Heklina

Stefan Grygelko (June 17, 1967 – April 3, 2023), better known by the stage name Heklina, was an American actor, drag queen, and entrepreneur in San Francisco. Grygelko's mother was Icelandic, and having been born in the U.S., he lived in Iceland in the 1980s;^[1] he named his drag character after the Icelandic volcano Hekla.^[2] Heklina founded the drag club Trannyshack in 1996.^[3]

Heklina
Heklina in 2012
Born	Stefan Grygelko (1967-06-17)June 17, 1967 Hennepin, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	April 3, 2023(2023-04-03) (aged 55) London, England
Nationality	American
Occupations	Actor drag queen

I think that drag queens are still the eunuch clown that's safe to laugh at. It's definitively not shocking anymore. So I don't know if America's really embraced it. The early 90s was when RuPaul [was becoming famous] and it was the first time any drag queen had mainstream exposure. I don't really see a drag queen breaking out like that [again].

— Heklina on Feast of Fools in 2006^[4]

Career

Mother (formerly Trannyshack)

It has several meanings; the new "Mothership" of drag in SF, something warm and comforting, nurturing even. And it also ties into the "drag mother" thing. This will be a place for all drag mothers to bring their children, to hone their craft.

— Heklina in SFist article ^[3]

Heklina co-founded Trannyshack, and hosted the show from its inception in 1996 at the Stud bar and continued to host the special events throughout San Francisco and in other – mainly California – cities.^[5] Trannyshack is the longest running drag event series in San Francisco.^{[citation needed]} On January 17, 2015 at The Oasis, Trannyshack was rebranded as Mother, evolving from a monthly to a weekly event series.

Heklina also co-produced and co-hosted the Miss Trannyshack Pageant, widely considered the premier annual drag event in San Francisco, that has sold out every year since inception.^[6][7][8]

Theater and community activities

Heklina also acted in local theater productions, most notably the S.F. Golden Girls productions (as Dorothy Zbornak) and emceed a variety of community and charitable events including the Folsom Street Fair (along with Sister Roma) and San Francisco Pride.^[9] She was voted Community Grand Marshal of the 2004 San Francisco GLBTQ Pride Parade,^[10] and won the 2009 Pride Creativity Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the LGBT Community. She was sainted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.^[11] Heklina co-starred in a series of short films, the "Tran-ilogy of Terror", drag queen horror spoofs written and directed by long-time collaborator Peaches Christ,^[12] and also starred in the film "Baby Jane?".

The Oasis

The Oasis, a theater and cabaret nightclub located in San Francisco's SoMa district,^[13] hosted a grand opening event on New Year's Eve day 2014. Heklina and three business partners, D'Arcy Drollinger, Geoff Benjamin, and Jason Beebout, signed a deal to purchase the former Oasis nightclub in October 2014. The nightclub's diverse programming features drag stars, cabaret and performing artists, live musical acts, and DJs.

Mommie Queerest

In 2022, Heklina appeared alongside Peaches Christ in Mommie Queerest, a drag parody of Mommie Dearest, in Palm Springs and Seattle.^[14] In April 2023, Heklina and Peaches were set to perform the show in London and Manchester.^[15]

Death

On April 3, 2023, Grygelko was found dead by co-star Peaches Christ in London. He was 55.^[16][17][18] No foul play was suspected in the death.^[19]

Filmography

• "Baby Jane?" (2010)
• Drag: Not Just Men in Heels (2007) ^[20]
• The House of Venus Show (2006)
• Filthy Gorgeous: The Trannyshack Story (2005)
• Spin the Bottle (2005)
• Blood, Sweat and Glitter (2004)
• Whatever Happened to Peaches Christ? (2004)
• A Nightmare on Castro Street (2002)
• Season of the Troll (2001)
• Helot Revolt: The World's Greatest F*gg*t Heavy Metal Band or they were out of Bette Davis so I got this (1993) ^[21]

Television

• The Cho Show, with Margaret Cho
• Trauma, 2009
• The Daily Show
• Playing It Straight, 2004
• The Ricki Lake Show
• Jerry Springer
• Judge Steve Harvey
• Drag Me to Dinner, 2023

References

1. "Coco Thoughts While In Solitude #50 with Heklina". YouTube. 22 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
2. Swan, Rachel, "Kiss That Stud Goodbye", East Bay Express, August 13, 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
3. Barmann, Jay (16 December 2014). . SFist. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015.
4. "FOF #419 – Tricks, Treats and Trannies – 10.31.06", Feast of Fools, October 31, 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
5. Del Mar, Pollo, "Reigning Miss Trannyshack Reflects on Legendary Club", San Francisco Bay Times, August 14, 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
6. Buck, Jenn, "Queens vie for the Trannyshack crown: Miss Trannyshack Pageant 2005 is set for this Saturday night", Bay Area Reporter, 17 November 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
7. "The MISS TRANNYSHACK PAGEANT 2006" announcement, 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
8. Eccentric California: The Bradt Travel Guide (2005) ; Jan Friedman, ISBN 1-84162-126-9, ISBN 978-1-84162-126-5.
9. Vaziri, Aidin, "On the Town with Heklina: All the city's a stage for this drag queen", SFGate (part of San Francisco Chronicle), October 22, 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
10. San Francisco Pride 2003 Event List 2009-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, from the SFPride website. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
11. Sister Dana Van Iquity, "Saints Alive! Heklina and Peaches Christ Join Mother Teresa" (interview), San Francisco Bay Times, July 26, 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
12. Sister Dana Van Iquity, "Peaches Christ Puts Out Fierce DVD" 2006-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, San Francisco Bay Times, July 13, 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
13. . SF Oasis. Archived from the original on 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
14. Thomas, Kevin M. (28 March 2022). "Peaches Christ and Heklina's Mommie Queerest hits the road". Queer Forty. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
15. "Mommie Queerest, Soho Theatre: Wild drag parody of the dreadful 1981 film Mommie Dearest". Time Out London. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
16. "SF drag legend Heklina reportedly has passed away". 48hills. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
17. . SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports. 2023-04-03. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
18. @sohotheatre (April 3, 2023). "Soho Theatre, @HOME_mcr and Tim Whitehead are in shock and incredibly saddened with news of Heklina's passing. Our thoughts are with Peaches, Mommie Queerest company, Heklina's family, friends + their wider community. Together with HOME we'll be in contact with audiences tomorrow" (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-04-03 – via Twitter.
19. Laird, Cynthia (April 11, 2023). "Heklina to be inducted on LGBTQ Wall of Honor". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
20. "Drag: Not Just Men in Heels (2007) - IMDb". IMDb.
21. "Helot Revolt rockumentary (1993)". YouTube.

External links

• Heklina's Official Facebook Page
• Heklina's YouTube video channel
• videos of Heklina's performances and Filthy Gorgeous, The Trannyshack Story