Nashom Wooden
Born(1969-10-09)October 9, 1969[1]
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 23, 2020(2020-03-23) (aged 50)
New York City, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMona Foot
OccupationPerforming artist

Nashom Benjamin Wooden (October 9, 1969 – March 23, 2020) was an American performing artist. Wooden was a member of the electronic dance music band The Ones and performed as a drag queen under the stage name Mona Foot.

Biography

Wooden was born in October 1969 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and entered the New York nightlife scene as a Club Kid in the mid-1980s.[2] By 1989, he worked in Manhattan running the men's clothing department at Patricia Field's boutique while developing the drag queen persona Mona Foot with his friend and former roommate Lady Bunny.[3][4] Wooden credits RuPaul as an early mentor; RuPaul taught Wooden how to apply makeup, and both appeared in an off-Broadway play titled My Pet Homo.[2] As Mona Foot, Wooden hosted the weekly drag competition "Mona Foot's Star Search" at the New York gay bar Barracuda, cited by The New York Times as a likely inspiration for the television series RuPaul's Drag Race.[3]

In 1997, Wooden began to work as a bartender and DJ at The Cock, a gay bar.[2][5] In 1999, he appeared in drag in the comedy-drama film Flawless. Along with JoJo Americo and Paul Alexander as the music group The Ones, Wooden co-wrote and performed the 2001 song "Flawless", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, #7 in the United Kingdom, and #2 in Belgium.[3][6] Later in his life, Wooden began to perform less frequently as Mona Foot, stating that "it just kind of fizzled out. I stopped taking gigs."[2] Wooden gave his final performance as Mona Foot in 2018, where he revived the character for that year's Wigstock to perform as Wonder Woman.[7]

Wooden was HIV-positive, though he had an undetectable viral load.[3] On March 23, 2020, Wooden died at the age of 50 as a result of complications from a suspected case of COVID-19 in New York, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.[3][5] He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Remembering Nashom Benjamin Wooden October 9, 1969 – March 23, 2020
  2. ^ a b c d Musto, Michael (August 31, 2017). "Ex-Drag Queen Nashom Wooden, aka Mona Foot, on Hanging Up the Heels". Paper. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bernstein, Jacob (March 24, 2020). "Nashom Wooden, Downtown Denizen, Is Dead at 50". New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Frey, Kaitlyn (March 25, 2020). "Nashom Wooden, Known by N.Y.C. Nightlife Scene as Drag Queen Mona Foot, Dies from Coronavirus". People. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Lim, Clarissa-Jan (March 26, 2020). "Friends Are Mourning Nashom Wooden, A Former Drag Queen Superstar, Whom They Say Died Of The Coronavirus". BuzzFeed. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Brandle, Lars (March 25, 2020). "Nashom Wooden's The Ones Bandmates Remember 'Superstar' Performer". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Daw, Stephen (March 23, 2020). "Drag Community Mourns the Death of Nashom Wooden After Reported Coronavirus Diagnosis". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

External links

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