Just two shorts months ago I posted about the dear Holly Woodlawn, who was in failing health. Well her bright light went out yesterday. Holly Woodlawn, who was a transgender actress rose to fame in the early 1970s through her work with Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey, died on Sunday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer. She was 69. Born Haroldo Danhakl in Puerto Rico, Woodlawn grew up in Miami before running away from home at 15 to hitchhike to New York City. Her story famously inspired the first verse of Lou Reed's 1972 "Walk on the Wild Side" After spending years in poverty in New York, Woodlawn met Andy Warhol, the man who would make her one of his "superstars," in 1968. By 1970, she starred in Paul Morrissey's Warhol-supported Trash, giving a performance thrilling enough to inspire George Cukor to launch a write-in Oscar campaign on her behalf, though neither an award nor a nomination materialized. But what another great pioneer for the transgendered.
“The boys at the baths loved me. Of course, they were all drunk and high and would've loved a French poodle barking out "Jingle Bells"!”
"I was like a low life in high heels."
“I would see these films starring Maria Felix, Lola Flores she was my very favorite. My uncle was the one that opened my eyes to glamour.”
“ Make a statement.....lots of chiffon and a fan,”
Born Haroldo Danhakl in Puerto Rico in 1946 and raised in Miami Beach, she was bullied relentlessly as a teenager. By 1962, she decided she'd had enough, and hitchhiked to New York City. Holly came from Miami, the late rocker sings in the 1972 classic. "Hitchhiked her way across the U.S.A. Plucked her eyebrows on the way. Shaved her legs and then he was a she. She says, 'Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side." You may know whom I'm speaking. She is a transgender icon five decades ahead of her time. Now Holly Woodlawn, among the most gifted and irrepressible of Andy Warhol's stable of "superstars," is fighting for her life at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Doctors there have found lesions on her liver and brain, but have not yet determined the cause. Sadly, Woodlawn is too weak to undergo the biopsy that could offer a diagnosis.
Woodlawn chose Holly as a first name because she adored Holly Golightly, the mischievous society girl played by Audrey Hepburn in 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her surname came years later, at the request of Warhol, who was determined to put her in his next film. They were watching an episode of I Love Lucy, and behind her was a sign on the No. 4 train, 'Woodlawn,' and Andy Warhol said: That's it. Holly Woodlawn was it!
Warhol cast the passionate brunette as the tortured love interest to Joe Dallesandro's heroin-addict character in 1970's Trash, directed by Paul Morrissey. Her improvised performance so impressed George Cukor, the directing giant behind films such as The Philadelphia Story and My Fair Lady, that he mounted a write-in campaign to land her an Academy Award nomination. It never materialized.
Woodlawn and Penny Arcade first met on the streets of Manhattan in 1968. They later became members of the Play-House of the Ridiculous — the "original queer, glitter-glam, political, rock-and-roll theater of the '60s." Warhol regularly enlisted the pair for things like "Rent a Superstar," in which they were paid to mingle with guests and add a pop of downtown fabulousness to society parties. They later appeared in 1971's Women in Revolt, another Warhol-Morrissey film collaboration.
My favorite quotes from her autobiography? “The boys at the baths loved me. Of course, they were all drunk and high and would've loved a French poodle barking out "Jingle Bells"!”
Woodlawn always identified as transgender — something that should be celebrated..... as "people like Holly", who are the true pioneers, have been out and visible for almost 50 years, before all the hub bub currently. Though Woodlawn's career sputtered in the 1970s — it saw a resurgence with the rise of queer and indie cinema in the 1990s, during which she popped up in films such as Twin Falls Idaho and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss. Woodlawn headlined her own cabaret act as recently as 2013.
A crowdfunding effort, mounted by longtime friend and collaborator Penny Arcade, has raised more than $37,000 in just four days – funds meant to grant Woodlawn's wish to spend her final days in her West Hollywood home. Donations would cover nursing care, and, should it come to that, funeral and burial expenses. Holly comes from a long line of people that don't have too many left standing..... Holly Woodlawn is fierce, and well wishes are sent to her.
I can remember the first time I did drag. Talk about scared, But I always had big balls and went out and did it!!!
I had the best time, and then ended up doing drag for shows, but mostly became the Social "It" queen at the clubs, and parties to keep the crowd happy and entertained or the lure. The Amanda Lepore if you will, and continued for the next 10 years!!!! What captured me was the transformation, and still does amaze me. I was also enthralled by the crowd loving the Mistress Borghese, as well... it also gave me another outlet to express myself, and helped bring my boy personality to the surface....which the Mistress Borghese was a terrible influence!!! When I get asked questions, I think this video really answers a lot of questions I would get asked. So..... How do fabulous queens become the creatures they were meant to be? Find out here in these outtakes from the 2013 documentary I AM DIVINE. Very candid.Featuring Jackie Beat, Bebe Zahara Banet, John Cantwell, John Epperson aka Lypsinka, Joshua Grannell aka Peaches Christ, the fabulous Heklina, Brian Entler aka Lady Bear, Mark Payne, and the legendary Holly Woodlawn.
If you have any questions you'd liked answered feel free to leave a comment. I'm an open book!
It's always interesting to look at drag books and do research on the mover and shakers of the earlier drag queens. And a name that always comes to mind is the eccentric Holly Woodlawn. What a campy person she is and one of the first to be filmed in movies.Woodlawn adopted the name Holly as an homage to the heroine of Breakfast at Tiffany's and in 1969 added the surname from a sign she saw on an episode of I Love Lucy. After changing her name she began to tell people she was the Heiress to the Woodlawn Cemetery. Woodlawn grew up in Miami Beach and in 1962 left, heading north. She recollects that "I hocked some jewellery and ... made it all the way to Georgia, where the money ran out and ... had to hitchhike the rest of the way" to New York.
She met Andy Warhol in the Factory at a screening of Flesh. Through him she met Jackie Curtis, who cast Woodlawn in her play Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit in the autumn of 1969. In October she was assigned a bit role in Trash, but so impressed director Paul Morrissey that she was given a larger role. In 1970 she received word from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that George Cukor, supported by others, was petitioning the Academy to nominate her for Trash - however, nothing came of this campaign. In May 1971, Woodlawn replaced Candy Darling at the La Mama Theatre, New York in a production of Vain Victory written and directed by Jackie Curtis. She was arrested and briefly incarcerated in Puerto Rico after being caught shoplifting. Holly created a stir when she was arrested in New York City after impersonating the wife of the French Ambassador to the United Nations. When arrested, she was taken to the Women's House of Detention then transferred to a men's facility when her biological sex was discovered.
By 1976 the work had dried up, and Woodlawn moved to San Francisco. She returned to New York later in the year and had a brief revival after appearing on Geraldo Rivera's talk show, before being jailed again in 1977 for not fulfilling a previous probation obligation. She was released on the appeal of politician Ethan Geto, who helped organize a benefit for her. By 1979, she had surrendered to a drag cabaret faltering career, and ended up cutting her hair and moving back to her parents' home in Miami, getting a busboy job at Benihana of Tokyo. Woodlawn continued to make cameo appearances in plays and films such as Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After Warhol's death, she was a frequently requested commentator on his life and influence. She currently resides in West Hollywood. But now Holly Woodlawn is back, and began performing in cabaret shows in sold-out Los Angeles performances in the early 2000s. She continues to travel with her cabaret show, most recently appearing in Kraków and London in 2010.
And here she was in a pretty interesting interview from the 70's, being ask about circumcision, gays in the armed forces, and group sex!!!
Drag History continues with the Mistress and three queens who in my opinion, really changed the face of "the art of drag" and broke new ground and found themselves in the mainstream. All of them found success and the general public found them surprisingly entertaining.
Sylvester, was a disco and soul singer, and a gay drag performer. He is considered to be one of the first Hi-NRG artists. Sylvester was sometimes known as the "Queen of Disco," although this title has also been bestowed on some of the other ladies of the disco era. Sylvester was the first considered drag performer to be signed to a record label and the first to find success in the main stream with the recording and entertainment field. Sylvester died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco on December 16, 1988. He was 41 years old. His good friend Jeanie Tracy took care of Sylvester during his last days. On September 20, 2004 Sylvester's anthem record, "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. A year later, on September 19, 2005, Sylvester himself was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his achievement as an artist.
Holly Woodlawn was a drag queen, then a transsexual and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash and Women in Revolt. Her life was summarized by Lou Reed in his song "Walk on the Wild Side". Holly was one of the first to be seen on the big screen as a real life drag queen. She met Andy Warhol in the Factory at a screening of Flesh. Through him she met Jackie Curtis, who cast Woodlawn in her play Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit in the autumn of 1969. In October she was assigned a bit role in Trash, but so impressed director Paul Morrissey that she was given a larger role. In 1970 she received word from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that George Cukor, supported by others, was petitioning the Academy to nominate her for Trash - however, nothing came of this campaign. Holly continued to make cameo appearances in plays and films such as Billy'sHollywood Screen Kiss throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After Warhol's death, she was a frequently requested commentator on his life and influence. She currently resides in West Hollywood. Woodlawn began performing in cabaret shows in sold-out New York and Los Angeles performances in the early 2000s. She continues to travel with her cabaret show, most recently appearing in Krakow and London in 2008.
Best known as simply Ru Paul, who is a actor, drag queen, model, and singer-songwriter, who first gained fame in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previous to this he was a fixture on the Atlanta and New York City club scenes. Ru Paul really re-invented the image of drag and took it to a new level,slapping everyone in the face with it...and was accepted. Ru could be seen everywhere and was getting a good reception and was really getting drag noticed with number one hits, a well known talk show, and now a reality show. She was in my opinion to be the first queen who was really accepted and could show, so what, I'm a drag queen and you are enjoying me. Some of my straight friends were even like she's cool. Ru Paul went on to release many albums and has worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment. Here is one of my favorite Ru Paul ditties, with the great Elton John.
