Jackie Curtis
Encyclopedia
John Curtis Holder, Jr. (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985), better known as Jackie Curtis, was an actor
, writer
, singer and Warhol Superstar
.
to John Holder, Sr. and Jenevive Uglialoro. He performed as both a man and a woman throughout his career. While performing in drag, Curtis would typically wear lipstick, glitter, bright red hair, and ripped and torn dresses and stockings. Curtis pioneered this unique style, a combination of trash and glamour
which has prompted assertions that Curtis inspired the "Glitter rock" or "Glam Rock
" movement of the 1970s.
"Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier", Andy Warhol
said of his associate. Primarily a stage actor, Curtis debuted at the age of 17 in Tom Eyen
's play Miss Neferititi Regrets. Curtis began to write his own plays immediately after this experience, often featuring famous transsexuals, such as Candy Darling
and, later, Holly Woodlawn
, both of whom appeared in his productions, which enjoyed successful runs at La Mama
and were well-reviewed. Curtis' work was inspired, in part, by the Playhouse of the Ridiculous. As writer and lead actor his plays include Glamour, Glory and Gold, which also starred Candy Darling, Melba LaRose, Jr. and Robert De Niro
in his first appearance on stage, playing several roles; Vain Victory, Amerika Cleopatra featuring Harvey Fierstein
; Femme Fatale, with Patti Smith
, Jayne County
and Penny Arcade
; and Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit with Holly Woodlawn.
Andy Warhol and his director Paul Morrissey
cast Curtis and Candy Darling in Flesh
(1968) and, with the addition of Holly Woodlawn, in Women in Revolt
(1971); a comedic spoof of the women's liberation movement.
Curtis was also a singer and poet. In 1974 Curtis and Woodlawn appeared in the critically acclaimed Cabaret in the Sky at the New York Cultural Center. A CD of songs by Paul Serrato from the Curtis musicals Lucky Wonderful and Vain Victory, including the love ballad "Who Are You", which Curtis sang (as a man) to Candy Darling, was released in 2004. Curtis' poem, B-Girls, much of which is based on his observations of people who visited his grandmother's bar, Slugger Anns, led to Curtis' inclusion in the 1979 book, The Poets' Encyclopedia
. It was the longest poem in the book, spanning a total of eight pages.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, singer and Warhol Superstar
Warhol superstar
Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life...
.
Early life and career
Jackie Curtis was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to John Holder, Sr. and Jenevive Uglialoro. He performed as both a man and a woman throughout his career. While performing in drag, Curtis would typically wear lipstick, glitter, bright red hair, and ripped and torn dresses and stockings. Curtis pioneered this unique style, a combination of trash and glamour
Glamour (presentation)
Glamour originally was a magical-occult spell cast on somebody to make them believe that something or somebody was attractive. In the late 19th century terminology a non magical item used to help create a more attractive appearance gradually became 'a glamour'...
which has prompted assertions that Curtis inspired the "Glitter rock" or "Glam Rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
" movement of the 1970s.
"Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier", Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
said of his associate. Primarily a stage actor, Curtis debuted at the age of 17 in Tom Eyen
Tom Eyen
Tom Eyen was an American playwright, lyricist, television writer and theatre director.Eyen is best known for works at opposite ends of the theatrical spectrum...
's play Miss Neferititi Regrets. Curtis began to write his own plays immediately after this experience, often featuring famous transsexuals, such as Candy Darling
Candy Darling
Candy Darling was an American actress, best known as a Warhol Superstar. A male-to-female transsexual, she starred in Andy Warhol's films Flesh and Women in Revolt , and was a muse of the protopunk band The Velvet Underground.-Early life:Candy Darling was born James Lawrence Slattery in Forest...
and, later, Holly Woodlawn
Holly Woodlawn
Holly Woodlawn is a Puerto Rican-born transgendered actress and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash and Women in Revolt .-Early life:...
, both of whom appeared in his productions, which enjoyed successful runs at La Mama
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is an off-off Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, and named in reference to her. Located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the theatre grew out of Stewart's tiny basement boutique for her fashion designs; the boutique's space acted as a theatre for...
and were well-reviewed. Curtis' work was inspired, in part, by the Playhouse of the Ridiculous. As writer and lead actor his plays include Glamour, Glory and Gold, which also starred Candy Darling, Melba LaRose, Jr. and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
in his first appearance on stage, playing several roles; Vain Victory, Amerika Cleopatra featuring Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
; Femme Fatale, with Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, Jayne County
Jayne County
Jayne County , formerly known as Wayne County, is an American male-to-female transsexual performer, musician and actress whose career has spanned several decades. County would go on to be known as rock's first transsexual singer...
and Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (performer)
Susana Ventura , better known by her stage name Penny Arcade, is an American performance artist, actress, and playwright based in New York City.-Career:...
; and Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit with Holly Woodlawn.
Andy Warhol and his director Paul Morrissey
Paul Morrissey
Paul Morrissey is an American film director, best-known for his association with Andy Warhol.Morrissey attended Ampleforth College, a private Roman Catholic boarding school and Fordham University, both Roman Catholic schools, and later served in the United States Army...
cast Curtis and Candy Darling in Flesh
Flesh (film)
Flesh is a 1968 film directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.Flesh is the first film of the "Paul Morrissey Trilogy" produced by Andy Warhol. The other films in the trilogy include Trash and Heat. All three have gained a cult following and are noted examples of the ideals and ideology of the...
(1968) and, with the addition of Holly Woodlawn, in Women in Revolt
Women in Revolt
Women In Revolt is a 1971 satire film produced by Andy Warhol and directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.The stars of the film are Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn, three transgendered superstars of Andy Warhol's Factory scene. Jackie and Candy had previously appeared in Flesh...
(1971); a comedic spoof of the women's liberation movement.
Curtis was also a singer and poet. In 1974 Curtis and Woodlawn appeared in the critically acclaimed Cabaret in the Sky at the New York Cultural Center. A CD of songs by Paul Serrato from the Curtis musicals Lucky Wonderful and Vain Victory, including the love ballad "Who Are You", which Curtis sang (as a man) to Candy Darling, was released in 2004. Curtis' poem, B-Girls, much of which is based on his observations of people who visited his grandmother's bar, Slugger Anns, led to Curtis' inclusion in the 1979 book, The Poets' Encyclopedia
The Poets' Encyclopedia
The Poets' Encyclopedia is an English language poetical anthology, summarizes the literary, art and music worlds of New York City in the 1970s. 225 poets, artists, musicians and novelists transform the world's basic knowledge. Imagination trumps fact...
. It was the longest poem in the book, spanning a total of eight pages.
Death
Jackie Curtis made two more movies during the 1980s. Drug addiction, however, had taken control of her life, eventually leading to her death of heroin overdose at the age of 38.In popular culture
- Curtis is named in Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's song "Walk on the Wild Side" which was about the 'superstars' Reed knew from Andy Warhol's studio The FactoryThe FactoryThe Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
. The verse speaks of his drug addiction and fascination with James Dean: "...Jackie is just speeding away - Thought she was James Dean for a day... then I guess she had to crash, Valium would have helped that bash"
- In 2004, a film based on Curtis' life, Superstar in a HousedressSuperstar in a HousedressSuperstar in a Housedress is a feature-length documentary by independent filmmaker Craig Highberger about the life and legend of Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis. Highberger also wrote the biography of the same name, published by Penguin imprint Chamberlain Bros. in 2005...
, brought Jackie Curtis back to the limelight, exposing some little known facts about the performer to the public. Curtis' influence on a number of people, friends and associates such as Holly WoodlawnHolly WoodlawnHolly Woodlawn is a Puerto Rican-born transgendered actress and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash and Women in Revolt .-Early life:...
, Joe DallesandroJoe DallesandroJoseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
and Penny ArcadePenny Arcade (performer)Susana Ventura , better known by her stage name Penny Arcade, is an American performance artist, actress, and playwright based in New York City.-Career:...
, and observers such as David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, are noted in the film. Jayne County writes of Jackie as being "...the biggest influence on me at this time."
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1968 | Flesh Flesh (film) Flesh is a 1968 film directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.Flesh is the first film of the "Paul Morrissey Trilogy" produced by Andy Warhol. The other films in the trilogy include Trash and Heat. All three have gained a cult following and are noted examples of the ideals and ideology of the... |
Jackie | |
| 1971 | W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism is a 1971 film by Yugoslav director Dušan Makavejev that explores the relationship between communist politics and sexuality, as well as exploring the life and work of Wilhelm Reich.-Narrative and documentary elements:The film intercuts documentary footage with,... |
Herself | |
| Women In Revolt Women in Revolt Women In Revolt is a 1971 satire film produced by Andy Warhol and directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.The stars of the film are Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn, three transgendered superstars of Andy Warhol's Factory scene. Jackie and Candy had previously appeared in Flesh... |
Jackie | ||
| 1980 | Underground U.S.A. | Roommate | |
| 1983 | Burroughs | Nurse | |
| 2002 | The Cockettes The Cockettes (film) The Cockettes is a 2002 American documentary film. It was directed by Bill Weber and David Weissman, and produced by Weissman. Its subject is the 1960s-70s San Francisco performance group The Cockettes. The film debuted at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury... |
Herself | Archive footage for Documentary |
| 2004 | Superstar in a Housedress Superstar in a Housedress Superstar in a Housedress is a feature-length documentary by independent filmmaker Craig Highberger about the life and legend of Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis. Highberger also wrote the biography of the same name, published by Penguin imprint Chamberlain Bros. in 2005... |
Herself | Archive footage for Documentary |
| 2010 | Beautiful Darling Beautiful Darling Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar is a 2010 feature-length documentary film about Candy Darling, the transgender pioneer, actress and Andy Warhol Superstar. The film was written and directed by James Rasin and features Chloe Sevigny as "the voice of... |
Herself | Archive footage for Documentary |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1971 | An American Family An American Family An American Family is an American television documentary filmed from May 30 through December 31, 1971 and first aired in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service in early 1973. After being edited down from about 300 hours of raw footage, the series ran 12 episodes and one season... |
Herself | 1 episode |
| 1973 | The Corner Bar The Corner Bar The Corner Bar is a short-lived American situation comedy that aired on ABC from 1972–1973. The Corner Bar revolved around the lives of the patrons of a tavern called Grant's Toomb. The series is notable for its inclusion of the first recurring gay character on American television, Peter Panama... |
Herself | 1 episode |
Plays
- Glamour, Glory and Gold (1967)
- Lucky Wonderful
- Amerika Cleopatra (1968)
- Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit (1970)
- Femme Fatale
- Vain Victory: Vicissitudes of the Damned (1971)
- Tyrone X (1979)
- I Died Yesterday (1983)
- Champagne (1985)