Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton

Rating:
Summary: The title well "suits" a selfish individual
Review: Billy Tipton should draw as much curiosity as John Merrick, the "Elephant Man," but for vastly different reasons. The present generation of politically correct individuals who toot the selfserving horn of what they define as "tolerance" will herald Tipton as a courageous icon to be studied and wept over. The truth is, she spent her entire existence satisfying her own needs, desecrating the souls of five partners, not to mention the institution called marriage. In my book, this is nothing to throw a party over. Merrick, on the other hand, knew nothing but abuse and a total lack of love for many years of his life. Even after his rescue by an ambitious doctor, he was, in many ways, exploited for others' gain. In the face of all of this, Merrick remained humble and meak of heart toward others. He left an example of what can truly be called a "heroic spirit." I've studied both Tipton and Merrick. Both lives are equally fascinating; only one is worth celebrating.

Rating:
Summary: Are you a boy or are you a girl?
Review: Billy Tipton, the product of flamboyant parents, was exposed to the Depression Era's rich jazz scene via radio. Knowing her options were limited as a female, she took the guise of a male for the rest of her days, living with various clueless women who were willing to settle for a celibate relationship. Alas, her success was both initiated and limited by her masquerade. There were simply too many people who remembered her as "Dorothy" back in Oklahoma, and she had to turn down many high profiloe musical gigs as a result. Ironically, her big break in the Fifties that she had to turn down was the opening spot for Liberace! "Suits Me" is a fine example of detective work and offbeat 20th Century history.

Rating:
Summary: Gender, not sex.
Review: Diane Middlebrook has assembled a complete picture of Billy Tipton's world -- the music, the gender roles, his family -- that succeeds in holding a reader's interest despite the paucity of personal writings and memorabilia left behind by Tipton himself.

If you're looking for sex, you won't find much here. Billy Tipton had several "wives" (in quotation marks because he wasn't legally married to most -- if any -- of them) but managed to avoid sexual intercourse much of the time. The women he did have sex with swear they slept with a man, but if they revealed details to Middlebrook, they're not included in the book.

Tipton lived in an age where one's personal affairs were not the topic of casual conversation. Those who suspected or knew his secret kept quiet; many of the interview subjects throughout the book are heard to say, "You just didn't talk about those things. You didn't go prying into people's personal business." The book's focus on gender roles -- especially within the context of the times and Billy's chosen profession -- is appropriate, engaging, and allows Billy Tipton to maintain the dignity he deserves.

Rating:
Summary: An impressive biography that overcomes scanty documentation
Review: Diane Middlebrook has been blessed with such a fascinating subject for this biography that it would be a poor writer indeed who sapped the story of its interest. Yet the author faces a daunting challenge because so little documentary evidence remains concerning the life of Dorothy/Billy Tipton, especially for the early years. Fortunately, Middlebrook is up to the task, and where she can't provide content she supplies invaluable context for the life of a locally famous jazz singer now known less for his musical talent than for a closeted, transgendered (and, I would argue, brave) life.

Between her birth in Oklahoma and his arrival in Spokane, Tipton somehow made the transformation from an eccentric saxophone- and piano-playing young woman to a married husband, father, bandleader, and talent agent. In the absence of any firsthand information from Tipton himself, Middlebrook has to rely on a scattered selection of photographs, a handful of letters, and on interviews with the few people still alive who knew Dorothy in Oklahoma and the many who knew Billy in Spokane. She concludes, correctly I think, that Tipton initially became a male impersonator primarily to get a job in the male-dominated jazz circuit and eventually grew so comfortable in the role that what may have begun as a career choice gradually became a social choice. Tipton's lesbianism surely contributed to the self-assured ease with which she made this transformation.

For the early years of Tipton's life, Middlebrook doesn't have a lot to go on, and I was wary when reading that she had "to substitute imagination for the absent documentation." Yet in the pages that follow this statement, the author doesn't depart far from reality: over half of the material describes Tipton's hometown through the eyes of others and a good chunk is directly quoted source material. Even when the record is vague about Dorothy Tipton herself, the reader gets a feel for the small-town culture that she undoubtedly experienced and for the Depression-era jazz clubs in which Tipton surely performed.

Middlebrook likewise speculates that Tipton's fear of exposure nixed his band's big break during the 1950s, which would have included recording contracts and the opportunity to open in Nevada casinos for such star performers as Liberace (an irony of a different sort). Tipton's double life was well-known in Oklahoma, and his success as a father and businessman certainly hinged on keeping his profile within the confines of the Northwest. The author also fills in the gaps in our knowledge of Tipton's life with tangents that are mesmerizing on their own, such as the story of Alberta Lucille Hart, another Spokane resident who became radiologist and novelist Alan L. Hart during the first half of the twentieth century.

It's impossible not to finish this book with a sense of appreciation for Tipton's daring. Tipton's first triumph, of course, is the amazing ability to pull it off. But, even more impressive, he managed to do so and leave behind him an astonishing number of people of all ages and backgrounds--wives, adopted sons, in-laws, and show business colleagues--who clearly loved and admired him and who, although stunned by the posthumous revelation that he was biologically a woman, continue to think of him fondly.

Rating:
Summary: I feel like I've gained & lost a friend - at the same time
Review: I first heard the Billy Tipton saga on the program "Mysteries and Scandals." I was concerned that the book was going to be handled in the style of the National Enquirer. So I'd like to say, that if you're looking for "the dirt" on Billy Tipton, if you only need to know the sexual aspects in explicit details, then go buy a rag magazine at the checkout counter at Kmart. On the other hand, if you are of a "higher mentality" and can view this book as a chronological trip through Billy Tipton's life, you'll be extremely satisfied. At first,I just had a lot of sympathy for Billy Tipton. But as I read, I found that anyone who knew him, regarded him as a kind, loving and giving person. No one had a rotten thing to say about Billy Tipton. Most of them knew Billy as Dorothy and just accepted and respected that. We seldom see those kind of principles these days.

I liked the fact that the author took the time to "paint a picture" of what times were like in places like Joplin, Missouri or Spokane Washington. She included some jazz/musical history, medical terminology regarding cross-gender - a LOT of research was done. The bottom line was that Billy Tipton had a true "passion" for jazz, found a way to fulfill this passion, faced many obstacles, but I doubt that he ever meant to hurt anyone - (And he didn't, really).

That's one heck of an epitaph for anybody. Billy Tipton - made a choice, carried it through and did it his way. A person way ahead of their time. Enjoy the book.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Story, Mediocre Book
Review: It really shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to get through this book. Dorothy "Billy" Tipton's life was fascinating, bold, joyous, sad and unusual. Her life as a talented male jazz musician, at a time when it was challenging for women to get gigs as serious jazz musicians is well chronicled in this book. But despite all the facts, occasional speculation, and details of Billy Tiptons life, this was a very dry read and at times a chore.

Yes, I was fully engaged in the STORY because on it's own it is quite powerful and intriguing. It was expertly researched, but Ms. Middlebrook's prose leaves something to be desired. Read this book to learn how this woman spent most of her life as a man, and had wives, lovers and children (adopted), many who didn't know she was a man. However, if you are looking for exciting reading, this book will leave you dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Who Are You?
Review: It's safe to say that there is another side to most of us. No matter who you are, or how big or little it is, or how serious. There is something there that we don't tell others. But the lies and deception in this book from the man/woman it comes from, top it all. The book details the life of respected jazz musician, Billy Lee Tipton. A bright, funny, good natured and handsome young man, who wanted nothing more than to play the music he loved and to have a career doing it. Sounds nice, right?. Billy was born Dorothy Tipton. A she. From the age of 19 up until his death at the age of 74 in 1989, Dorothy had lived as a man. Billy. The writer of this fine and incredible biography, Diane Wood Middlebrook, can't easily answer most of the questions that anyone who knows the story or reads the book will want to know. Why?. Mainly because there is no real way of knowing. Billy Tipton was an incredible mystery. A mystery that the man himself only had the answers too, and he kept them with him when he went to the grave. Only Billy knows why he did it, and he never let it out. Sure, there were some who kind of had an idea along the way, and some who did know, but nothing came of it. The questions his story raise can only be met with ideas and suggestions of the author, and our own viewpoint. The book goes into detail how this man lived and worked. The details of the gigs he would play around the country. The most interesting thing here is that he was able to have five wives!. And according to them, they never knew anything. I have always known the story and it would be appealing and interesting no matter what, but I have a strong connection to it since Billy spent the last 26 or 27 years of his life here in my hometown. Billy's sexuality is the most mysterious. He went for real women, so was she really a lesbian?. What were her thoughts and wants?. No one knows. And why did she do it?. Some say that because back when she was growing up, women were in the background. Men up front. Women had their parts, and the men went off and did the work. There were some women who may of been in groups and what not, but a lot of them were background singers. Some lucky few broke thru the barriers and had solo careers. So did Billy do it so he could actually get a break in the business he wanted in to play the music he loved?. Who knows. It's an odd and infuriating tale since Billy is still a gigantic question mark at the end just as much as he was in the beginning. Middlebrook writes with such a deep understanding and respect for Tipton, and she makes it such an absorbing and compelling read. You could read the whole thing in one day if you wanted too. It's that good. From his stormy upbringing, to his bizarre adult and senior life, Middlebrook creates a brilliant book about a most peculiar and sensational person. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Look at the Late Billy Tipton
Review: This book might have been better handled by a transgendered or lesbian author, but Diane Wood Middlebrook does a fairly good job of reporting on her subject Billy Tipton.

The book does have a bit more filler about other people and about the music industry and jazz than I personally was interested in, but it also tells a great deal about Billy Tipton and her life.

I appreciated the photographs that were included in the book.

I think most, if not all, of the questions regarding Tipton were answered by Ms. Middlebrook.

In some ways Billy's life is sad. Sad that our culture and society was such that only men were allowed in most of the major professions. Equally sad that the homosexual community was practically non-existant at that time in the way of really being a community capable of giving support to young women like Billy Tipton.

Rating:
Summary: A self-made man
Review: When jazz entertainer Billy Tipton died in 1989, the news accounts didn't focus on his achievements in life as a musician, but rather that he was biologically a woman. Beginning in the late 1930s, young Dorothy Tipton began a transformation of herself that deceived almost every person who encountered him in later life, including some of his ex-wives and his adopted children. "Suits Me" brilliantly vivifies this extraordinary life, giving the readers the context and the background of what might have led Dorothy to become Billy. Taking her cues from Billy himself, Middlebrook does not portray her subject as a lesbian or a transgendered person or a crossdresser, but rather as a person determined to be a successful jazz musician, but who ultimately walked away when the spotlight became too bright to conceal the charade. "Suits Me" is a masterful biography that educates readers not only about its subject, but also about social constructs of gender, and leaves readers astounded.