Queer Places:
Finnochio's, 506 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

Paul "Lavern" Cummings (August 17, 1927 - March 22, 2018) was born on August 17, 1927 in Santa Ana, California.

In the 1950s, Cummings began working as a female impersonator under the name Lavern Cummings and would sing as both soprano and baritone during her acts. From 1950 to 1956, Cummings performed with the Jewel Box Revue, a traveling troupe of female impersonators. In 1956, he began performing at Finnochio's, a nightclub in San Francisco, California, known for female impersonators. Cummings worked as a contract performer at Finnochio's for twenty-six years before retiring in 1982.

His Barbra Streisand impersonation and songs elicited enthusiastic applause from audiences. Finocchio’s cast member Libby Reynolds related the following story about Cummings: A customer one night, sitting ringside had come in right after I exited the stage. He’d
had a winning streak at the racetrack and was being generous to the entertainers who would appear one by one. They had all picked up a $20 bill that he had put on stage. When it was Lavern’s turn, she didn’t pick up the $20, so he put up a $50 bill. Lavern left the stage at the end of her performance with the $50 bill still sitting on stage! I remember making a comment to Robin Price at the time saying I thought that perhaps Lavern should have picked it up, and Robin replied, “Libby, that was a sign of class.”

Cummings also worked as an actor appearing in a 1979 television movie called The Golden Gate Murders playing a female impersonator named Lavern Smith. Cummings eventually moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he continued working as an actor and appeared as an extra in a number of movies and television shows filmed in Las Vegas.

In March 2018, Cummings passed away in Las Vegas after being hit by a car while crossing Charleston Boulevard near Decatur Boulevard.

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