At NYCC’s Pride Lounge, Murray Hill & Peppermint Talk ‘Showbiz!’ 

BY CHARLI BATTERSBY | The New York Comic Con (NYCC) had its twentieth iteration this year, October 8-11 at the Javits Center. While most of those who attended (250,000+ according to organizers) were there because of movies, TV shows, and video games, there are still some purists there to hunt for rare issues of print comics. And, apparently, we’re starting to read actual books again, too—prose books without any four-color pictures of superheroes. One such tome that launched just in time to be promoted at NYCC was the memoir by Murray Hill (aka, “Mr. Showbiz”). Our reporter headed to NYCC’s Pride Lounge to catch the panel during which Murray spoke about the life and career that provided raw material for Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man.

For readers who aren’t aware, Murry Hill is a trans man whose drag king persona is much like a mid-twentieth century comedian (you could edit footage of Hill into a Dean Martin roast alongside Don Rickles, and no one would notice). Shortly before the panel, our reporter spoke to Hill. Asked if he had anything to say to our readers not to be found in his lengthy memoir, Hill told us, “I want to tell everybody that feels like there’s a target on their back to keep going, find your people, find the light. Because there’s more good people than hateful people.”

Our reporter asked Hill, “Do you have a target on your back?”

“Everyday!” Hill replied. At that point, we were joined by the panel’s moderator, drag performer Peppermint. Hill turned to Pepper and said, “This kid just asked me if I have a target on my back.” (Part of Murray’s middle-aged man schtick has him nonchalantly calling people “kid,” regardless of their age).

“I’ll put one on right now,” Pepper said with quick, friendly banter, while affixing a target to Murray’s back via skilled pantomime. Before, during, and after the panel, the two longtime friends had the snappy timing of a road-tested vaudeville comedy team.

Hill elaborated on the sense of being a target, noting that while there’s been progress, trans rights have recently regressed. “We’ve gone completely backwards in time,” noted Hill, adding, “It’s worse than in the 50s—because in the 50s, people left us alone. Now, it’s a real concerted effort to discriminate and take away rights. So it is worse today.” Hill then added, “The kids today are smarter and more accepting. It’s so funny how I’m going to say this: “We have to wait for the old white men to go away.”

Our reporter pointed out that Hill is, himself, a middle-aged white man. “I am a positive representation of a straight, white, middle-aged man,” Hill quickly replied

Murry and Pepper were then summoned to the stage, and the panel proceeded before an enthusiastic crowd. Murray spoke about his early years in NYC, also commenting on the recent mainstream popularity that came from being an ensemble member of the TV show Somebody Somewhere, and becoming a role model to young trans men. He said one of the reasons he wrote the book was that he felt “Disingenuous. Because everyone just now sees the end result.”

Murray and Pepper talked about the long journey to where they are now, and about the old days of their earliest days—when Hill was considered a tomboy, long before the term “transgender” was used. He described being forced to socialize with girls as “like watching a foreign film without subtitles.”

Pepper also managed to draw out of Murray a few facts and observations that won’t be found in the memoir—including Hill’s friendship with Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) and, in particular, Reubens’ closeted sexuality (he came out as gay in a documentary released after his death).

We noticed that during the panel that Pepper and Murray often joked about being the elders in the community, even though they’re only in their 50s. After the panel, Peppermint elaborated on that, noting, “By now, if anyone’s in their fifties, then they’ve obviously lived through the eighties and were around in times when it was really rough… As Murray said, there weren’t a lot of resources for Trans people. Obviously, anybody in their fifties now lived through the the crisis of the AIDS epidemic… I am more than optimistic that in the next generation, we will see older trans people just being old, and having that second stage of adult life, however we refer to it.”

During the panel, Hill was asked who would play him if a movie were ever made of his life. “It would have to be Elliot Page in a fat suit,” he deadpanned. After pausing for laughter, Hill added, “And Lea DeLaria as a senior” (again drawing laughter). Post-panel, we asked Hill if he would be willing to let a cis-gender man play him in a movie. He didn’t hesitate in replying, “Danny DeVito!”

In conclusion, we asked Hill where audiences can see him in the coming months. He told us, “I’m going to [cities in] all of my favorite blue states. Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Pete’s, San Francisco, Portland. Can you get the theme? Seattle, Palm Springs, and Chicago, of course. So I’m going where the love is. I’m going toward the light.”

Our reporter asked if any red states were on the tour. Hill told us, “Well, I am going to Florida next week. So if you don’t see me… It’s been a pleasure!”

For the itinerary of Murray’s book release tour, click here. To buy the book, click here. To visit Peppermint online, click here. For more about the queer-centric Pride Lounge events curated and produced by SPI Marketing and SpinCycleNYC, click here.

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