There isn’t an underground anymore, but back then you had to find out about Divine through the grapevine. In his heyday, he was a midnight movie star. I have loved these movies for years, but I had no idea Divine was such a big star during his life. We talked with director and producer Jeffrey Schwartz about Divine, John Waters, and how drag queens become movie stars. I Am Divine has its New York City premier tonight at Cinema Village. Before his unexpected death from heart failure that same year, the “drag queen who ate dog shit” had become a household name. Live at CBGBs, onstage with the San Francisco performance troupe the Cockettes, and in other John Waters movies, Divine was all id with five-inch eyebrows and matted platinum wigs.īut in 1988, after a tender performance in the movie Hairspray, Divine captured the attention of mainstream America (Larry King, even!). With a voice both growling and shrill, the nasty and hilarious drag persona of a gentle, 300-pound man named Glenn Milstead was equal parts evil clown and femme fatale. Here’s the typical path from underground hero to mainstream celebrity: Gain cult following of people who are edgier and wilder than most (see: gay crowds, college kids, artists) sweat in small theaters and films for years get the attention of a powerful tastemaker take the edge way off your persona and appear publicly as a watered down version of your earlier self, bringing slight thrills without actually pushing any boundaries.Īnd while you could say this is what happened to 1970s and ’80s drag star Divine - who went from eating dog poo in the John Waters film Pink Flamingoes to playing a Baltimore housewife who’s only compulsion is ironing - the real story, told in the new documentary I Am Divine, is anything but typical.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |