RIP James Bidgood

He died too poor to bury himself and they're trying to GoFundMe the money

His work influenced so many people. Maybe influenced is the right word. They copied him.

Y'all owe him some respect!

[bold] The forefather of camp![/bold]

The multihyphenate artist and performer died at 88, leaving behind a collection of trailblazing gay films and photographs

“Art only stimulated by praise or profit is not art,” said James Bidgood. “If it is not born from pain or anguish or pride or shame or desire or overwhelming joy, it is only something of decorative value.” This belief is one that the trailblazing artist lived by and died by—yesterday, at the age of 88. It’s a belief that informed his performance, his photographs, his films, his costume and set design, and one that’s shaped the rare legacy he’ll undoubtedly leave behind.

Bidgood was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1933, and moved to New York City at the age of 18. He started working as a dressmaker during the day; at night, he did drag at the East Village’s Club 82, assuming the personality of a woman he called ‘Terry Howe,’ and other times, that of the actress Carol Channing. Cross dressing laws put performers at risk of arrest through the ’50s and ’60s, but Bidgood carried on with the rest of his community. The era was memorialized in P.S. Burn This Letter Please, a documentary directed by Michael Seligman and Jennifer Tiexiera, which interviews a handful of drag performers of the time, including Bidgood. “We thought we were doing it for ourselves,” recalls George Roth, also known as Rita George, during the film. “We didn’t realize we were doing it for the next generations.”

(from 2019)

Reveries, the Museum of Sex’s retrospective of James Bidgood’s photographs, film, and ephemera, tells the story of an American narcissus, a boy entranced by the beauty of his own vision. Largely self-taught, Bidgood transformed tricks both male and mechanical into proofs of better, queerer worlds. Forced perspective mixed with male-on-male affection, with smears of glitter and Vaseline that blurred the male gaze into a horny swoon. It won him immortality, but became all that he could do.

(The fundraiser's up to $15K! Undoubtedly, none of you cheap bastards donated.)

[quote] The fundraiser's up to $15K! Undoubtedly, none of you cheap bastards donated.

That's pretty good for just one day - already 75% of the stated goal. that will at least pay for the funeral, grave, and memorial service. Perhaps some art foundation will get word and sponsor the preservation work.

A true revolutionary outsider artist, which is why his death is ignored on PinkNews and them.us in favor of whatever reality star du jour has come out to share their "nonbinary joy."

R.I.P.

Also such a shame that the guy who starred in Pink Narcissus was straight. I wonder whatever happened to him?

R7 In 2010, Donald L. Brooks (or Don Brooks) another actor in Pink Narcissus. gave an interview and referred to "Bobby Kendall" as "Kagan" (I've read his real name was "Bobby Kagan" elsewhere) and said that last he heard Kagan was married, working as an engineer, and living in the Midwest.

Brooks posted this interview on a blog, which now hasn't been updated since 2015.

The GoFundMe goal was met today, and it's now over $20K.

I watched the whole movie on Youtube last night. It was typical of experimental film at that time. Not bad. Sadly, it seems to be gone from youtube now.

Off topic but I'm surprised r3 posted with his authenticated name after spamming us with poop posts last year. I would have assumed he'd been banned. Guess it's true that no one gets banned on DL.

It was mentioned on this thread at #83.

Wow, great link r8, thanks. I haven't been to Don's blog in years. Is he still with us, do you know?

R10 There's a link to "Pink Narcissus" on MyVidster to the actual host at GayForIt.eu (below).

[quote] Off topic but I'm surprised [R3] posted with his authenticated name after spamming us with poop posts last year. I would have assumed he'd been banned. Guess it's true that no one gets banned on DL.

R11, you're a deranged cretin. I've never posted about your obvious fecal obsession, with my handle or anonymously. If anyone should be banned, it's a paranoid psychotically-obsessed amateur Nancy Drew like yourself, plopping your inane 'sock puppet' conspiracy theories everywhere. You clearly have a deranged obsession stemming from inept parental toilet training. I'd offer some links to nearby mental health professionals, but there are undoubtedly few in your flyoverville burg. The best you could probably do is visit a veteranarian for some horse tranquilizers.

BIG Ethel Merman fan. HUGE.

He was a genius - and very funny and his mind was sharp till the end, But he was a very lonely man. I don't know who his caretaker was , but I am not sure they did as good a job as thy could as James had very bad hygiene. He had almost no teeth left with horrific bad breath and body odor. It was difficult to socialize with him at the coffee house around the corner as people would move away from him the smell was so bad.

As r15 says he was a big Merman fan, big theater fan. He was writing lyrics for a musical, but I could never find out what the plot was. A huge Hollywood musical fan - he loved Judy and especially Betty Grable.

Sorry, r14, it really happened, and one of the threads posted was under your red name. They were deleted of course but you absolutely lost your shit (no pun) one day.

Anyone can click on your red name and see the posts you've started, which tend to be anti-trans troll threads for the last year.

But you flying into a rage about what I said totally, like, makes it look like you are totally like innocent n stuff.

Sorry R17, but once again you're barking up the wrong tree. I had nothing to do with that threat or any others dealing with your psychotic fecal obsession. You have no proof of these demented accusations. The only shitting going on is you shitting on this thread. We're talking about the late James Bidgood, not your manic obsessions, you idiot. You're the one flying into a rage, along with not understanding basic HTML and how a website works. Believe me, there's no rage, just pity for your pathetic obsessive neurosis.

[quote] Anyone can click on your red name and see the posts you've started

Yes, and there you'll find threads about movies, movie title mashups, and a Frank Lloyd Wright house. You're wrong, stupid and paranoid. You wrongly think a verbose response is rage, because you deludedly consider yourself some self-appointed hall monitor for DL. Nice to have a hobby, but you're aim is off.

A link to my threads, since you're such a simpleton:

([bold]Your[/bold] aim if off; way off - not a single trans-specific thread. Now do fuck off.)

Bobby Kendall had tinynips.

There, I said it!

Years ago, he was interviewed by the NYTimes. He said that his first inspiration was, oddly enough, Playboy. That magazine’s photographers made the girls next door “look like angels.” So, he reasoned, why not photograph beautiful young men in that dreamy, fantasy style?

The only people who can grow old are the rich. The rest of us need to off ourselves when we outlive our money,

I’ve always thought Pierre et Gilles was far too influenced by Bidgood.

R23, define "far too."