a "drag" of a reference.

[michael c]

last night i watched the andy warhol film "women in revolt" starring the holy trinity of his drag 'superstars' jackie curtis,holly woodlawn and candy darling.

the plot as usual with warhol films is ridiculous.it's 'about' these three 'ladies' and their forays into the early seventies "women's lib movement" and as usual for warhol films it was largely ad-libbed but for a few scetchy outlines provided for the actors.

it's a real scream.but anyways there is a scene where candy goes on an audition('she' wants to be movie star)and 'she' recites some dialogue from "scarlet street" starring joan bennett.then,in an even funnier ad-libbed moment,the person interviewing her asks her if she has an agent and candy keeps repeating that joan bennett is her agent!

the scene,and the movie,had me howling.watch it!

[Gothick]

Funny you mention this--at lunch a few weeks ago, one of my buddies shared that he had just viewed the Jackie Curtis documentary, Superstar in a House Dress (I think that's the title) and how *good* he found Curtis to be as a performer.  I asked if any clips from Women in revolt had been included, since I saw a scene from it at a Guggenheim show about Warhol and his circle--I was there (in another DS connection) because they were screening Grayson Hall's French film, Qui etes-vous, Polly Maggoo?  (now out on DVD, of course, in the William Klein box).

I had no idea that Candy referenced our beloved Mistress of Collinwood in that scene.  Priceless!

A late friend of mine loved the moment when somebody says to whoever was playing Candy Darling, "I'm kidding, Candy!" in the film, Who Shot Andy Warhol.  I think it was Stephen Dorff.  Whatever happened to him?

Candy came across in Who shot... as a rather earnest, innocent individual completely bedazzled by the world of media stardom.

cheers, G.

[Julia99]

Recently someone who knew Grayson said something to me about being "pronoun" challenged when referring to Candy.  The friend was lamenting what to use and Grayson drolly said .."Candy, simply refer to Candy. . ."  Candy was a bit inlove with Grayson for a while  or so the story goes.

[Gothick]

Julia darling, you know I *LIVE* for these tales!  Thanks so much for sharing!

I'm just thinking of Grayson at a party introducing Candy and saying "She's Candy Darling ... darling!" and grinning ear to ear. 

xo Steve

[michael c]

gothick,

i spent the rest of the day searching every bookstore in new york for the book/dvd combo on jackie curtis you speak of to no avail.i might have to special order it.

from the numerous accounts i've read on warhol's transvestite trio candy darling was the one who most wanted to "pass"('she' went so far as to carry tampons in 'her' purse)as a real woman.

curtis and woodlawn could not have been so delusional.their personal style was groundbreaking,evolving from glam to punk,continuing to inspire fashion designers,artists and drag queens to this day...

but they could not possibly have though that they "passed".

[Gothick]

MSC, the gay bookstore in Boston (Calamus Books) had the Superstar in a Housedress book/DVD on sale about a week ago when I was last in there.  Did you try the Strand?  (You can look on their website, apparently, to find out if a particular title is actually in the store.)  I don't know whether the Oscar Wilde Bookstore on Christopher Street is still open--if so, I would think they would definitely carry it.

One of the funniest (unintentionally so) Holly Woodlawn moments, as far as I am concerned at least, is in the documentary about Quentin Crisp, Resident Alien, where Felicity Mason, a very dowageresque English lady who comes across as a female drag queen, burbles about Miss Woodlawn--"Holly is such a dear, sweet girl!  such talent!  and you know, she has the most marvelous skin!"  Juxtaposed with scenes from Woodlawn's ca. 1988 cabaret act, these comments come across as a total hoot!

I'm still convinced that Erica Fitz, who played "Leona Eltridge" in two episodes of the 1968 storyline, was one of the female impersonators glimpsed in the infamous 1967 documentary The Queen (another unforgettable relic of the Sixties).

G.

[michael c]

thanks.i plan to hit the strand tommorrow.

one more thing about this.during the director's commentary paul morrisey claims that candy favored joan bennett and kim novak above all others and tried to affect their mannerisms.

given that,and that julia99 knows candy was a great fan of grayson hall's,i know she must have been a big d.s. watcher as well.

i believe it's been discussed here before that d.s. went over big with the "factory" crowd.

[Uncle Roger]

Jackie Curtis was a big Joan Bennett fan.  I still remember Jackie having an extended discussion with Joe Franklin about Woman in the Window.  And one of  the costars of Women in Revolt was Martin Kove, later of John Karlen's costars on Cagney and Lacey.

[Gothick]

In this delightful Youtube clip from '74, Jackie Curtis appears to be wearing one of PT Angelique's peignoirs as she performs "I enjoy being a girl":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UuD-M3p3zU

Lots of other Jackie clips on the Tube--take a look!

G.