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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
| Harris "Divine" Milstead | |
|---|---|
 Milstead as "Divine" at Disney. | |
| Born | Harris Glenn Milstead October 19 1945 Towson, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | March 7 1988 (aged 42) Los Angeles, California, USA |
Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988) was an actor and singer, best known for his drag persona Divine. He was known for his performances in that persona in the films of John Waters, especially in the role of Edna Turnblad in the 1988 comedy film Hairspray. The New York Times said of Milstead\'s films in the 1980s, "Those who could get past the unremitting weirdness of Divine\'s performance discovered that the actor/actress had genuine talent, including a natural sense of comic timing and an uncanny gift for slapstick.""Divine" biography. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
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Milstead was born in Towson, Maryland, to Harris Bernard Milstead (1917-1993) and Diana Frances Milstead (née Vukovich). At the age of 12, he moved with his family to Lutherville, a suburb of Baltimore. He attended Towson High School, graduating in 1963. John Waters was a childhood friend who lived six houses down the street.
In 1940 and 1943, his mother suffered miscarriages; Harris was the only surviving child born to his parents.
In the 1970s, Milstead starred as Divine in a number of New York City theater pieces, including Tom Eyen\'s classic camp women\'s prison drama, Women Behind Bars, which was a major off-Broadway hit in 1976, playing the lead role of the evil matron, Pauline. Divine returned to the stage in another Tom Eyen off-Broadway play, The Neon Woman, where he played the role of Flash Storm, the owner of a sleazy strip club plagued by a series of murders. Eyen\'s play was loosely based on famed burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee\'s book, "The G-String Murders".
Milstead starred in a number of films and was part of the regular cast known as the Dreamlanders. The Dreamlanders appeared in many of John Waters\' earlier works such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, and Hairspray. In 1985 Milstead appeared opposite Tab Hunter in their hit Lust in the Dust, repeating their successful pairing in Polyester.
He is also remembered as a major character in the documentary homage Divine Trash by Steve Yeager, covering the life and work of John Waters.
In 1988, the British film The Fruit Machine, also known as Wonderland in the United States, used Milstead\'s songs in a nightclub disco dance sequence that showcased an early Robbie Coltrane in drag as "Annabelle", the club\'s owner (a cross between Divine and Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz).
Late in his career, Milstead also played in non-drag roles in his last three films: Trouble in Mind, Hairspray, and Out of the Dark. In Hairspray he played two roles, one male and one female (which he had first done in the earlier Female Trouble). He was also the inspiration for the design of Ursula the Sea-Witch in the Disney classic The Little Mermaid. Divine (answers.com)
He visited Bergen, Norway, in the mid-1980s. At that time, Polyester had been a great success at the local cinema. He was treated as a real superstar by the press and by the audience to his live show. He told in an interview with Bergen Gay Radio that this was one one of only a few times when he had exerienced this kind of appreciation. Usually he felt he was just some kind of industrial entertainer.
In 1988, Milstead was chosen to play Peggy\'s mother on the new FOX prime-time series Married... With Children. However, he died from an enlarged heart in Los Angeles, California. He was 42 years old.
In the 1980s, Milstead\'s dance music records were hits through America, Europe, and Australia. The typical progressive type of synthesizer Disco music was composed, created, performed and produced by Bobby Orlando. In the United States, his most successful hits became "Native Love" peaking at #21 on the Club Play Singles and "Shoot Your Shot" peaking at #39 on the Club Play Singles. Early UK releases were on the Design Communications label, and included "Love Reaction", which many said "borrowed" elements of New Order\'s big hit "Blue Monday", "Shake It Up" and "Shoot Your Shot". All of these releases were big Gay Club Hits, and minor mainstream chart hits. His Stock, Aitken & Waterman record "You Think You\'re A Man" was his most successful hit in the UK, reaching #16. On the back of a promotional visit, the song was a Top 10 hit in Australia, reaching #8. He released other chart hits on the Proto label in the UK - "I\'m So Beautiful" (the follow-up single to "You Think You\'re A Man"), "Walk Like A Man" and "Twistin\' The Night Away". A compilation of tracks from his Proto catalogue, entitled "The Essential Divine" is currently available on iTunes.
Disco and Hi-NRG dance hits (music):
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