The Imperial Court of San Francisco

2015 marks 50 years since the Imperial Court of San Francisco began its rich history of community service. In this, the first in a series of five articles, we'll reflect back on five decades of activism, altruism, and camp. Other than readily available historical information on the internet, many of the details contained herein are derived from Emperor Matthew Brown, a devoted supporter of the Imperial Court and its history. Credit is also due to Paul Gabriel, formerly of the Gay/Lesbian Historical Society.

By 1962, the civil rights struggles of the late 1950s and '60s had made it apparent that organizing in numbers was key to successful advancement. That year, San Francisco gay bar owners and employees joined together in the Tavern Guild, finding strength in numbers.

One of the most successful early events was the first Beaux Arts Ball in 1963, sponsored by the Jumpin' Frog bar on Polk Street. The event attracted record crowds and left a lasting impression.

For the second Beaux Arts Ball, the Tavern Guild invited Jose Sarria to attend as a special honoree. By then, he had already distinguished himself as the first openly gay person to run for political office when he ran for city supervisor in 1961 and was an immensely popular drag entertainer, particularly at The Black Cat in North Beach, until it lost its liquor license and was forced out of business in 1963. Unfortunately, Sarria was working at the New York World's Fair and declined the invite.

With a little more preparation, Jose was able to attend the 3rd Beaux Arts Ball on October 31, 1965, where he was honored by the Tavern Guild with the title Queen of the Ball. As legend has it, true to form, Jose stated he was "already a queen" and proclaimed himself "Her Royal Majesty, Empress of San Francisco, Jos� I, The Widow Norton." The public had little choice but to acquiesce, and so the Imperial Court of San Francisco was born.

At the next Beaux Arts Ball, held at the hotel now known as Hotel Whitcomb on Market Street, candidates for Empress, officially approved in the preceding weeks, were presented, and attendees voted by dropping their marked tickets into a ballot box at the event. As a reflection of the times, the two candidates used their actual male first names, Gene and Michael, but their drag names were Bella and Michelle . Bella emerged victorious at midnight, thereafter known as the Hummingbird Empress II, the first elected Empress of San Francisco.

The election of the next Empress is full of intrigue and scandal, unfortunately only through word of mouth. Out of seven candidates in 1967, there was a tie between Fanny and Shirley; the room was pandemonium!

Some report that the crowd attempted to break the tie with a yelling match, others remember Shirley grabbing the crown and stating "I am the Empress," and still others say the Jose himself made the decision to crown Shirley for personal reasons.

By that late hour of the evening and with no compromise in sight, Shirley had left the event and gone to a bar Baj near North Beach, so Jose hopped aboard a friend's motorcycle to find Shirley and deliver the news that she was now the Peacock Empress III. (Notice the growing bird theme here?)

In 1968, there were again seven candidates, but less controversy, as Reba stepped up as the Swallow Empress IV. By now, the Imperial Court began to adopt a little more structure, establishing an official crown style, purchasing a symbolic State Crown, and adding a robe, ring, and Privy Council.

1969 saw five candidates for Empress; Willis emerged victorious, the Dove of Peace Empress V. After that year the election procedure changed; now the candidates would be presented at the Beaux Arts Ball, but then run a campaign for two months before election.

Because of this alteration, Willis has the record of being the longest reigning Empress, just over a year and two months. She also has the distinction of being the earliest living Empress and currently resides in Palm Springs.

In 1971, Cristal became the Black Swan Empress VI from a field of three candidates and the Court of San Jose began its own formation.

In 1972, out of four candidates, Jonni became the Flamingo Empress VII. It was at this time that a group of individuals, led by John Chase, against considerable opposition, particularly from the Tavern Guild, established the title of Emperor of San Francisco, elected at a different time and in a different manner, but overlapping with the Empress reign. That first year, there were seven candidates, then four finalists, and finally Marcus Hernandez, a very familiar name to the LGBT and leather communities, was elected Emperor.

During his reign Hernandez created the "Spoon Awards," presented to various individuals in 20 different categories for continuously stirring the pot, as some are known to do. The King and Queen of Spoons became one of the first truly camp titles.

Maxine was elected the Bird of Paradise Empress VIII in 1973 and was the first Empress to reign with two different Emperors, since the procedures and timing for each title were different. Her second Emperor became Russ Higginbotham. Rumors have it that Maxine was so excited to be announced that she was unable to get her shoes back on and was crowned without them!

The Owl Empress IX Frieda was crowned in 1974, evidently in the face of racial prejudice, even from within the Imperial Family. She won by one vote over three other candidates. Interestingly, Frieda was averse to flying, so she traveled by car or sometimes by train. When the porter on the train back from Seattle found out that an Empress was on board, he asked her to draw numbers for bingo in the Club Car, which she did gladly in full regalia.