The Cockettes were a psychedelic drag queen troupe founded by Hibiscus (George Harris) in the late 1960s in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. The troupe performed outrageous parodies of show tunes (or original musical comedies in the same vein) and gained an underground cult following that led to mainstream exposure.
In 1971, over differences in philosophy, the group split into two separate groups, the Cockettes and The Angels of Light. The Cockettes continued to work as paid performers while the Angels of Light chose to do free theatre without admission charge.
The Cockettes were the subject of a 2002 documentary, The Cockettes.
Read more about The Cockettes: Underground Beginnings, Philosophical Split, New York City Trip, Notable Members, Current Lineup, Documentary, Related Acts