks exactly from the date that I first visited the wig maker. First, I was questioned as to the type and style of wig that I would like to purchase.
Then I was asked whether real hair (which costs a great deal more than ersatz wigs do) was wanted. From a wide variety of colored photos printed on a pamphlet I chose the type I thought I would like and a temporary pattern was marked out on a piece of wig lace, so that the proper shape could be made.
A week later, I came in for another fitting and actually tried on the wig style that I had selected. Only a few minor adjustments were made then and I was informed that the next week I could call and take home the fitted wig.
I could hardly wait for the week to pass so that I could wear the specially fitted wig, combed in the latest hair style. The wig, along with my jeweled earrings, made me look and feel more feminine than at any other time in the ten years that I had been "dressing up" and I was very proud of it.
That night when I came home, I used up a large quantity of spirit gum to hold down the wig's hair lace on my forehead, so that it would not come off from an accidental tug or movement of the head. I then took off the wig and experimented with it, trying it on in various settings so that I would not be clumsy in putting on my wig.
This wig cost me $ 275.00 and it looked like a million dollars on me. I also found out that I would need a dummy cloth head for the wig to rest on when not being worn. This would prevent the wig from falling out of shape.
The next morning I could not wait to put on my dress, but still clad in corselette and wooley mule slippers, I paraded around my apartment wearing the new wig. I even drank a toast to myself for purchasing the one item which made me feel as if I was a girl.
I then made up my mind to find out how I could go about becoming a professional female impersonator. I went to various night clubs featuring female impersonators and talked to some of the impersonators who came to my table between shows, after I had tipped the waiter to give them a note.
Jan Richards, who was featured in the show as an exotic dancer, listened to me and proved to be very helpful. He gave me some very good advice on how to obtain a job in this field. He told me to practice at parties and at amateur nights held in some night clubs, usually on Mondays (a slow night in night clubs), and thus gain some practical stage experience.
Then, after I had enough experience to actually walk across a stage without stumbling on the theatrical high heel shoes, I came back and applied with the stage manager for a job to perform in the chorus line. Well, to make a long story short, I was able to pass an audition test.
This audition was extremely nerve-wracking as I had to compete with twenty other aspiring would-be professionals. The suspense was almost impossible to bear, but finally the casting director told me to report for rehearsals the following afternoon and to bring along rehearsal clothes.
This was the most exciting and absorbing period in my whole life! The rehearsals were long and tedious, as we did the same steps over and over again, until I thought that I would just drop from sheer exhaustion !
I feel that I was quite fortunate because I was able to do something society has frowned up on, and that is to wear female clothes in public without the fear of being arrested for doing so. I went home tired and exhausted after rehearsals that day. However, after a short rest period, I went on to practice the dance routines which I had learned that afternoon.
I put on long mesh stockings, high-heeled shoes and a long line bra. I strutted around my apartment in showgirl fashion, so that I could walk and act like a real girl would.
Having always loved feminine apparel, I would have undergone a surgical operation to change my sex, if the law would allow it and the expenses that go with such an operation would not be too prohibitive. If they could only amend the law and permit hospital doctors to perform this operation for those willing to submit to this change of sex operation, I am sure that thousands like myself would gladly go on the operating table and achieve our hearts desire.
Wishing you the best of luck in your fine publications.
Yours sincerely,
MARILYN LANER.
======================
The original screen grab was 469x702 pixels. This was upscaled and enhanced by a factor of three resulting in an image 1407x2106 pixels. The upscaling was performed by the excellent open source software "Upscayl" (www.upscayl.org/), I then used the open source image editor GIMP (www.gimp.org/) to convert to greyscale and then back to RGB for colourisation. Further white balancing and contrast adjustments were also performed in GIMP before adding the colourised layers and then exporting the image you see here as a JPG.
Disclaimer: The digital enhancements to the original are all my own work, plus (in this case) use of AI enhancement. Any such unauthorised use (without prior permission) for that aspect of the work will be considered a violation of my partial copyright. Where the original item is shown, it is done so purely for comparative purposes only.
Marilyn Lanner 1962 from "Letters 05 from Female Impersonators Vol 5" . AI enhanced, upscaled and manually coloured.
This is Marilyn Lanner, pictured in the 1962 Nutrix publication "Letters From Female Impersonators Vol 5 (www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/qj72p717w).
In her letter, Marilyn talks about how she procurred her wig and got her first job as a female impersonator.
Sadly, there is no further information that I have uncovered about Marilyn. I wonder if she ever achieved her dream of living full time as a woman? Although she does crop up on the cover (and I assume within) of "Female Impersonators On Parade Vol 5" which is another Nutrix publication (sadly I only have a screen grab of the cover available), which seems to have been published in the same year.
Here is her letter from 1962
===============
Dear Editor:
I have been an amateur female impersonator for the past ten years and had often longed to turn professional and get money for doing the very thing that I would gladly do for nothing. Now, much to my delight, I have the chance to turn professional and work in a New York night club.
I long to do the things that real women do. I enjoy keeping house and spend many hours cleaning and dusting my apartment, while attired in the top of a shorty pajama, which was cut in feminine style.
Of course, I wear a tight-fitting bra and nylon clinging panties underneath. Long dangling earrings are a must part of my costume and while I wear the clip-on type, I have been thinldng of having my ears pierced so that I can insert some of the dozen pairs of earrings which are an essential part of my wardrobe.
After trying on some of the cheap nylon wigs that are sold by mail, and getting disgusted with the results, I have saved sufficient money to have a wig of my own made up to order by a New York concern specializes in making custom-made wigs for the theatrical trade.
I thought that it would take several months to have a wig specially made to my head and facial contours, but much to my surprise and delight, it only took two weeks exactly from the date that I first visited the wig maker. First, I was questioned as to the type and style of wig that I would like to purchase.
Then I was asked whether real hair (which costs a great deal more than ersatz wigs do) was wanted. From a wide variety of colored photos printed on a pamphlet I chose the type I thought I would like and a temporary pattern was marked out on a piece of wig lace, so that the proper shape could be made.
A week later, I came in for another fitting and actually tried on the wig style that I had selected. Only a few minor adjustments were made then and I was informed that the next week I could call and take home the fitted wig.
I could hardly wait for the week to pass so that I could wear the specially fitted wig, combed in the latest hair style. The wig, along with my jeweled earrings, made me look and feel more feminine than at any other time in the ten years that I had been "dressing up" and I was very proud of it.
That night when I came home, I used up a large quantity of spirit gum to hold down the wig's hair lace on my forehead, so that it would not come off from an accidental tug or movement of the head. I then took off the wig and experimented with it, trying it on in various settings so that I would not be clumsy in putting on my wig.
This wig cost me $ 275.00 and it looked like a million dollars on me. I also found out that I would need a dummy cloth head for the wig to rest on when not being worn. This would prevent the wig from falling out of shape.
The next morning I could not wait to put on my dress, but still clad in corselette and wooley mule slippers, I paraded around my apartment wearing the new wig. I even drank a toast to myself for purchasing the one item which made me feel as if I was a girl.
I then made up my mind to find out how I could go about becoming a professional female impersonator. I went to various night clubs featuring female impersonators and talked to some of the impersonators who came to my table between shows, after I had tipped the waiter to give them a note.
Jan Richards, who was featured in the show as an exotic dancer, listened to me and proved to be very helpful. He gave me some very good advice on how to obtain a job in this field. He told me to practice at parties and at amateur nights held in some night clubs, usually on Mondays (a slow night in night clubs), and thus gain some practical stage experience.
Then, after I had enough experience to actually walk across a stage without stumbling on the theatrical high heel shoes, I came back and applied with the stage manager for a job to perform in the chorus line. Well, to make a long story short, I was able to pass an audition test.
This audition was extremely nerve-wracking as I had to compete with twenty other aspiring would-be professionals. The suspense was almost impossible to bear, but finally the casting director told me to report for rehearsals the following afternoon and to bring along rehearsal clothes.
This was the most exciting and absorbing period in my whole life! The rehearsals were long and tedious, as we did the same steps over and over again, until I thought that I would just drop from sheer exhaustion !
I feel that I was quite fortunate because I was able to do something society has frowned up on, and that is to wear female clothes in public without the fear of being arrested for doing so. I went home tired and exhausted after rehearsals that day. However, after a short rest period, I went on to practice the dance routines which I had learned that afternoon.
I put on long mesh stockings, high-heeled shoes and a long line bra. I strutted around my apartment in showgirl fashion, so that I could walk and act like a real girl would.
Having always loved feminine apparel, I would have undergone a surgical operation to change my sex, if the law would allow it and the expenses that go with such an operation would not be too prohibitive. If they could only amend the law and permit hospital doctors to perform this operation for those willing to submit to this change of sex operation, I am sure that thousands like myself would gladly go on the operating table and achieve our hearts desire.
Wishing you the best of luck in your fine publications.
Yours sincerely,
MARILYN LANER.
======================
The original screen grab was 469x702 pixels. This was upscaled and enhanced by a factor of three resulting in an image 1407x2106 pixels. The upscaling was performed by the excellent open source software "Upscayl" (www.upscayl.org/), I then used the open source image editor GIMP (www.gimp.org/) to convert to greyscale and then back to RGB for colourisation. Further white balancing and contrast adjustments were also performed in GIMP before adding the colourised layers and then exporting the image you see here as a JPG.
Disclaimer: The digital enhancements to the original are all my own work, plus (in this case) use of AI enhancement. Any such unauthorised use (without prior permission) for that aspect of the work will be considered a violation of my partial copyright. Where the original item is shown, it is done so purely for comparative purposes only.