RuPaul has 'done everything.' Except this
NEW YORK - The story, as he's told it dozens of times over the years, goes like this: When RuPaul Charles' mother, Ernestine, was pregnant with him, she went to see a psychic who said her unborn child, a boy, would one day be famous. Originally from Louisiana, Ernestine decided to call him RuPaul, a name inspired by the roux used to make gumbo - and, like "Madonna," "Oprah" or "Prince," one that seems to have ensured his celebrity.
But international stardom wasn't exactly a foregone conclusion for a gay, black drag queen from San Diego. A fateful low point came in 1988. Though he'd attained a level of notoriety in the East Village club scene, broader success remained elusive. He wound up crashing on his little sister's couch in L.A., watching "The Oprah Winfrey Show" every day and going on "The Gong Show," where he was judged by Salt-N-Pepa and lost to an Elvis impersonator.
"I had done New York and couldn't get any traction there. I thought, 'Is this really it? Was the psychic wrong with my mother?'" RuPaul recalls. It's a damp, snowy afternoon in Manhattan, flakes the size of quarters
