Frederick Kovert (sometimes written Ko Vert or KoVert) was an American female impersonator. Kovert appeared in drag in a number of comic roles in silent films of the 1920s. His first film role was in the 1920 film An Adventuress, alongside Julian Eltinge, then the best-known female impersonator in the entertainment world. Kovert appeared in the 1925 The Wizard of Oz, a silent film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and also designed the film's costumes.[1]
Following the end of his career in film, Kovert became a physique photographer, operating under the name Kovert of Hollywood. Bob Mizer, who would go on to pioneer the physique magazine format with his Physique Pictorial, apprenticed under Kovert in the 1940s.[2] Kovert's nude photography business made him a target for the Los Angeles Police Department vice squad, and in 1945 his studio was raided and he pled guilty to possession of obscene materials.[2]
Kovert died in 1949 by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[1]
Filmography
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| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | An Adventuress | Lyn Brook (as Fred Covert) | |
| 1921 | The Queen of Sheba | Peacock | |
| 1921 | I Am Guilty | The Dancer (as Frederic De Kovert) | |
| 1924 | The Reel Virginian | Mlle. Sans Souci - the Detective (as Fred Kovert) | short |
| 1925 | The Wizard of Oz | Phantom of the Basket (as Frederic Ko Vert) | Kovert also served as costume designer. |
| 1925 | Chasing the Chaser | The Detective | |
| 1925 | Starvation Blues | Dancer (as Frederick Kovert) | short |
| 1927 | The First Night | Mimi/Jack White | |
| 1931 | The College Vamp | Female Impersonator | uncredited |
References
edit- ^ a b Massa, Steve (2017). Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy.
- ^ a b Johnson, David K. (2019). Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-18911-8.
External links
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