Josh Kilmer-Purcell
Encyclopedia
Josh Kilmer-Purcell is an American
writer
. In 2006 Harper Perennial published I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir, a tragicomic account of Kilmer-Purcell's early days in New York City, living as an advertising art director by day and a drag queen
named "Aquadisiac" (or "Aqua") by night. The memoir details his relationship with a crack-addicted male escort named "Jack", and was a New York Times
bestseller in the spring of 2006. Candy Everybody Wants, a novel by Kilmer-Purcell, was published by HarperPerennial in 2008. The Bucolic Plague, a memoir about Kilmer-Purcell's purchase of a historic mansion and goat farm in Sharon Springs, New York
was published by HarperCollins in June 2010, and quickly became a national bestseller.
Starting in 2006 Kilmer-Purcell began writing a monthly column about urban gay life for Out magazine
. He has contributed to national media outlets including The Advocate
and National Public Radio.
In 2010, Discovery Network's Planet Green channel debuted a reality television
series about Kilmer-Purcell and his partner, Dr. Brent Ridge, titled The Fabulous Beekman Boys
. The series documents their relationship and lives as farmers in upstate New York as they build a green lifestyle company together. The President and General Manager of Planet Green declared it the "No. 1 original series" on the network.
On March 10, 2010, Bravo television network announced a development deal with Darren Star
to produce I Am Not Myself These Days as a scripted television series.
, New York
, and was raised in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
. He attended high school in Mansfield, Massachusetts
and attended Michigan State University
, where he studied creative writing with the poet Diane Wakoski
. He received a BA in English Literature in 1991. He added his stepfather's surname "Purcell" in 1990. He met partner Dr. Brent Ridge
in New York City in 2000.
As his drag queen alter ego "Aqua" (short for "Aquadisiac"), Kilmer-Purcell performed at nightclubs in New York City
, Atlanta, Los Angeles
, Philadelphia, and Tokyo
. Aqua was best known for her use of live goldfish in the breasts of her costumes. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA
) sent a letter of protest to Kilmer-Purcell condemning the use of live animals in his shows.
In 2008 Kilmer-Purcell and his partner launched Beekman 1802, a green lifestyle company inspired by their farm in Sharon Springs, New York
.
In 2010 he premiered in a reality television
series on Planet Green. The Fabulous Beekman Boys
follows Kilmer-Purcel and Ridge, through their daily activities on the Beekman Farm in Sharon Springs.
, a physician at Mount Sinai Hospital
who was the vice president of healthy living at Martha Stewart Omnimedia, have been together since 2000. They divide their time between the Upper East Side of Manhattan
and their farm in upstate New York, which is where they film The Fabulous Beekman Boys.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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....
. In 2006 Harper Perennial published I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir, a tragicomic account of Kilmer-Purcell's early days in New York City, living as an advertising art director by day and a drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
named "Aquadisiac" (or "Aqua") by night. The memoir details his relationship with a crack-addicted male escort named "Jack", and was a New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
bestseller in the spring of 2006. Candy Everybody Wants, a novel by Kilmer-Purcell, was published by HarperPerennial in 2008. The Bucolic Plague, a memoir about Kilmer-Purcell's purchase of a historic mansion and goat farm in Sharon Springs, New York
Sharon Springs, New York
Sharon Springs is a village in Schoharie County, New York, United States. The population was 547 at the 2000 census. Its name derives from the hometown of the first Colonial settlers, Sharon, Connecticut, and the important springs in the village...
was published by HarperCollins in June 2010, and quickly became a national bestseller.
Starting in 2006 Kilmer-Purcell began writing a monthly column about urban gay life for Out magazine
Out (magazine)
Out is a popular gay and lesbian fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any gay monthly publication in the United States. It carries itself in a similar editorial manner to Details, Esquire, and GQ. Out was published by PlanetOut Inc...
. He has contributed to national media outlets including The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
and National Public Radio.
In 2010, Discovery Network's Planet Green channel debuted a reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series about Kilmer-Purcell and his partner, Dr. Brent Ridge, titled The Fabulous Beekman Boys
The Fabulous Beekman Boys
The Fabulous Beekman Boys was a reality television show produced in the United States by World of Wonder Productions. The series followed Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his partner Brent Ridge as they learned how to become farmers and launched their lifestyle brand, Beekman 1802...
. The series documents their relationship and lives as farmers in upstate New York as they build a green lifestyle company together. The President and General Manager of Planet Green declared it the "No. 1 original series" on the network.
On March 10, 2010, Bravo television network announced a development deal with Darren Star
Darren Star
Darren Bennett Star is an American producer, director and writer for film and television. He is best known for creating the hit TV shows Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sex and the City.-Career:...
to produce I Am Not Myself These Days as a scripted television series.
Biography
Kilmer-Purcell (born "Joshua Gordon Kilmer") was born in AlbanyAlbany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and was raised in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. He attended high school in Mansfield, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and attended Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, where he studied creative writing with the poet Diane Wakoski
Diane Wakoski
Diane Wakoski is a American poet who is primarily associated with the deep image poets, as well as the confessional and Beat poets of the 1960s.-Biography:...
. He received a BA in English Literature in 1991. He added his stepfather's surname "Purcell" in 1990. He met partner Dr. Brent Ridge
Brent Ridge
Brent Ridge is an American physician, business owner and reality television participant. He was formerly the Vice President of Healthy Living for Martha Stewart Omnimedia....
in New York City in 2000.
Career
Kilmer-Purcell has worked at several Manhattan advertising agencies, including Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, Merkley Newman Harty, TBWA\Chiat Day, SS+K, & JWT. It is widely believed that the events in I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir took place while he was working at Merkley Newman Harty.As his drag queen alter ego "Aqua" (short for "Aquadisiac"), Kilmer-Purcell performed at nightclubs in New York City
New 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...
, Atlanta, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Philadelphia, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Aqua was best known for her use of live goldfish in the breasts of her costumes. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
(PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
) sent a letter of protest to Kilmer-Purcell condemning the use of live animals in his shows.
In 2008 Kilmer-Purcell and his partner launched Beekman 1802, a green lifestyle company inspired by their farm in Sharon Springs, New York
Sharon Springs, New York
Sharon Springs is a village in Schoharie County, New York, United States. The population was 547 at the 2000 census. Its name derives from the hometown of the first Colonial settlers, Sharon, Connecticut, and the important springs in the village...
.
In 2010 he premiered in a reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series on Planet Green. The Fabulous Beekman Boys
The Fabulous Beekman Boys
The Fabulous Beekman Boys was a reality television show produced in the United States by World of Wonder Productions. The series followed Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his partner Brent Ridge as they learned how to become farmers and launched their lifestyle brand, Beekman 1802...
follows Kilmer-Purcel and Ridge, through their daily activities on the Beekman Farm in Sharon Springs.
Personal
Kilmer-Purcell is openly gay, and his partner, Dr. Brent RidgeBrent Ridge
Brent Ridge is an American physician, business owner and reality television participant. He was formerly the Vice President of Healthy Living for Martha Stewart Omnimedia....
, a physician at Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
who was the vice president of healthy living at Martha Stewart Omnimedia, have been together since 2000. They divide their time between the Upper East Side of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and their farm in upstate New York, which is where they film The Fabulous Beekman Boys.
External links
- Kilmer-Purcell essay on National Public Radio
- Website of Kilmer-Purcell and Ridge's farm and soap business
- "I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir" Website
- Josh Kilmer-Purcell live radio interview on BSR
- Interview with Kilmer-Purcell in the State News of Michigan State University
- Interview with Kilmer-Purcell on afterelton.com
- Interview with Kilmer-Purcell in Philadelphia Weekly
- Kilmer-Purcell's biography at HarperCollins
- Interview with Kilmer-Purcell on chicagopride.com
- Interview with Kilmer-Purcell on litpark.com
- Interview with Kilmer-Purcell on Feast of Fools Podcast
- Website of The Memoirists Collective
- Interview with Kilmer-Purcell on HarperCollins website