Charles Ludlam (1943-1987), the son of Joseph William and Marjorie Braun Ludlam, was born April 12, 1943 in Floral Park, Long Island. He graduated from Hofstra University in 1965 and then moved to New York City to begin his acting career. Ludlam made his first New York stage appearance in 1966 at the Play-House of the Ridiculous, a group formed by playwright Ronald Tavel and director John Vaccaro. In 1967, Ludlam founded his own theatrical group, the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, and began to write his own plays. According to the Cambridge guide to theatre, "the Ridiculous Theatrical Company was one of the first American theaters to deal explicitly with homosexual themes. Known for their flamboyant style, high camp, and combinations of the lofty and the lowly, plays at the Ridiculous are often based on classical dramatic and operatic texts, which are then both spoofed and celebrated with cross-dressing, scatological humor, visual gags, and puns." "Since Ludlam's death from AIDS in 1987, the Ridiculous has continued under the directorship of his life-partner Everett Quinton, a long time actor and designer with the theatre."
Source:
Banham, Martin. Cambridge Guide to Theatre . Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1995.
From the guide to the Charles Ludlam and the Ridiculous Theatrical Company interview tape collection [sound recording] / David Kaufman, (The New York Public Library. Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.)
