Shelley Rice

He played one of the big-hearted characters in the HBO series Somebody Somewhere, about a community of friends in Manhattan, Kansas.

His character, Fred Rococo, was a soil scientist and professor, and a trans man with a great sense of humor.

He was also the host of the queer cabaret that was held at the Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, Kansas, under the guise of using the space for choir practice.

In real life, Murray Hill is the persona he created to emcee innumerable drag king, burlesque, and music events, including the first TV drag king competition series called King of Drag.

What was the transition where you decided that that's what you wanted to photograph?

Well, you know, when I was at Boston University in undergrad, the photography department was down in the basement, and I think it was, like, three floors down in the basement.

And I had a professor, Steven Frank, he was a real maverick.

Uh, you know, Boston was very conservative, and then you go into this basement, and you've got this maverick professor, and I can't say what he saw in me other than maybe just curiosity and, you know, a student that wanted to learn and pay attention.