BenDeLaCreme

BenDeLaCreme is the stage persona of Benjamin Putnam,[1] an American drag queen, burlesque performer, and actor based in Seattle, Washington. She is known for being a contestant on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. She is also known for her solo shows Ready To Be Committed, Terminally Delightful, Inferno A-Go-Go and Cosmos, and as co-creator and host of burlesque revues Freedom Fantasia and Homo for the Holidays.

BenDeLaCreme
BenDeLaCreme performing in 2014
Born
Benjamin Putnam
Occupation
TitleMiss Congeniality
PredecessorIvy Winters
SuccessorKatya Zamolodchikova
Musical career
OriginSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Websitebendelacreme.com

Early life

Putnam grew up in Connecticut.[2] During his performance on Drag Race, Putnam revealed that he was bullied as a child for being overweight, "weird", and gay. His mother, who had been the positive voice to counteract this, died of cancer when he was 13 years old. Putnam was also open about his struggles with depression, revealing that his "terminally delightful" drag persona helped him overcome this.[3]

Artistry

Putnam's stage name is a play off the French term crème de la crème, which, translated, means "cream of the cream" or "best of the best", as well as a play off of his given first name.[4] He commonly refers to himself as either "Ben" or "DeLa" to distinguish between the private, male persona (Ben) and public, female one (DeLa).[4] He is also sometimes referred to as "Bendela", a take on the name Vendela. In an interview with Artes Magazine, he explained "I consider BenDeLaCreme to be the very best of Ben which is the name of the gentleman that I share a body with. DeLa is how I refer to the lady part of me. If you say Ben you're talking to that guy. If you say DeLa you are talking to me."[3]

Putnam credits his interest in drag and burlesque to seeing Varla Jean Merman's Holiday Ham in Boston in 2001. He was inspired by Merman's theatrical, character-driven approach to drag performance.[2] DeLa considers drag to be "an inherently political act", an opportunity to encourage people to think about complex issues related to gender and sexuality through humor and theatre.[1] Her solo shows combine comedy, song, burlesque, dance, and video clips (often DeLa herself in other roles).[3] DeLa's costume style is reminiscent of iconic 1950s pin-up girls. She cites dancer and actress Ann Miller as an early influence.[5]

Career
BenDeLaCreme performing during RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 3

Putnam's career began in Chicago in 2002, while he was pursuing a BFA degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Although his course of study focused on painting, he found himself more interested in performance art.[6][7]

Her first opportunities to perform came at drag revues at Chicago-area gay bars. Early on, she was exposed to a more explicitly feminist, message-driven side of drag culture by the Chicago Kings, a drag king troupe with which she frequently performed as the token "queen".[6] At the same time, DeLa made a conscious decision to present a more positive, cheerful persona during her shows, even when addressing serious subject matter such as prejudice, death, and depression.[3]

Since the mid-2000s, she has been based in Seattle, Washington. She is the hostess for The Atomic Bombshells burlesque troupe and teaches at Seattle's Academy of Burlesque.[8] DeLa has collaborated with many members of the Seattle burlesque community, including Drag Race Season 5 winner Jinkx Monsoon.[9] She runs the theatrical production company DeLouRue Presents, creating and performing in popular holiday revue shows Freedom Fantasia and Homo for the Holidays, with burlesque duo Kitten La Rue and Lou Henry Hoover, her friends and frequent collaborators.[5]

BenDeLaCreme's touring solo shows include Terminally Delightful, Cosmos, and Inferno A-Go-Go. She has also appeared in several films by filmmaker Wes Hurley including the documentary Waxie Moon, Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel, and as a narrator of the series Capitol Hill.[10]

At the 2019 MAC Awards, BenDeLaCreme was presented with an award in the category "Major Impersonation/Characterization/Drag Artist" for her show Inferno A-Go-Go.[11]

In December 2020, BenDeLaCreme's collaboration film with Jinkx Monsoon, The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Special was released, and can be streamed on Hulu. [12]

RuPaul's Drag Race
Main article: RuPaul's Drag Race (season 6)

In 2014, BenDeLaCreme appeared in the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed fifth and was voted Miss Congeniality by viewers.

In 2018, she appeared in the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, where, after a record-breaking fifth challenge win in episode 6, she chose to eliminate herself, claiming she had already proven herself and that she felt the other remaining contestants wanted the crown more than she did. Many fans were shocked at this decision, as her track record heavily favored her to win the entire competition. DeLa is the only Drag Race contestant so far to win five challenges in a single season, win four episodes consecutively and to win the "Snatch Game" challenge on more than one season, and currently still has the best statistics of any queen to have ever competed in Drag Race.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role
2014 Drag Becomes Her Herself
2015 Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel Herself
2019 Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts Herself
2020 Happiest Season Miss L'Teau
2020 The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special Herself

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2014 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 6) Herself Contestant (5th place)
2014 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked Herself
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 3) Herself Contestant (6th place) - Self-Eliminated

Web series
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014 Capitol Hill Herself Presenter [13]
2014 Transformations Herself Guest [14]
2014 Ring My Bell Herself Guest [15]
2018 Whatcha Packin Herself Guest [16]
2018 How To Makeup Herself Episode: "Unclockable Hairline [17]

Discography
Year Title Album
2016 "The Nativity Twist" Christmas Queens 2
2018 "Drag Up Your Life"
(RuPaul featuring BeBe Zahara Benet, BenDeLaCreme, Kennedy Davenport, Shangela, & Trixie Mattel)		 Non-album single

Awards and nominations
Year Award Giving Body Category Work Results Ref.
2020 The Queerties Drag Royalty Herself Nominated [18]

References
  1. "RuPaul tour serves up enter-taint-ment - The Gateway". The Gateway. The Gateway: The Official Student Newspaper of the University of Alberta. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  2. "End Stage Happiness: BenDeLaCreme Makes Solo Provincetown Debut - Provincetown Magazine". Provincetown Magazine. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  3. "The Newly Crowned Miss Congeniality BenDeLaCreme Takes Over NYC with 'Terminally Delightful' New Show". Drag Official. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  4. "BenDeLaCreme: Going Solo in 'Terminally Delightful' - ARTES MAGAZINE". ARTES MAGAZINE. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  5. "Q&A with Ben Delacreme from RuPaul's Drag Race". Sacramento Press. Archived from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  6. "Homo for the Holidays: An Interview With Ben DeLaCreme". The Stranger. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  7. Staff, Stranger. "The Lineup". The Stranger. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  8. "BenDeLaCreme Adds Performances to TERMINALLY DELIGHTFUL, 5/23-25". BroadwayWorld.com. Wisdom Digital Media. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  9. "Last Words With RuPaul's Drag Race's BenDeLaCreme | Advocate.com". www.advocate.com. 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  10. https://huffingtonpost.com/wes-hurley/jinkx-monsoon-colby-kelle_b_7930328.html
  11. https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Anita-Gillette-BenDeLaCreme-and-Morre-Win-Big-at-MAC-Awards-20190327
  12. https://www.fastcompany.com/90582919/drag-stars-bendelacreme-jinkx-monsoon-holiday-show-movie-covid
  13. BenDeLaCreme presents "Capitol Hill" Episode 1. YouTube. March 3, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  14. James St. James and BenDeLaCreme: Transformations. YouTube. August 5, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  15. BenDeLaCreme on Ring My Bell. YouTube. August 17, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  16. Whatcha Packin: BenDeLaCreme | Season 3 Episode 6 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. YouTube. March 5, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  17. Ben De La Creme's Unclockable Hairline: HOW TO MAKEUP. YouTube. October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  18. "'The 2020 Queerties". Cheat Sheet. February 28, 2020.
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