Darcelle XV

Darcelle XV (November 16, 1930 – March 23, 2023) was the stage name of Walter Willard Cole, an American drag queen, entertainer, and cabaret owner and operator in Portland, Oregon.

Guinness World Records had certified him as the oldest drag queen performer in 2016, with a career as an entertainer spanning 56 years at the time of his death.

He left his wife (though they remained legally married) and began a relationship with Roxy Neuhardt, who worked alongside Darcelle at the Showplace as a choreographer, show director, performer, bookkeeper, office manager, and payroll accountant.

[7] Cole, who had an interest in acting and had worked at Portland Civic Theater, developed his alter ego Darcelle and came out as gay.

In Kelly Clarke's review of Cole's memoir, she described him as "an energetic businessman whose desire for a life less ordinary catapulted him from a job at Fred Meyer to become the proprietor of a counterculture coffee shop, an after-hours jazz club, a rough-'n'-ready 'dyke bar' and, finally, a nationally known drag revue, without ever leaving Portland.

Drawings released in early 2024, show the park will have a stage, public art space, and a wall of fame for notable LGBTQ Portlanders.