LGBTQ+ community mourns San Francisco drag legend; 'Rest in power Heklina'
SAN FRANCISCO -- Friends and fans of drag legend Heklina paid tribute to the icon Tuesday by stopping by a makeshift memorial outside the Bank of America at 18th and Castro.
Heklina was found dead in London Monday where she was performing in a touring show, according to reports on social media that were sadly confirmed by friends and the community at large.
London's Metropolitan Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 9:47 a.m. local time Monday to a residence at Soho Square for a report of an unresponsive person, who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a police spokesperson.
The death is being treated as "unexpected" and is under investigation. An autopsy has not yet been completed to determine the cause of death as of Wednesday.
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The nearby Castro Theatre marquee reads "Rest in power Heklina."
Ken Burke and Drew Wenzel live in the neighborhood.
"Heklina was a legend, and we're dedicated fans of the Golden Girls Christmas show," Burke told KPIX. "We booked out the whole front row with his family and my family, when they visited for Christmas last year and we just wanted to see the tribute."
Burke and his husband are also regulars at Oasis nightclub, which Heklina helped open. It's known for its drag shows and performances. On Monday night, dozens gathered to remember her at the venue. There was an empty chair with flowers on stage.
"It's always an incredible show with her," Wenzel said.
"I think she was known for having a sarcastic sense of humor and one of the things she would always rag on younger people about was people who know about drag through drag race on TV," Burke said. "And she would always remind poeple that there's a long tradition of drag as an art form in San Francisco."
In just a few days she was set to star in the musical theater parody Mommie Queerest at the Soho Theater in London.
At Manny's in the Mission, Drag King Alex U. Inn called Heklina an "OG" and spoke about the doors she opened, as she choked back tears.
"Gave me a lot of my chances. I have a club called Kingdom and she and D'Arcy supported the club for us and gave us some nights, and gave us space and as you know, drag kings aren't the most popular in a sense right, it's always about our queens," Inn said. "There was a time when kings couldn't even get on the queens' stages and especially kings of color."
The cause of Heklina's death is not known.
The impact of her work is undeniably felt in San Francisco and beyond.
"Just an incredible edgy form of art, that was as provocative as it was beautiful," Wenzel said.
"Hilarious... she was always so funny, a comedian as much as an artist as well," they both added.
