Transgender Cabaret - Romy Haag Queen of Berlin's Underground

Transsexual Cabaret Artist Romy Hagg

I recently created a blog entry about transgender actress Eva Robin's and Patrick Conrad's film Mascara (1987).  One of Eva's co stars in Mascara was the legendary Romy Haag who has been described as 'The Queen of the (Berlin) Underground'. You can see Romy performing 'Help Me Make it Through the Night', in the film Mascara if you can get hold of a copy.

Romy Haag in Mascara (1987)

Romy Haag was born January 1, 1948 as Eduard Frans Verbaarsschott in The Hague. According to some sources Romy was born inter-sexed and was bullied at school for her female like manner and appearance. Her early life did not stop her to become what she is today -  a very talented dancer, singer, actress and former nightclub manager of her own Berlin based club Chez Romy Hagg.

Romy Haag in Mascara 1987

Romy started the cabaret circuit very young. At 16 she was working as a female impersonator at  Club Alcazar and Le Carrousel in Paris. At 23 Romy opened her famous Berlin night club Chez Romy Haag, which featured many transgendered artists. One such performer who I believed worked at the club was Amanda Lear. Amanda Lear is a performance artist in her own right, Amanda is rumoured to be transgendered herself but this is another story. Chez Romy Haag was a 1920s style Berlin cabaret, but with so much more, the concentration being on art and performance.

The wild performances of gender fluid entertainment soon started to attract a lot of attention in 1970s Berlin. Many celebrities of the time attended the club such as Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, Bryan Ferry and of course David Bowie. Bowie was very attracted to Romy and Romy was soon to became his muse. Watch the video below to learn more about her relationship with Bowie.

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Romy with David  Mid 1970s 

She released her first single, “Liege-Samba”, in 1977, and her first album, So Bin Ich, in 1981.

Sadly Romy sold Chez Romy Haag in 1983, she toured the world and on her return she had SRS in Switzerland.   Since her SRS Romy has appeared in 26 films, and she has released 17 albums.

Romy has her own web site which you must visit which featured some wonderful images and info about her. Visit RomyHaag.de

Here is a very interesting short video about Romy, her relationship with Bowie, Berlin and Chez Romy Haag.