Saturday, January 22, 2011
Divine Interview
Divine Interview Magazine, 1988
This month, in Waters' bizarrely gentle, shockingly moral new '60's musical, Hairspray - about American bandstands, integration, barrel curls, and war with Cuba - Divine gives you two, two, two stints in one. For those who forever love him as the most oddly voluptuous creature this side of Brigitte Nielsen in a kimono, he is Edna Turnblad, happy housewife. But, for those who miss Huey Long, a helluva guy, he is Arvin Hodgepile, segragationist owner of a Baltimore TV station. Divine may be the only one of us left who can still swing both ways and smile.
Hal Rubenstein: Well, suprise, suprise. After fostering a screen image that combined the best of Joan Crawford, Ida Lupino and Broderick Crawford, you've turned into Myrna Loy.
Divine: Imagine me, a concerned mother. Now that's acting.
HR: You're practically sweet in Hairspray. Is this your new leaf for '88?
D: No, I am sweet. It's just that no one asked to see this side of me before.
HR: But you're so wholesome, so caring. Is this a career turn? Should we be expecting a remake of The Best Years of Our Lives anytime soon?
D: Well, put it this way: For all those people who always thought I was nothing more than a drag queen, wait until they see what I agreed to look like in Hairspray! Drag queens are supposed to be hung up on glamooouur. Meanwhile, on my first day on location, I came out as Edna Turnblad - in my flip-flops and hideous housedress, with varicose veins drawn on my nubbly shaved legs and everything that is wrong with me accentuated, schlepping along in these pin curls and barely any makeup - and I walked right by the crew. Just kept going. Not one person on the set recognized me or even noticed me, because I looked like half the women in Baltimore. I had to go up to John and stand face front for him to realize who I was. He was thrilled. I was crushed.
HR: Initially, I was disappointed that you didn't have the lead in Hairspray. D: Funny, I had the same reaction. I wanted to do it, to play both mother and daughter, like those Lana Turner movies where she's sixteen years old and then she's eighty. I thought it would add the right touch. But I think the producers were a bit leery, so they hired Ricki Lake to be my daughter. She is nineteen and delightful. I hate her. I got to admit, some of those kids were a little young, and no matter what kind of makeup I devised, I wouldn't have held up next to a fifteen-year-old boyfriend. The camera is so cruel.
HR: Chronologically, you could easily be Ricki Lake's real mother.
D: Thank you for reminding me. As if the kids didn't tell me enough times. But they were sweet. It was great to watch them, because they had never heard of the dances of the '60's. So John would go, "C'mon, Divine, show 'em how to 'mash potato'; do the Madison for them." I mean, they had a dance instructor, but I would show Ricki special steps, in hopes of making her a baby Divine...
HR: You are more popular as a cabaret performer in Europe than you are here.
D: Europeans are not uptight about the female attire. Men have always played women's parts in the theater. It's not questioned and no one really cares. It's just a way to give people a good laugh.
HR: But if you want to be known as a character actor and want to get more male roles, doesn't perpetuating a drag character hinder you from changing the perceptions of ready-to-pigeonhole Hollywood casting people?
D: I have to work. I have a certain way of life I want to maintain. I don't want to be poor again. Besides, I love what I do. I've only been making money for the last five years, so I certainly haven't been doing this for bucks. At this point, I can't help it if others have a lot of misconceptions about what I do, if they're not willing to believe I am a character actor and one of my characters just happens to be a loud, vulgar woman. Nevertheless, it hurts. The other night I had dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in a while, and he told me his roommate warned him not to eat with me because "God knows what she will do, probably stand up on the table and moon and vomit all over people." C'mon fellas, give me a break. People don't even know the meaning of the word "transvestite." I don't live in drag. Now, Candy Darling was a transvestite, and a very beautiful one. But I don't sit around in negligees and I don't wear little Adolfo suits to lunch. Of course, if I had a couple of Bob Mackie outfits, things might be different...
divine - native love ( step by step ) extended version
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. This would be his 60th birthday in 2005!
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 realised 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. But 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 - Mr. Jay swears Divine died of happiness, a state he finally acheived the morning of March 7, 1988.
Discography
Divine recorded a whole mess of singles. Starting out with a punk sound on the legendary Wax Trax label, she quickly switched gears to electro. Working with the seminal producer Bobby Orlando, who is also famous for producing The Flirts and the first Pet Shop Boys songs. Divine scored many hits in gay clubs and in the charts in Europe.
See below for what's available on CD.
1979
Born To Be Cheap/The Name Game
produced by David Plattner
Wax Trax Records (US)
Beggar's Banquet (UK)
1981
Native Love/T-Shirts and Tight Blue Jeans
produced by Bobby Orlando
O Records
1982
Shoot Your Shot/Jungle Jezebel
produced by Bobby Orlando
O Records/Vanguard
This single was very successful in clubs and actually was issued a gold single in Holland (100,000 copies) in 1983.
1983
Shake It Up
produced by Bobby Orlando
O Records/Vanguard
Love Reaction/Kick Your Butt/Alphabet Rap
produced by Bobby Orlando
O Records/Vanguard
Love Reaction was recorded twice upon the suggestion of Divine's Dutch record company, the second version modeled after New Order's successful Blue Monday single. A suit was threatened against Bobby Orlando for audio plagiarism, but never materialized. The single reached #65 on the UK Record Mirror's Top 100 in October 1983.
1984
You Think You're A Man
produced by Pete Waterman with Stock, Aitken and Ware.
In Tune Music Ltd/Proto Records
After the mild success of Love Reaction, Divine scored big with this single. It reached #16 on the UK Record Mirror's Top 100 in July 1984 and #8 on the Billboard Hits of the World chart for Australia. The popular UK television program, Top of the Pops, featured Divine in performance on July 19, 1984, [right] resulting in a barrage of complaints.
1985
I'm So Beautiful
produced by Stock, Aitken, Waterman
In Tune Music Ltd/Proto Records
A video was filmed for this single, as well as a promotional tour through clubs in Europe.
The Story So Far
In Tune Music Ltd/Proto Records
A compilation of the two Proto Records singles recorded so far, as well as several O Records tracks.
Walk Like A Man/Man Talk
Twistin' The Night Away/Hard Magic
produced by Barry Evangeli, Nick Titchener and Pete Ware.
In Tune Music Ltd/Proto Records
There was a picture disc in the shape of men's briefs for the single, Walk Like A Man. Also, videos were made for the single, and for Hard Magic, the only original song written for Divine at this session.
1986
Receiver Records reissues several of the In Tune Ltd songs on 12".
Little Baby
produced by Bruce Woolley
Don't Panic Productions
Hey, You!
Produced by everyone and their mother, as described by biographer Bernard Jay.
Don't Panic Productions
re-released on a 3" compact disc single through ZYX.
Cha-Cha Heels
Written by Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek from Bronski Beat for Divine. Although never recorded by Divine, it was by the incomparable Eartha Kitt.
AVAILABLE ON CD:
Since her catalog is scattered on various labels, it can be difficult to track down a decent compilation of Divine's music on CD. Here are a few currently available:
THE BEST OF DIVINE: NATIVE LOVE
This seems to be the most comprehensive collection available these days.
JUNGLE JEZEBEL
A six-track EP of Bobby O produced tracks
UNFORGETTABLE HITS
A ten-track compilation including a couple I'm unfamiliar with
THE BEST OF DIVINE
THE 12" COLLECTION
Divine Live at the Hacienda
This live performance captures of one of Divine's many club appearances, this time at the famous Manchester, UK club, Hacienda, on February 16, 1983. Songs performed include Jungle Jezebel, Born To Be Cheap, Alphabet Rap, Native Love, Shoot Your Shot and Shake It Up. It's available on CD, or DVD.
Get the DVD: Live at the Hacienda
Get the CD: Born to Be Cheap
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