Dawn: A Charleston Legend

Synopsis

In 1968, Gordon Langley Hall claimed he was a woman misdiagnosed as male at birth because of a genital defect. To correct this, Gordon underwent one of the first sex reassignment surgeries in the United States. Her subsequent marriage to a black auto mechanic and the mysterious birth of their daughter Natasha sent Charleston, SC society into a fury and cast serious doubts on the truth behind Dawn’s story.

CAST

Ron Davis

Director

Dawn Langley Simmons

Self (archive footage)

Alexia Jasmene

Dawn Langley Simmons (voiceover)

Mildred Simmons

Self

Natasha Simmons

Self

Stephanie Riggio Bulger

Self

John-Paul Simmons

Self (archive footage)

Christine Jorgensen

Self (archive footage)

Pierre Berton

Self (archive footage)

Ron Davis

Director

Dawn Langley Simmons

Self (archive footage)

Alexia Jasmene

Dawn Langley Simmons (voiceover)

Mildred Simmons

Self

Natasha Simmons

Self

Stephanie Riggio Bulger

Self

John-Paul Simmons

Self (archive footage)

Christine Jorgensen

Self (archive footage)

Pierre Berton

Self (archive footage)

film still