Everett Collection (3)

Male actors dressing in stereotypically women’s clothes for a role is nothing new.

A housecoat and a falsetto voice do wonders.

They discover two jobs that’ll take them out of town.

Actors doing drag

Robin Williams in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’; Tyler Perry in ‘Boo! A Madea Halloween’; Nathan Lane in ‘The Birdcage’.Credit:Everett Collection (3)

The positions are with an all-women band leaving for a gig in Florida.

Put on dresses and join the group, of course!

And then, let the hijinks begin.

Madea’s Family Reunion, Tyler Perry | By just putting on a curly, gray wig and a granny sweater, Perry transformed himself into the feisty Madea Simmons and started a surprising sensation

Lions Gate Films/Tyler Perry Studios

Geraldine’s signature line “The devil made me do it” became a national catchphrase.

Do like Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) er, should we say Dorothy Michaels?

inTootsie: Just reinvent yourself instead and you might just land the job!

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, Eric Idle, … | There’s a long, grand tradition of cross-dressing in British drama that goes all the way back to Shakespeare, one this entirely male British comedy troupe

Everett Collection

Robin Williams inMrs.

Presto meet Euphegenia Doubtfire!

Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, and Patrick Swayze inTo Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything!

The Kids in the Hall | The Kids didn’t dress as women for comedic effect necessarily — instead, they did it out of necessity! Since they played most of the parts,

CBC

Julie Newmar(1995)

More drag queens on road trips!

Like all good queens, they carry an autographed photo of their idol former Catwoman Julie Newmararound with them.

John Cameron Mitchell inHedwig and the Angry Inch(2001)

The things people do for love.

Some Like It Hot, Jack Lemmon, … | Simply put, this cross-dressing fest is a comedy classic. Lemmon and Curtis play two guys on the lam after witnessing a crime. They discover two

Everett Collection

But so that get married, he undergoes an operation, so Hansel becomes Hedwig.

Flip Wilson | The TV variety show star is best remembered for creating the role of Geraldine Jones, a sassy, modern woman who had a boyfriend named Killer.

Everett Collection

Pink Flamingos, Divine | No one pulled off the man-as-woman thing better than female impersonator Divine, who stars under the pseudonym ‘‘Babs Johnson’’ in this John Waters cult flick.

Divine in John Waters' ‘Pink Flamingos’.Everett Collection

Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, … | Huge pearls, frizzy hair, and lace-up vest, oh my! It doesn’t get much better than Dr. Frank N. Furter, who proclaims himself a ‘‘sweet transvestite

Everett Collection

Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, … | Know what Hanks was doing before he became the revered Academy Award-winning actor he is today? He was dragging around on TV in this cult

Everett Collection

Tootsie, Dustin Hoffman | Can’t land a job because you’re difficult to work with? Do like Michael Dorsey (Hoffman) — err, should we say Dorothy Michaels? — in Tootsie

Everett Collection

Hairspray (Movie - 1988), Hairspray, … | Drag superstar Divine made Edna Turnblad legendary with his gruff portrayal of the over-sized housfrau in John Waters’ original meditation on the civil rights movement

Divine: Everett Collection; Travolta: David James

Martin Lawrence | Usually bedecked in a hideously clashing outfit and accompanying fannypack, Martin’s ridiculous and clueless across-the-hall neighbor Shenehneh was easily one of the best parts of

Everett Collection

Mrs. Doubtfire, Robin Williams | When Daniel Hillard (Williams) loses custody of his kids after divorcing his wife (Sally Field), he cooks up a plan to become their nanny. Presto

Mrs. Doubtfire: Everett Collection

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Hugo Weaving | The Australian comedy zeroes in on three friendly drag queens (two gay men and a transsexual woman) who hit the outback in a huge bus

Everett Collection

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, John Leguizamo, … | More drag queens on road trips! This time, it’s three New York drag queens — Noxeema (Snipes), Vida (Swayze), and Chi-Chi (Leguizamo) — who set

Everett Collection

The Birdcage, Nathan Lane | Down in South Beach, there was a gay nightclub called The Birdcage, owned by Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) and his lover, the divine Albert (Lane),

Everett Collection

The Nutty Professor (Movie - 1996), Eddie Murphy | Murphy dressed up for a total of seven roles — including most of the over-sized Klump family — in this remake. But his portrayal of

Everett Collection

Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell | The things people do for love. After Hansel (Mitchell) falls in love, he plans to leave communist East Germany for the West to marry his

Everett Collection

Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, … | Not only did two of the Wayans brothers go lady for this ridiculous send-up, they also turned themselves into the most ridiculous of white ladies.

Joe Lederer

Balls of Fury, Christopher Walken | Should Balls of Fury ’s Feng (Walken) actually be considered drag? That’s debatable, but Walken’s outlandish, Asian-inspired outfits in the ping-pong spoof comedy certainly had

Gemma La Mana