Ray DeForest

Ray DeForest has worked extensively throughout the country and abroad delving into several facets of show business. In a career surpassing four decades, he broke into the musical theatre arena as a performer and choreographer, before extending his talents as a producer. He is best known these days for his inspired and highly popular creation of the drag character "Doris Dear, America's Perfect Housewife," which was originally developed for the cabaret stage but has since been transferred successfully to television. Born on October 6, 1958, in Staten Island, New York, Ray and sister Nancy grew up there the offspring of middle-class working parents Duke and Taffy DeForest. His mother was a former runway and print model in New York, Rome and Paris during the late 1940s/early 1950s. His parents' passion and expertise for cooking, gardening and other lifestyle pursuits rubbed off on Ray and would influence his later professional TV career. Ray first stepped inauspiciously on the theatre s