BLogTO.com – Posted by Nancy Paiva
As I stood in the rain during the memorial celebration for Ed Mirvish, a kind woman standing next to me adjusted her umbrella to cover the long lens of my camera. There was an immediate sense of warmness about her as we exchanged small talk during the performances. After the gospel singers finished their performance, we decided to escape the rain and get a coffee at a nearby corner restaurant.
Lori’s first love was Craig Russell and although he never made a secret of his homosexuality, they were married in 1982. He was a female impersonator during the 1970s and 1980s, and Lori was his biggest fan. Craig became famous after his starring role in the Canadian feature film Outrgaeous! (1977). He portrayed a gay hairdresser who wanted to be drag queen, and it was one of the first North American films with a gay theme to receive widespread distribution.