http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/arts/the-lady-chablis-of-midnight-in-the-garden-of-good-and-evil-dies-at-59.html 2016-09-08 22:07:10 The Lady Chablis, Sassy Eccentric in ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,’ Dies at 59 Ms. Chablis was a standout character in the book and movie that introduced the world to Savannah, Ga., and the sometimes unconventional people who live there. === The Lady Chablis, the transgender performer featured in the 1994 best seller “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and in the film version, died on Thursday in Savannah, Ga. She was 59 and had been performing until about a month ago. The cause was pneumonia, said Cale Hall, a longtime friend and a co-owner of Club One, where Ms. Chablis performed for three decades. Ms. Chablis was a standout character in the book, in which John Berendt introduced the world to Savannah and the sometimes eccentric people who live there. “She was The Lady Chablis from morning to night,” Mr. Berendt said in an interview on Thursday. “She had a great repartee. She was sassy and she had a way with words. She was creative.” The pair first met when Ms. Chablis, who had just received her biweekly estrogen shots, insinuated herself into Mr. Berendt’s car for a ride home. "She had both hands on her hips and a sassy half-smile on her face as if she had been waiting for me,” he wrote. She would become the book’s most popular character, Mr. Berendt said. She was also his favorite. “It’s not as if she died without knowing,” he added. “She knew. And she also knew she was everybody’s favorite.” After the book came out, Ms. Chablis appeared on Born Benjamin Edward Knox in Quincy, Fla., on March 11, 1957, she took the name Chablis as a teenager. Her mother, inspired by a wine bottle label, had intended the name for a younger sister but had had a miscarriage. Ms. Chablis immediately expressed interest in the name. As she recalled in Mr. Berendt’s book: “I said, ‘Ooooo, Chablis. That’s nice. I like that name.’ And Mama said, ‘Then take it, baby. Just call yourself Chablis from now on.’ So ever since then, I’ve been Chablis.” Survivors include two sisters, Lois Stevens and Cynthia Ponder; and two brothers, Charles Whiteside and John Fairley, Jr. Ms. Chablis performed about once a month and never changed her risqué style. “Like she would say, ‘This is not a Disney production,’ ” Mr. Hall said. Her last performance, he said, was on Aug. 6, to a packed house. .