Mr. Charlie Brown, Atlanta’s beloved drag star and LGBTQ advocate who entertained audiences for more than 40 years, has died at age 74.
He died March 21, at 10:33p.m. at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta with his husband, Fred Wise, close friends and chosen family at his side. Brown was recovering from a second heart valve replacement surgery when sepsis set in, according to an obituary posted to the Atlanta Eagle’s Facebook page.
Charlie Brown started in Atlanta’s drag scene in the 1970s, but achieved widespread fame in the 1990s with Charlie Brown’s Cabaret at renowned 24-hour nightclub Backstreet. The self-proclaimed “Bitch of the South” was also the star of HBO’s 1997 documentary, “Dragtime.”
In recent years, he performed at Lips Atlanta on Buford Highway. For the past two years, Charlie Brown also performed at queer and leather bar the Atlanta Eagle after it reopened in Ansley Square Shopping Center. The iconic gay bar was forced to close its longtime location on Ponce de Leon Avenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m just filled with love and joy and compassion that I was able to become part of Charlie Brown’s family after all these years,” said Richard Ramey, owner of the Atlanta Eagle.
Ramey was one of the people who was with Brown at Piedmont Hospital when he died. He said the small group of family and friends listened to music and shared stories of Brown as they sat with him while the sun was setting.
“Just being able to be there with his friends and family and hopefully help him transition peacefully was a very special moment in my life,” Ramey said.
“He loved his community more than anything in the world. He loved to entertain and for him to be able to do that, up till the end — I was so glad that I could a little tiny portion of that,” Ramey said. “I was honored to call him a friend.”
In October 2022, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens presented Mr. Charlie Brown with a Phoenix Award — the city’s highest honor — at the city’s annual Pride Reception for his lifetime work in LGBTQ+ activism, entertaining and AIDS fundraising work.
In a social media post, the city said Charlie Brown “has been an integral part of Atlanta’s vibrant cultural landscape for decades, and his contributions to our city will be forever cherished.”
