Andre Portasio, the widower of entertainer Paul O'Grady, is curating a major new exhibition featuring costumes from O'Grady's drag alter ego Lily Savage. The exhibition, titled You Gotta Get a Gimmick: The Paul O'Grady Story, opens on December 11 at the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead, Merseyside.
Portasio, 46, who was with O'Grady for 18 years and married him in 2017, is selecting about 40 costumes from a storage room containing more than 200 outfits. He described the process as bittersweet, saying, "Every costume tells a story and is an insight into Paul as a person and an entertainer."
A love letter to fans
Portasio said the exhibition is "a love letter to Paul's fans" and that opening in Merseyside "feels like he is coming home." The display will range from O'Grady's early days performing in pubs and clubs as Lily Savage to his later work hosting Blankety Blank and starring in The Lily Savage Show.
Among the items is the costume O'Grady wore as Miss Hannigan in the musical Annie. Portasio said he finds it difficult to look at: "He wore it to his last performance on a Sunday and died the following Tuesday. It's very upsetting."
Remembering Paul O'Grady
O'Grady died in March 2023, aged 67, from sudden cardiac arrhythmia at the home he shared with Portasio in Kent. Portasio discovered him collapsed in the kitchen, and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
O'Grady first appeared as Lily Savage in the late 1970s in gay venues, pubs, and working men's clubs. By the late 1980s, Lily was at the forefront of LGBTQIA+ visibility, becoming a household name with her own show, An Audience With. By the early 2000s, O'Grady had moved on to presenting and writing, and was made an MBE for services to entertainment in 2008.
Continuing his legacy
Portasio, who still receives letters from fans, said he feels a responsibility to continue O'Grady's work. He is looking to create a charitable trust in O'Grady's memory to support community projects and good causes. The exhibition, which will also include personal items from O'Grady's archive, is hoped to be a catalyst for the trust.
"Paul was not just my partner, he was my sense of belonging," Portasio said. "I'm holding on to that."
