Danny La Rue community. In 1987 he was King Rat of the showbusiness charity the Grand Order of Water Rats. La Rue was the subject of a specially extended edition of "This Is Your Life" in 1984 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the curtain call of "Hello, Dolly!" at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre. He has also been described as "the grande dame of drag". Danny La Rue Danny La Rue, (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish-English singer and entertainer, particularly in stage theatre known for his singing and cross-dressing performances. Born
Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan Pauk, Burma in 1912. Patrick's mother then worked as a governess for a family named Carroll. In 1922, the Carrolls moved to England, and Anne Stanley went with them. Mrs Carroll died a few years later, and Bernard Carroll, who was an accountant, married Anne. From 1923 to 1926, Patrick was a boarder at Sevenoaks School in Kent, and in 1927 proceeded to Cheltenham College, as a day boy, in a stream of students preparing for military careers. Although he was then 16 years old, at Cheltenham he was put in classes with pupils as young as 13. Accounts of