Eldergays, tell me about Divine

I loved I'm So Beautiful, another Stock Aiken Waterman song.....but for some reason it kinda reminded me of Book of Love.

I only discovered his work after he'd died.....there must be a few DL'ers who saw him or met him! Divine is mostly loved here, a surprise since we're all awful cunts and we hate everyone!

Yes, I find it hard to believe nobody here met him.

I was House Manager for "Neon Woman". He was OK. His manager was a grabby asshole. Brian something. I shut him down and he never got over it.

I saw Divine do his act at The Copa in Ft.Lauderdale. It was about 1982.

She got a hot porn star boyfriend, Leo Ford.

All of OP's questions are answered here, so maybe OP should look into this Google thing?

This is my favorite Divine song:

And this is my second-favorite Divine song:

He was just breaking into the mainstream (with Hairspray) when he died.

When the scratch and sniff movie (Polyester) came out I saw Divine across the street at the preimer of the movie in Georgetown. I think it was in the mid 80's. Anyway, Divine was big in the area and I recall the showing of Pink Flamingo's at the Biograph theater along 'M' street. Many decades ago but at least I can remember back that far with some clarity. The attached image was taken in Georgetown (I think) but not sure if this was related to a movie debut.

This one's fabulous and notorious.

I was disturbed when I saw the documentary on him where they showed him eating dog shit for a film.🤮 I was also disturbed when they showed another clip of him holding a box of shit and it was actually his own shit (he apparently took a shit in the box the night before for the movie).🤢

Divine had movie star presence despite being an anti-star. So she's amazing in early Waters. I continued to enjoy her in later movies but in her public persona the sadness came through and it didn't mix well with the act. Hairspray is a wonderful performance, though. Filled with pathos. Moving. As to her music, she was a bit of a novelty act though everything was well done. I don't think people really enjoyed it. I didn't. More like, respect!

I put together a Queer as Folk playlist but I couldn't make myself listen to Divine's singing voice. I found a listenable cover sung by a lesbian who sounds like Alison Moyet.

Divine was a movie star and we still talk about him all these years later.

Key West, Jan or Feb 1980. The Monster.

I saw him as Glen sitting at the bar by himself looking sad, lonely, vulnerable and anxious but still too intimidating for me, an 18yo chicken, to dare approach. I had only just heard of him days earlier when the Monster showed Pink Flamingos on the rooftop deck.

It was a cold, windy, night and the bar was half outside. and empty, about 10 people. . He looked at me and wanted me to go over but I was too freaked out and shy to even say hello. SAD!

I bet you're fun at parties, r16.

When I was 20 something I remember hearing he died. All I knew about him then was that he was a fat drag queen, more of a freak really that appeared in trashy art films. He was not famous in the straight world and barely famous in the gay world except for the real elder gays. One had the nerve to reprimand me at the time and went on to say how much of a "star" he was. If the phrase existed back then I would have said it. OK Gramps.

And now you're the gramps.

Not quite, but even so, I still think Divine was nothing more than a circus freak who got lucky.

QAF used this version by Full Frontal, R14

They did not use the Divine version

I don't recognise those faces at r21. I think you watched a different show.

No R20, that's Madonna.

I saw Divine perform at the club Rudely Elegant in Columbus Ohio back in the early 80's.

R18 aren't you a prize!

Oh dear she was one of a kind. One evening, we had downed multiple bottles of tequila and champagne and done enough blow to kill a moose, there wasn’t a dog available, so she asked me to shit right on the floor and she scooped it right up and ate it.

I saw a performance in the mid 80’s at Café LMNOP in Lexington, Kentucky.

Glenn was definitely over his Divine persona towards the end of his life. He was tired of being a drag queen and wanted desperately to prove himself as an male actor, not a female impersonator. He had landed a role on "Married, With Children" and was hoping to use this as a springboard to the stardom he really wanted.

And then he died.

My favorite story that John Waters tells is the one where Divine grabs a fork and a chair and eats directly out of the fridge. Brilliant way to save time and energy.

R17, That's my opener, I close with the one about Yoko Ono alone and crying in Central Park during a sleet storm.

[quote]I was disturbed when I saw the documentary on him where they showed him eating dog shit for a film.

I remember seeing that scene in a theater. It made me question his mental health.

How did he die?

Decades ago, a very cute, married coworker dropped a Divine reference. I then knew he was closeted. It was intentional.

Oh, go fellate Mayo Pete R31.

I saw him 2 weeks before he died. He looked very tired and his weight was clearly going to do a number on him.

It's true - he was just about to springboard into another level of fame when he died.

He always seemed like a tragic figure to me - no matter how much people want to say that he didn't care, he loved life, blah, blah. You can see the pain in a person's eyes. John Waters always wants to dismiss that somehow.

R34 Sorry, Erna, if that cut a little close to the bone.

He literally devoured dog shit for his role in a movie and that alone should have won him an Oscar!!!

[Quote] It's true - he was just about to springboard into another level of fame when he died.

How is that true? I expect some people said the same about the Coco actor when he got a pilot with Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McLanahan...

Nothing like when she popped out that baby and chewed the umbilical cord off! That's something you can't forget.

Was Divine a top or bottom?

He was not destined for a big post-Divine career.

He had no screen presence when he played himself.

And, not to be unkind, but he was rather unattractive.

It was only when he was Divine that he was interesting.

[quote]Was Divine a top or bottom?

OMG! It would be like having a Volkswagen on top of you!

His old manager's biography, [italic]Not Simply Divine,[/italic] is a good if cunty read. A prominent theme in the book is Divine's horrible money management—he spent everything he made, stole from his elderly parents, and died deeply in debt.

R41 In the “I am Divine” documentary, they showed a clip of him acting in a movie playing a male character, and he could not act like a man at all. It was just like watching a drag queen in a suit without his wig. He even still had his plucked eyebrows for that role.

He should have just done like RuPaul and embraced his drag queen image and kept going with it.

If anyone wants to watch the “I am Divine” documentary, you can watch it for free on Tubi.

A few of you are referring to Divine as "her" and "she." Glenn was a gay man and did not consider himself any form of trans. He and his friends referred to him as he and him, and he often referred to drag as his "work clothes." Playing at being a woman was his job, not his identity.

In 1983, at the Uris Theater, while we were each waiting for the house to open for the Sunday matinee performance of Angela Lansbury's dull and flat revival of MAME, 26 year old me was heavily cruised by Divine. I was surprised to see him there and shocked to get cruised.

R47 What did you say to him? When you say cruise, did he just look at you or did he actually try chatting you up? Did he smell?

R46 He’s dead. I don’t think he’s going to get offended now at what pronouns use when referring to him.

[quote]A few of you are referring to Divine as "her" and "she." Glenn was a gay man and did not consider himself any form of trans.

Most drag queens use feminine pronouns to refer to themselves. Hell, back when DIvine was alive, so did a lot of gay men.

It has nothing to do with being trans.

He did not smell. He was nicely dressed, had on foundation, powder, a bit of mascara and some mascara.

Our eyes met and he pursed his lips as if blowing me a kiss. He gave me a long, slow seductive wink and finished with a little crinkle of his nose. I smiled in return and beat it the hell to the other side of the lobby. I was 26 and he totally freaked me out.

HOT!

Looks like DL.

Divine already knew what America would later come to know.

Alive and well and living in Pennsyltucky.

R55 and wearing a $17 wig.