Party to remember Kandy
A party to celebrate the life, times and frocks of Ken ‘Kandy’ Johnson will be held at the Midnight Shift on April 9. Kandy died in Noosa on Saturday, February 27 at the age of 75.
His family, his many friends and fans are invited to attend the celebration of his life, to share a laugh, some stories and a few numbers in memory of one of the great pioneers of gay Sydney.
One of the original Les Girls, Johnson was a favourite performer at one of Sydney’s first openly gay and lesbian venues, the Purple Onion, in which he later became a partner.
Johnson became a successful publican, running the Lord Roberts Hotel and the Park Inn Hotel.
Later, inspired by his overseas travel which took him to Turkey, Johnson established Ken’s Karate Klub, a sex-on-premises bathhouse now known as Ken’s of Kensington.
Last year Johnson, known as the Empress of Sydney, launched his long-awaited autobiography Kandy: What a Drag, an exploration of Sydney’s gay and lesbian past as seen from the frontlines of the entertainment world.
“The Purple Onion established itself as the first gay nightclub and people started to come there as a venue where they could be totally among their own people, and it established a social life for the gay people which had not been there before,” he told Sydney Star Observer at the time.
“It was an exciting time and as it turns out, it was sort of historic but at the time when you’re doing those things you don’t think of it as being historic.
“The ’78 march was, of course, historic right from the start because it was a milestone but as far as the drag clubs were concerned, they were just there to provide entertainment and pull the people together under a banner where they felt safe.”
info: The celebration of the life of Kandy Johnson will be held at the Midnight Shift, Friday, April 9, 6pm-8pm. Kandy: What a Drag is available from The Bookshop, Darlinghurst.
Last saw Kenny when I was 9yrs old at Petersham..fond memories never die even after so long…from your cousin Carolyn
We had plans to visit a very dear friend when we were in Australia but Kandy wasn’t able to wait long enough for our arrival. Even though we missed seeing him he will always be with us in spirit. He visited us several times here in Riverside, California and even did a New Year’s Eve show in our local bar in 2000. We were his house guests in both Sydney and Noosa and we even met up with him in London. It was an honor to be his friends.
You were the perfect uncle & always will be.
Yes the memories will always remain and never forgotten,right down to the fur coat,dangling earings and high shoes when I was about ten years old you dressed me up and took me to the original stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the State Theatre in Sydney,as we drove through Sydney in your light blue Kombi van, you gave me all the information of the what`s what and the whose who of Sydney.
One of many cherished moments.
Lots Of Love Lynette xxxxxxx
You are now with your brother, my loving dad, 2 brothers in another place.
I miss you ……… if I choose to remember the sweetest happiest memories then I am the lucky one. Memories can never be taken from me. They are my happy memories from being a little girl to a grandmother.
I know that you never stopped thinking of me.
Love your niece and god-daughter Kerrie. xxxxxxxxxxxxx
I had the great pleasure of working with Kandy on the 1990 production “Jewell of the Orient Express” at Jupiters casino,where Kandy nightly stopped the show with an in comprehensible Yma Sumac number!
We will miss you, old friend
Brett Murphy
I had the pleasure of being able to call Kandy a dear friend, I did the first Les Girls Kings Cross tours with Kandy as Compere the first being the Newcastle area for a 2 week tour and then 3 months of outback Qld during the wet season. That 1st Qld Tour was probably, looking back ,was one of the most hysterical tours I did, we were involved in everything from digging our bogged truck out of mud at the side of the road just outside Winton, a fight involving Kandy with a drunk woman in Kempsey where Kandy lost her eye lashes when the woman hit her for not being Carlotta and then Delany James finding them the next day on the footpath outside the club we worked and working to a crowd of 6 friends at a club around the Tweed area called the Cabbage Patch as we were booked on the night before we were advertised for, hence frantic phone calls to a handful of friends to come and see the show free just to get a couple of bums on seats to being a guest at her fantastic Noosa home for a couple of rare days off from the gruelling rigours of touring, Kandy will always be remembered with a smile as all my memories of Kandy came from FUN and lots of Bacardi………You will be missed, you were a true pioneer and one of the funniest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing…Please hold a spot for me in the big drag show in the sky and I will see you in the Finale ….Lyndelle,
A true pioneer and trail blazer. RIP Kandy.