Felipe Rose

Felipe Rose

Born: January 12, 1954
in New York City, New York, USA
Felipe Rose (born 12 January 1954) is an American musician who was an original member of the disco group the Village People. While in the group, he performed as a Native American character - usually wearing a costume consisting of an imitation war bonnet, loincloth and theatrical face paint. Rose was a member of the group from 1977 until 2017, when the name of the group was turned over to original lead singer Victor Willis. Rose subsequently launched a solo career and released the single "Going Back to My Roots" in 2018.

Felipe Ortiz Rose was born in Manhattan to a Puerto Rican mother. He currently claims Lakota/Taino descent, but at other times has said he is Apache. He was raised in Brooklyn, where he displayed an interest in the arts during his childhood. His mother was his main inspiration as she herself had been a dancer for the Copacabana during the 1940s and 1950s.

Rose began as a nightclub dancer. He describes being encouraged by an aunt to begin dancing "in his father's tribal regalia", which he says led to his costume in the Village People. Rose was working as a dancer and a bartender in the gay New York discotheque The Anvil, dressed "as an [American] Indian" when he was discovered by French producer Jacques Morali and executive producer Henri Belolo and so became the first recruit for Village People.

In 1977, Village People had their first hit with "San Francisco", although this song became a hit only in the United Kingdom. Then in 1978 they had their first hits in the U.S. with "Macho Man" followed by "YMCA".

He is a member of the band's board of directors, called Sixuvus Ltd ("six of us" - named for the six members of the Village People).

In 2000, Rose began to work on his solo career. His single "Trails of Tears" won a NAMMY (Native American Music Awards) for Best Historical Recording. In 2002, Rose was the opening act of the fifth Annual Native American Music Awards celebrated at the Marcus Amphitheatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His media company is the "Tomahawk Group".

Rose has appeared in the movies Can't Stop the Music (1980), The Best of Village People (1993), and Feathers and Leathers: The Story of the Village People (1999). He also participated in the 2000 documentary, Village People: The E! True Hollywood Story.

For a time Rose lived in Richmond, Virginia, and briefly in Jersey City, New Jersey, though he found it to be too crowded. In a 2008 interview, he stated that approximately four or five years prior, he moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey on the advice of several friends who lived there, saying, "So I came down and I just fell in love with the shore... I love the diversity of Asbury because it brings everyone together. There is a very large gay and lesbian community here, but the diversity of artists is amazing; it’s become very bohemian."

Source: Article "Felipe Rose" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Felipe Rose...

The War on Disco
Title: The War on Disco
Character: Self
Released: October 30, 2023
Type: Movie
The War on Disco explores the culture war that erupted over the spectacular rise of disco music. Originating in underground Black and gay clubs, disco had unseated rock as America’s most popular music by the late 1970s. But many diehard rock fans viewed disco, with its repetitive beat and culture that emphasized pleasure, as shallow and superficial. A story that’s about much more than music, The War on Disco explores how the powerful anti-disco backlash revealed a cultural divide that to some seemed to be driven by racism and homophobia. The hostility came to a head on July 12, 1979, when a riot broke out at “Disco Demolition Night” during a baseball game in Chicago.
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Studio One Forever
Title: Studio One Forever
Released: July 18, 2023
Type: Movie
A documentary film about Studio One which, from 1974 to 1994, was the center of queer nightlife in West Hollywood as well as the staging ground for the rise of the LGBTQ rights movement and fight against the AIDS crisis.
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Sheila, toutes ces vies-là
Title: Sheila, toutes ces vies-là
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 24, 2022
Type: Movie
The portrait of a woman who remembers. Sheila tells the story of Sheila, without concessions or evasions. Her childhood, her parents, her beginnings, the rumors, her love affairs, her marriage, her son, her successes, her farewells, her return, her mourning. The journey of an extraordinary popular icon who never stopped fighting. The courage of an artist who never gives up. "Sheila, toutes ces vies-là" is also a journey through time. 60 years of pop music, punctuated by numerous archives, personal films, timeless hits and illustrations by Marc-Antoine Coulon. But also 60 years of fashion, through a legendary wardrobe (her TV show outfits) that Sheila invites us to rediscover.
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Down Periscope
Title: Down Periscope
Character: Village People Indian (uncredited)
Released: March 1, 1996
Type: Movie
Maverick Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge will never be a textbook officer, but he's a brilliant seaman who's always wanted to command a nuclear submarine — he's been given one last chance to clean up his record. Unfortunately, Admiral Graham, his nemesis, would rather sink the fleet than give Dodge his own boat. So, Graham stacks the deck against him and assigns Dodge to the Stingray, a diesel-powered WW2 submarine that can barely keep afloat. To make matters worse, Dodge's crew is a collection of maladjusted, mistake-prone misfits. Then, he's tagged the "enemy" in a crucial war game, and ordered to take on the U.S. Navy's best.
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Title: Married... with Children
Character: Indian - The Village People
Released: April 5, 1987
Type: TV
Al Bundy is an unsuccessful middle aged shoe salesman with a miserable life and an equally dysfunctional family. He hates his job, his wife is lazy, his son is dysfunctional (especially with women), and his daughter is dim-witted and promiscuous.
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Can't Stop the Music
Title: Can't Stop the Music
Character: Village People: Indian
Released: June 20, 1980
Type: Movie
A loose biography of seminal disco hit-makers The Village People and their composer Jacques Morali.
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The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's
Title: The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's
Character: Self - Village People
Released: January 4, 1980
Type: Movie
A look back at the people, events, music, and trends of the 1970s.
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Title: The Love Boat
Character: Felipe Rose - Indian from The Village People
Released: September 24, 1977
Type: TV
Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.
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Title: Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Character: Self - Village People
Released: January 12, 1975
Type: TV
A talk show presented by Michel Drucker