in the company's production of Bluebeard as Hecate, also in July 1978. Busch said of this experience: "If I had ever entertained a fantasy of working with the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, doing Hecate got it out of my system." Busch has said that he was also inspired by seeing Joan Sutherland and Zoe Caldwell perform when he was a child. Busch recalled: "When I was about 13 years old, around 1968 or '69, I went to see Zoe Caldwell in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I was so dazzled that I don't think I've ever recovered." In 1991, Busch was performing in his play Red Scare on Sunset. He said that he had difficulty connecting with the audience at one of the performances. Caldwell went backstage after the performance to give him some advice: "'You are so beautiful. But you were pushing too hard. You're much better than that.' ...It's the best lesson I've learned from a famous person." During his run in The Tribute Artist, Busch revealed that he also found inspiration in drag performers Charles Pierce and Lynne Carter. Personal life Busch's memoir, Leading Lady, is set to be published by BenBella Books on August 29, 2023. Awards and nominations Busch received the Charlie Local and National Comedy Award from the Association of Comedy Artists in 1985 for "special contributions to the art of comedy." He also received the Manhattan Academy of Cabaret Award in 1985 and 1993. In 2003, he won the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival for his performance in the film Die Mommie Die!. He has been honored with a star on the Playwright's Walk of Fame outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City and the Legend Award by the Off-Broadway League of Theatres. He was awarded the Gingold Theatrical Group Golden Shamrock award in 2014. Work Theater Filmography Bibliography Discography Charles Busch Live At Feinstein's/54 Below (2016) References External links Charles Busch papers, 1967-2015, 1984-2014, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 1954 births Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Living people Male actors from New York City The High School of Music & Art alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights People from Hartsdale, New York American LGBT dramatists and playwrights American drag queens American LGBT novelists