Vale Melbourne’s showgirl

Melbourne has said goodbye to one of its true showgirls -” the fabulous Vivien St James.
A consummate performer and glamour extraordinaire, Vivien was famous for her Hollywood bombshell looks. Tributes are now flowing for the Melbourne glamour girl whose funeral was held yesterday in St Kilda.
Longtime friend and fellow performer Paris tirelessly stuck by Vivien until the very end, and was the last to say farewell.
Paris said she was -œshattered by the loss.
-œWe’ve been working together long enough to qualify us both for an old-age pension -” life in the dressing room will never be the same.
-œI’ve lost a soul mate.
Owning the stage with her famed Donna Summer, Tina Turner and Beyonce performances, Vivien had a meticulous eye for detail, evident in her jaw-dropping attire, including jewels, furs, dresses and towering hairdos.
St James passed away in the early hours of March 4 after a relatively short battle with a brain tumour. The legacy she has left is that of more than just a performer -” St James was part of an important, colourful subculture that brought much to the wider gay community.
With ceiling-high cheekbones and a whole lot of cleavage, Vivien was certainly striking. However, longtime friend Alan Mayberry insisted she called a spade a spade and was -œrefreshingly genuine.
Vivien was matter-of-fact about her transsexuality; she had no desire for a sex change operation and defied being categorised by identity alone.
-œI’m not a transsexual who believes I’m a woman trapped in a man’s body, she once said in an interview.
-œI believe I was born male, but can live my life looking like a female.
-œI’d rather be liked for the person I am, not the genitalia I have.
A headliner at A Classic Saturday Night at St kilda’s Greyhound Hotel in St Kilda, Vivien performed her way through Melbourne’s venues, including joining Debra le Gae in Les Girls in Melbourne for two years, and a stint with the Showbags.
Her one-woman show She-Male was a finalist at the 2005 Rainbow Awards, and she also appeared on television, in films, music videos and on fashion catwalks.
Before she transitioned, Vivien went to Essendon Grammar before moving out at the age of seventeen with a friend she met during a hairdressing apprenticeship.
Born in 1964 and raised by her supportive German mother and Italian father, Vivien was never destined to take over her father’s timberyard business. Instead she hit the 1980s with full gender-bending force.
In the early days, before the sequins and jewels, Vivien was known as an androgynous Boy George lookalike. The bright lights of the stage beckoned, and her first big break was joining the legendary Pokey’s nightclub in St Kilda.
Mayberry said Vivien’s career as a showgirl took off in 1994 when the Rainbow Awards were looking for a new hostess.
-œI asked her if she would be interested in doing the Rainbows and the rest is history -” every year and every event, she outdid herself, Mayberry said.
Costumes were a huge part of Vivien’s life and sometimes thousands of dollars were spent in preparation for big events.
-œMoney was no object, she wanted everything to be perfect.
Vivien went on to host the Rainbows and the Fantasy Ball for a decade. She was the face of last year’s ALSO Awards.
Mayberry said she always looked stunning, never put a step out of place and kept her sense of humour to the end.
-œGlamour that Melbourne will never forget, he said.
Those who knew her have been shocked at the speed with which Vivien went from energetic performer to being bedridden -” a matter of a few weeks.
On January 10, Vivien complained to friends of severe headaches. Within a week, she had a brain tumour removed.
She was quickly diagnosed with secondary cancer, but it was too late and chemotherapy was unable to help.
Knowing she was unwell, the community put on a fundraiser night two Sundays ago at The Peel Hotel. Owner Tom McFeely said the event was successful in showing support for Vivien.
Jeff Jones, who worked at the Greyhound for around eight years, said Vivien -œput the -˜glam’ in glamour both on and off-stage.
Both Jones and Steven McRae from the Greyhound referred to Vivien as -œthe jewel in the crown of the Greyhound Hotel.
-œShe was bubbly and one of those people who was a very genuine person on and off the stage. She took the time out to talk to you, talk to anyone, meet people, have a laugh, Jones said.
-œEvery time you saw her, you knew it was going to be a real polished, 100 percent performance -” it was a total package with Vivien.
-œShe was a perfectionist  in what she did and how she looked. She wouldn’t go on stage unless she looked her absolute best, and everything she did, she did for the crowds. That was just Vivien, said McRae.
Melbourne drag queen Kaye Sera also paid tribute, saying St James was Melbourne’s very own -œHollywood goddess.
-œViv was glamour and never failed to astound us in her attention to the art of the showgirl in all its excessively fabulous finery, said Sera.
-œAs a performer, she embodied every song and clearly connected with her audience in a deeply meaningful way -” in that respect, her talent became the benchmark.
Fellow performer Rita Le Coqueater said Melbourne had lost the -œstar on top of the tree.
-œQuite apart from the exterior, which was breathtaking, Vivien was truly one of the loveliest people one could hope to meet. She rarely had a bad word to say about anyone.
-œLike many transsexuals, Vivien had the courage and the strength to create her own image … she was her own very special creation and we all worshipped her for it. She was flawless.