Divine

Born Harris Glenn Milstead, the much loved female impersonator Divine grew up down the street from high school pal John Waters and became a cult figure as Waters' longtime leading performer. Divine developed his persona in such early Waters efforts as "Eat Your Makeup" (1968), as a Jackie Kennedy-obsessed fashion groupie, "The Diane Linkletter Story" (1969), as the suicidal heroine, and the silent "Mondo Trasho" (1970), as a blonde bombshell who accidentally runs over a foot fetishist-pedestrian.

In 1970, Divine and Waters released their first full-length talking film "Multiple Maniacs," the dark, funny and violent story of Lady Divine, leader of a Manson-like crime family. They followed with the classic "Pink Flamingos" (1972), a gritty, obscene but somehow heart-warming comedy of ill manners that gained relatively widespread attention as one of the first "Midnight Movies" and firmly established the director and star. Starring as Babs Johnson, 'The Filthiest Person Alive', Divine turned in a star-making performance. Even his famed devouring of dog turds at the film's close couldn't overshadow his genuine comic gifts. He was even more brilliant in the tour de force "Female Trouble" (1974), in which he aged from a rebellious high school girl into a deranged death row inmate. Divine also played his first male role in this film and, through the magic of cut-rate special effects, even had sex with himself. Divine took his persona to the stage, first performing in San Francisco with a troupe called The Cockettes in such fare as "Journey to the Center of Uranus" and "The Heartbreak of Psoriasis." He made his New York debut in Tom Eyen's "Women Behind Bars" (1976) and after its success there also played it to London audiences. Eyen's second play for Divine, "The Neon Woman" (1978), ran Off-Broadway and then to packed houses in San Francisco, Toronto, Provincetown and Chicago. He returned to the screen for Waters in the amusing "Polyester" (1981), which featured the infamous Odorama cards for audiences to scratch and sniff scents depicted on screen, before working with other film directors. Paul Bartel's "Lust in the Dust" (1985) reteamed him with "Polyester" co-star Tab Hunter and Alan Rudolph's "Trouble in Mind" (1985) took him out of drag for his role as Hilly Blue, a powerful gangster in a fictitious city. Not only did he act, but Divine also enjoyed some fame as a disco diva recording star and club attraction. Beginning in 1978, he cranked out eleven international hit dance singles, including "Shoot Your Shot" (a Gold single in Holland) and "You Think You're a Man" (which reached Number 17 on British charts and Number 5 in Australia). He recorded primarily with producer Bobby Orlando (who oversaw the Pet Shop Boys' first flops) before switching to the team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman (whose roster included Kylie Minogue and Dead or Alive). Divine toured the world with his solo cabaret act of disco and outrageous humor, performing over 900 times in more than 19 countries. Divine's biggest hit came with Waters' mainstream comedy "Hairspray" (1988), playing both proud Mom Edna Turnblad (his trademark wigs and outlandish make-up somewhat toned down) and TV station manager Arvin Hodgepile. He was about to guest star as Uncle Otto on the Fox program "Married...With Children," a Bundy relative Fox was projecting as a regular, when his personal manager and biographer Bernard Jay discovered him in his hotel suite, dead of heart failure. Bartel's "Out of the Dark" (released in 1989) featured him in a last cameo role as a gravely-voiced male detective.