[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E50]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING VINCENT ASTOR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 24, 2023

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Vincent 
Astor, an early ``out'' gay activist, theatre historian and organist 
and a true icon of Memphis' distinct place in American cultural 
history, who passed last week at the age of 69. A flamboyant drag queen 
in his signature white wedding dress, Mr. Astor led Memphis gay pride 
events as ``Lady A.'' A 1989 founder of OUTMemphis: The LGBTQ+ 
Community Center of the Mid-South, Mr. Astor was a well-known supporter 
of events promoting local history, including the screening of vintage 
movies, lectures and heritage events. A native Memphian and a quick 
wit, he graduated from what is now Rhodes College and was for decades 
the organist at the keyboards and peddles of the Orpheum Theatre's 1928 
Wurlitzer organ. He often gave tours of the historic theatre on South 
Main Street famed for its ghost ``Mary,'' killed by a trolley outside 
the theatre in the 1920s. Mr. Astor was also a large influence though a 
quiet voice in efforts to save the Orpheum and have it refurbished to 
its present glory hosting Broadway plays and musicals, concerts and 
other major public events. Gifted with a charismatic nostalgia, he 
literally wrote the book on Memphis' theatre legacy with Images of 
America: Memphis Movie Theatres (2013). In 2019, after advocacy by Mr. 
Astor, the Shelby County Historical Commission unveiled a marker 
outside Midtown's Evergreen Theatre recognizing the 50th anniversary of 
public drag pageants held there, and protesting a city ordinance 
against cross dressing. Mr. Astor will be buried in the historic 
Elmwood Cemetery under an obelisk he designed identifying him as both 
Vincent Astor and Lady A. I express my condolences to his many friends, 
colleagues and collaborators, and to the Mid-South LGBTQ+ community, 
all mourning their loss.

                          ____________________