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Jackie Curtis

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Jackie Curtis
Curtis Backstage at SNAFU in 1980 by Gary LeGault
Born(1947-02-19)February 19, 1947
New York City, US
DiedMay 15, 1985(1985-05-15) (aged 38)
New York City, US
Resting placeRose Hills Memorial Park, Putnam Valley, New York
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, singer, Warhol Superstar
RelativesSlugger Ann (grandmother)

Jackie Curtis (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was an American actor, singer, playwright, best known as a Warhol superstar. Primarily a stage actor, Curtis performed as both a man and in drag. Curtis' plays included Glamour, Glory and Gold, Amerika Cleopatra, and Vain Victory. Curtis made his film debut in Flesh (1968) and starred in Women in Revolt (1971).

Early life and career

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Jackie Curtis was born John Curtis Holder Jr. in New York City to John Holder and Jenevive Uglialoro and had one sibling, half-brother Timothy Holder, who is an openly gay Episcopal priest.[1][2] Their parents divorced and Curtis was mostly raised by maternal grandmother Slugger Ann (Ann Uglialoro), an East Village bar owner.

Curtis debuted at the age of 17 in Tom Eyen's play Miss Nefertiti Regrets produced in 1965 at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club along with fellow newcomer Bette Midler.[3] Curtis reprised the role as Ptolemy II.[4] Curtis began writing plays immediately thereafter, productions. His 1967 play Glamour, Glory and Gold starred Darling, Melba LaRose, Jr., and Robert De Niro in his first appearance on stage, playing several roles. Amerika Cleopatra (1968) featuring Harvey Fierstein; Femme Fatale, with Patti Smith, Jayne County and Penny Arcade; and Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit with Ruby Lynn Reyner and Holly Woodlawn. Curtis's work was influenced by the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, a resident company at La MaMa.

Andy Warhol and director Paul Morrissey cast Curtis and Darling in Flesh (1968). He starred alongside transgender Warhol superstars Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn in Women in Revolt (1971), a comedic spoof of the women's liberation movement. Warhol said of Curtis, "Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier."

While performing in drag, Curtis would typically wear lipstick, glitter, bright red hair, ripped dresses, and stockings. Curtis pioneered this combination of trashy and glamour, a style that has prompted assertions that Curtis inspired the glitter rock or glam rock movement of the 1970s.

While writing plays, Curtis continued to act and In 1969, Curtis performed with the Playhouse of the Ridiculous in Tom Murrin's Cock-Strong alongside Penny Arcade, Anthony Ingrassia, and others. Music for the production was written by Ralph Czitrom and performed by the Silver Apples.[5]

Curtis wrote Vain Victory: The Vicissitudes Of The Damned and co-directed a production of the play at La MaMa and the WPA in 1971.[6][7] Vain Victory starred Darling and Mario Montez.

In addition to actin, Curtis was also a singer and poet. In 1974, Curtis and Woodlawn appeared in Cabaret in the Sky at the New York Cultural Center. An album by Paul Serrato collecting songs from the Curtis works Lucky Wonderful and Vain Victory, including the love ballad "Who Are You", which Curtis sang to Darling, was released in 2004. Curtis's poem "B-Girls", much of which is based on observations of people who visited grandmother Slugger Ann's bar, was included in the 1979 book The Poets' Encyclopedia. At eight pages long, it was the longest poem in the book.

Curtis directed and performed in Nick Markovich's I Died Yesterday at La MaMa in 1983.[8]

Curtis's final play Champagne ran at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club January 3–27, 1985 and featured George Abagnalo as the male lead.[9]

Death

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Curtis had a drug addiction, and died from a heroin overdose in 1985.[10][11][12]

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  • Curtis is named in Lou Reed's 1972 song "Walk on the Wild Side" which was about the 'superstars' Reed knew from Warhol's Factory. The verse speaks of her 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".[13]
  • In 2004, a documentary Superstar in a Housedress exposed some little-known facts about Curtis to a wider public. Curtis's influence on a number of people, including friends and associates such as Holly Woodlawn, Joe Dallesandro, and Penny Arcade, and observers such as David Bowie, are noted in the film. Jayne County writes of Curtis as being "...the biggest influence on me at this time."[14]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1968 Flesh Jackie
1971 W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism Herself
1971 Women in Revolt Jackie
1971 An American Family Herself 1 episode
1973 The Corner Bar Herself 1 episode
1980 Underground U.S.A. Roommate
1983 Burroughs Nurse
2002 The Cockettes Herself archival footage
2004 Superstar in a Housedress Herself archival footage
2010 Beautiful Darling Herself archival footage

Plays (as playwright)

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  • 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)[6]
  • The Trojan Women (1972)
  • Tyrone X (1979)
  • I Died Yesterday (1983) (play written by Nick Markovich with additional dialogue by Curtis)
  • Champagne (1985)

References

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  1. ^ Interviews in Superstar in a Housedress Accessed 4/4/2015.
  2. ^ About Timothy Holder Accessed 4/4/2015.
  3. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Miss Nefertiti Regrets (1965)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  4. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Miss Nefertiti Regrets (1966a)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  5. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Cock-Strong (1969)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Vain Victory, The Vicissitudes Of The Damned (1971)". La Mama. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  7. ^ Lewis, Emory (September 3, 1971). "Vulgarity is Victorious". The Record. pp. B-25. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  8. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: I Died Yesterday (1983)". Accessed April 9, 2018.
  9. ^ "Curtis Serves "Champagne"". Back Stage. 25 (53): 35. December 28, 1984. ProQuest 1438563882.
  10. ^ Holden, Stephen (May 5, 2004). "FILM REVIEW; Always the Lady, Even When He Needed a Shave". The New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  11. ^ ABBOTT, ALYSIA (August 1, 2017). "Living with Cookie". The Recollectors. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  12. ^ "Jackie Curtis, 38, Performer And Writer for Warhol Films". The New York Times. May 17, 1985.
  13. ^ Hann, Michael. "Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side: what became of Candy, Little Joe and co?". The Guardian. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  14. ^ County, Jayne (1995). Man Enough To Be A Woman. Serpent's Tail. pp. 51. ISBN 1-85242-338-2.
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