Hi Joe,
Can't access TCM boards anymore - no login working......
I've never seen a Divine movie but have certainly seen many pictures of 'her'.......
I sympathize with the backstory but everytime I see a picture of Divine I have to think of my late sister-in-law, Sherryll, my horrible brother's equally detestible 6th wife. She looked like Divine without even trying.
Everyone in our family had only one thing we agreed on and that was Sherryll; we hated her; she was a controll freak and loud and vulgar.
Even that spelling of her name, Cheryl, was phoney.
My mother and I first met her at a lunch when my brother announced he was getting married again in 2000. When they appeared in the doorway, I said there was an 'over-the-hill hooker' coming into the restaurant and then we realized this was her.
My mother said, "Oh Christ, she looks like Divine!!" and I said, "What do you mean she's divine; she's horrible"... And Mama hissed, "No stupid, I mean she looks like that dreadful drag queen, Divine!!".......
Sherryll died 2 months ago and only my brother and her two sons went to the funeral. The rest of us sighed in relief.
We now await what #7 will look like!!!!
Larry
Divine - "In the Spotkight"
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Oh, Larry. Why aren't you writing all this down in book/screenplay form? It's so funny, it's making me resort to icons:
By the way, I thought Divine was truly divine in "Polyester." That wasn't drag show performance art, it was an actual, valid performance as an unhappy middle-class housewife. "Polyester" is my favorite John Waters film.
By the way, I thought Divine was truly divine in "Polyester." That wasn't drag show performance art, it was an actual, valid performance as an unhappy middle-class housewife. "Polyester" is my favorite John Waters film.
I've seen Divine in "Hairspray" with Rickie Lakes and "Lust in the Dust" and she was very funny. A good actress (actor?) Anyway, very vividly portrayed.
Can't decide if I want to go see the new Hairspray with John Travolta in the Divine role. Just won't be the same, I think.
Tracey
Can't decide if I want to go see the new Hairspray with John Travolta in the Divine role. Just won't be the same, I think.
Tracey
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. "~~Wilde
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I worship Divine, who was a Baltimore native, and who represents all that is great and good about this town. I'm not sure I could stand seeing Travolta in the role.traceyk wrote:Can't decide if I want to go see the new Hairspray with John Travolta in the Divine role. Just won't be the same, I think.
Tracey
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I saw the preview for the new Hairspray last night while my dad and I were watching the AFI Special.
Having seen the original film with Divine, after viewing the latest trailer, I think I can truthfully say: John Travolta can't fill Divine's shoes.
Divine was one of kind and one of the reasons that the original Hairspray is so good.
Having seen the original film with Divine, after viewing the latest trailer, I think I can truthfully say: John Travolta can't fill Divine's shoes.
Divine was one of kind and one of the reasons that the original Hairspray is so good.
Lynn in Lake Balboa
"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."
"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese
Avatar-Warner Bros Water Tower
"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."
"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese
Avatar-Warner Bros Water Tower
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jdb1
Lynn,Lzcutter wrote:I saw the preview for the new Hairspray last night while my dad and I were watching the AFI Special.
Having seen the original film with Divine, after viewing the latest trailer, I think I can truthfully say: John Travolta can't fill Divine's shoes.
Divine was one of kind and one of the reasons that the original Hairspray is so good.
I saw the Bway show with the original cast, which included Harvey Fierstein as Edna. He was terrific. I don't know why he wasn't cast in the film (well, I can guess, but I think it was a mistake on the filmmakers' part).
As a matter of fact, for all the peppy, excellently staged rock n roll and gospel songs, the number that stopped the show was a Fred & Ginger-like routine performed by the parents (Fierstein and Dick Latessa), called "You're Timeless." Fan-freakin'-tastic. Both Fierstein and Latessa won very well-deserved Tonys for their performances.
Was that left in the movie (I hope so) and how did you like it?
In the Spotlight: Divine
This profile is in connection with TCMs Screened Out - Gay Images in Film.
The actor known as Divine was born Harris Glenn Milstead on October 19, 1945 in Towson, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore to father Harris Bernard and mother Diana Frances.
At the age of 12, the Milsteads moved to Lutherville, another nearby district, just six houses from a boy the same age named John Waters. Years later, John and Glenn would thrive off each other's talents to acheive notoriety and eventually fame.
Glenn was a fat boy, always being picked on by the other boys at school for being plump and effeminate.
In high school, his interests fell around horticulture, cosmetology and of course, acting.
He worked for five or six years as a hairdresser, eventually running his own salon, a gift from his generous, lenient and naive parents. Generous because of all the gifts he received over the years, lenient because of the lack of punishment he received after destroying their gifts and sqauandering the family's money, and naive because it would be many years into his career as an actor before they realized exactly what was going on.
Their relationship with Glenn broke down over the years, to the point where the Milsteads fled to Florida. But towards the end of Glenn's life, after he'd become world-reknown as Divine, he and his parents patched things up a bit.
Around 1966, Glenn was cast in his first Waters film, being remodeled by John and his makeup artist, Van Smith, into the horror show that would forever be known as Divine. Through Waters' films, Divine became synonymous with vile, repulsive acts with an attitude to match, in "Roman Candles", "Mondo Trasho", "Pink Flamingos", and "Female Trouble".
Comical and less shocking roles would follow in "Polyester" (in Odorama), "Lust in the Dust" with Tab Hunter, and the ultimate "Hairspray" with Ricki Lake.
He also co-starred with Kris Kristofferson in "Trouble in Mind".
Throughout his career, he longed for a way out of that mask, wig and dress, and in fact, did play a few roles out of drag.
Not only did he act, but through somewhat coincidental circumstances, Divine had a brief career as a disco recording star and club attraction. The first of these records were made with sleazy New York producer Bobby Orlando, famous for producing Pet Shop Boys' first flops. After Orlando, Divine worked with the Stock-Aitken-Waterman team who's roster included Kylie Minogue and Dead or Alive.
Due to his weight, Divine had a plethora of problems with his body including a sleeping disorder termed sleep apnoea in which chronic violent snoring results in memory loss, mood swings, heart attacks and strokes. His weight, among other problems, led him through cycles of depression. He was also reportedly addicted to marijuana, passing out where he sat, exhausted from pot and chronic insomnia.
At age 42, he was just about to branch into television when he met his demise in Southern California. He'd broken his habit of pot smoking, been widely praised by fans and the press for his role as Edna Turnblad in John Waters' "Hairspray", and was finally going to play a role out of drag on network television. The Fox program, "Married With Children", had booked Divine to play Bundy relative, Uncle Otto - a character Fox hoped would become a regular. He did not show up on the set.
His personal manager, Bernard Jay, discovered him dead in his hotel suite March 7, 1988 (respiratory failure caused by sleep apnea).
This profile is in connection with TCMs Screened Out - Gay Images in Film.
The actor known as Divine was born Harris Glenn Milstead on October 19, 1945 in Towson, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore to father Harris Bernard and mother Diana Frances.
At the age of 12, the Milsteads moved to Lutherville, another nearby district, just six houses from a boy the same age named John Waters. Years later, John and Glenn would thrive off each other's talents to acheive notoriety and eventually fame.
Glenn was a fat boy, always being picked on by the other boys at school for being plump and effeminate.
In high school, his interests fell around horticulture, cosmetology and of course, acting.
He worked for five or six years as a hairdresser, eventually running his own salon, a gift from his generous, lenient and naive parents. Generous because of all the gifts he received over the years, lenient because of the lack of punishment he received after destroying their gifts and sqauandering the family's money, and naive because it would be many years into his career as an actor before they realized exactly what was going on.
Their relationship with Glenn broke down over the years, to the point where the Milsteads fled to Florida. But towards the end of Glenn's life, after he'd become world-reknown as Divine, he and his parents patched things up a bit.
Around 1966, Glenn was cast in his first Waters film, being remodeled by John and his makeup artist, Van Smith, into the horror show that would forever be known as Divine. Through Waters' films, Divine became synonymous with vile, repulsive acts with an attitude to match, in "Roman Candles", "Mondo Trasho", "Pink Flamingos", and "Female Trouble".
Comical and less shocking roles would follow in "Polyester" (in Odorama), "Lust in the Dust" with Tab Hunter, and the ultimate "Hairspray" with Ricki Lake.
He also co-starred with Kris Kristofferson in "Trouble in Mind".
Throughout his career, he longed for a way out of that mask, wig and dress, and in fact, did play a few roles out of drag.
Not only did he act, but through somewhat coincidental circumstances, Divine had a brief career as a disco recording star and club attraction. The first of these records were made with sleazy New York producer Bobby Orlando, famous for producing Pet Shop Boys' first flops. After Orlando, Divine worked with the Stock-Aitken-Waterman team who's roster included Kylie Minogue and Dead or Alive.
Due to his weight, Divine had a plethora of problems with his body including a sleeping disorder termed sleep apnoea in which chronic violent snoring results in memory loss, mood swings, heart attacks and strokes. His weight, among other problems, led him through cycles of depression. He was also reportedly addicted to marijuana, passing out where he sat, exhausted from pot and chronic insomnia.
At age 42, he was just about to branch into television when he met his demise in Southern California. He'd broken his habit of pot smoking, been widely praised by fans and the press for his role as Edna Turnblad in John Waters' "Hairspray", and was finally going to play a role out of drag on network television. The Fox program, "Married With Children", had booked Divine to play Bundy relative, Uncle Otto - a character Fox hoped would become a regular. He did not show up on the set.
His personal manager, Bernard Jay, discovered him dead in his hotel suite March 7, 1988 (respiratory failure caused by sleep apnea).
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