Drag Star Arthur Galster Dies

A beloved San Francisco drag star who had traveled the world and was known for his impeccable performances as Patsy Cline died August 25 after an altercation in Dolores Park.

Arthur Francis Galster, 55, known widely as Arturo, passed away at California Pacific Medical Center, Davies Campus, leaving behind generations of fans and friends. A public memorial is planned for 7:30 p.m., September 22 at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street.

Marc Huestis, 59, who regularly produces shows at the Castro and worked with Mr. Galster numerous times, called him "a total theatrical chameleon."

"He was good at everything he did," said Huestis, who knew Mr. Galster for more than 30 years. "You would tell him to do something and he would just do it."

The circumstances around Mr. Galster's death aren't totally clear.

In a statement provided by a friend of Mr. Galster's, a man who was with him the night he was injured said that he, Mr. Galster, and another man went to see the drag star Peaches Christ's showing of Showgirls Saturday night, August 23.

Afterward, early in the morning of Sunday, August 24, the three went to Dolores Park to "see the view," and he and Mr. Galster went swinging at the playground, the man, who told the Bay Area Reporter he didn't want his name published, said. A young man and woman were also there, the witness said. He indicated that Mr. Galster asked the woman to move so that the other man, a guest of his, could also swing, but she refused because "her grandmother died."

Mr. Galster "said something bad about her grandmother," the witness said, and the man who was with her "got angry" and punched Mr. Galster, who fell and hit his head on the ground, he said.

The witness said Mr. Galster declined to go to the hospital, and he and the other man carried him home, where Mr. Galster called the police.

The witness described the man who hit Mr. Galster as in his 20s, wearing jeans, black shoes, a black hat, and a black shirt with white markings and a white, long-sleeve shirt underneath.

In a brief phone call, the witness, who told the B.A.R. that he would respond to questions through email, hasn't responded to a message from the paper or confirmed he made the statement about what happened.

A second man who had been with Mr. Galster said in a statement posted on Facebook that the incident happened between 1 and 2:30 a.m. The second witness, who also did not want to be named, said the man who punched Mr. Galster was wearing a "black hoodie/black cap."

The medical examiner's office is investigating Mr. Galster's death, a staffer at the agency said, but he declined to say why.

Greg Galster, 58, one of Mr. Galster's brothers, said he learned from the medical examiner's office that Mr. Galster had "suffered a blow" from being "punched in the head," and he had a "small" abrasion on his head from when he fell, but the medical examiner's office told him "that was not in any way related to his passing." He said the agency hasn't determined the cause of death because toxicology tests are still being performed. Galster said his brother had been "in good health."

Another brother, Joe Galster, issued a statement Wednesday morning saying the medical examiner's office had notified the family that Mr. Galster's death was not related to the fall.

"The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the City and County of San Francisco has ruled that homicide was not the cause of Arturo Galster's death," Joe Galster stated. "Arturo was the victim of a violent attack 36 hours before he died, but it was unrelated to his death. The medical examiner has not issued his final report but has stated to the family that the most likely cause of death was congestive heart failure."

The doctor at the medical examiner's office the Galster brothers said the information came from didn't return the B.A.R. 's call Tuesday.

Despite the agency's stance, Mr. Galster's family wants police to investigate the assault, Greg Galster said.

"We don't feel it was a hate crime," Galster said. "We feel the assault happened as a result of a little altercation." He indicated family members don't think the assailant intended to kill Mr. Galster, but they want the man and woman to "think about" the "possible result of his actions."

Asked in an email last week whether the San Francisco Police Department's homicide unit is investigating the death, spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said, Mr. Galster's death "is a medical examiner case only at this time."

The medical examiner's office isn't likely to publicly release the manner and cause of Mr. Galster's death for several months.

Mindy Talmadge, a spokesman for the fire department, said in an email that a 911 call was made from Mr. Galster's Dolores Terrace address at 3:09 p.m. last Monday "reporting an unconscious male whose breathing was abnormal."

'A Performer from the Beginning'

Mr. Galster, who was born May 7, 1959, grew up in Philadelphia.

Greg Galster, who lives in Pipersville, Pennsylvania, referred to his younger brother as "Artie," and said his brother was "a nice guy" who "was very clever and showed talent from a very early age.

"He was, I think, a performer from the beginning," he said.

Mr. Galster moved to San Francisco in 1978 and attended the San Francisco Art Institute, according to a biography provided by friends. The bio says he left the school "one class short of the requirement to receive a degree," but over the next several decades, he developed a long resume.

Beginning in the 1980s, Mr. Galster appeared in plays, musicals, cabaret shows, and films in the U.S. and abroad. His roles included Noodles Nebula in the cult drag film Vegas in Space (1991) and Fabrege, "a drag-queen streetwalker," in a 1996 episode of the TV show Nash Bridges .

He worked several times with Huestis, including the first show Huestis put on at the Castro, 1995's The Stepford Wives .

One of the performances Mr. Galster was best known for was taking on Cline. He spent several summers in the 1980s touring as the country music legend, along with the Memphis G-Spots.

"Patsy took over his whole spirit and his body," Huestis said.

Gay publicist Lawrence Hellman, who knew Mr. Galster for more than 20 years, recalled how as Cline, Mr. Galster would say, "Ladies and gentlemen, I put the cunt in country music."

Hellman also recalled Mr. Galster's professionalism. He said when looking to Mr. Galster for help, "You just could check him off like, 'Okay, that's going to be taken care of.' It was perfect, always, every time."

Mr. Galster lived in Japan from 1986 to 1990, where he learned Japanese and performed kyogen comedy, according to his bio. He also performed in drag there and appeared on Japanese television, winning second prize on a show that featured foreign singers.

Recently, back in the U.S., he appeared in the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and he also performed in Pearls Over Shanghai.

Helen Shumaker, who wouldn't share her age but said, "I am older than Arturo," was another longtime friend.

She said Mr. Galster had been living with HIV for 30 years, but he "never talked about that." He was "uncomplaining and tough," Shumaker said.

Like many others, Joshua Grannell, 40, who's better known as his drag persona, Peaches Christ, recalled Mr. Galster's kindness and generosity.

Grannell said he was "a young queen who moved here just after college" when he met Mr. Galster over 18 years ago. He said his first memory "is just being in awe of his talent."

"I was very intimidated by him," Grannell, who ended up working with Mr. Galster, said. "I assumed he was going to be a bitch." However, he said Mr. Galster was "completely normal, sweet, open, and generous." Of course, he also "had the wit and sass of any great drag queen ..."

Asked toward the end of a phone interview if there was anything else she wanted to share about Mr. Galster, Shumaker said, "You would be here all night."

Mr. Galster's survivors include five brothers and three sisters, and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews, along with friends around the world.