Being introduced to John Waters work seemed like it was a gay rite of passage. For me, it was via a showing of “Polyester” with my self-proclaimed "fag hag" friend.  I know some of the terms I use are outdated, but the woman who was 10 years older than me who helped facilitate my coming out, getting a fake ID going to gay bars and introducing me to Andy Warhol and John Waters - clearly said to me that she was a fag hag. I didn't know what she meant – I was 17. Later she morphed into a full-blown lesbian (which is what I thought she was anyway).   I think we were both going through a sexual self-discovery and I’m glad she was there for me. Paula E. is gone now, and I fondly remember our trip to see "Polyester" with Smell-o-Rama scratch and sniff cards.  Mostly I remember the movie being unlike anything I had ever seen before and that the scratch and sniff that was supposed to smell like a gas stove was actually the worst one – smelled like super dirty socks. 

Together, Paula and I subsequently saw "Lust in the Dust" during its initial release and after that (I don't remember if it was on VHS or at a special theater showing) she introduced me to "Pink Flamingos" which I thought was completely and utterly bizarre and totally disgusting at the end. But I absolutely loved Edie the egg lady in her crib.  "Eggs, cotton! I want eggs!"   

Ultimately it was "Desperate Living" that made me a huge John Waters fan.  I've watched it repeatedly and I'm always simply transfixed by Edith Massey as Queen Carlotta of Mortville, Mary Vivian Pearce as Princess Cuckoo, Mink Stole as Peggy Gravel and Jean Hill as her nurse/lesbian lover.  Edith Massey instructing "Seize her and eff her!" always kills me -

“Desperate Living” is a Crazy Town extravaganza where you find something new and hilarious every time you watch it.  The incredibly obese Jean Hill, who subsequently was a super popular greeting card model almost steals the entire movie. Thank you to Michael Augustine-Reed for helping me to add Miss Jean Hill to my autograph collection. And thank you to Jean for not killing me by sitting on my face, like she does in this hilarious scene, after guzzling booze and stealing toilet paper … HA!

But mostly I was obsessed with Liz Renay.  Here was a woman who had one of the most glamorous book covers of all time called "My Face for the World to See" playing a lesbian named Muffy who's doted on by the hideously made-up Susan Lowe as Mole who CUTS OFF his/her dick in the film.  Only in a John Waters film! John had nothing but wonderful things to say about Liz Renay and her professionalism on the set, and how he tried to treat her like a real movie star. Even though she really wasn't one. She was a glamor girl who dated some gangsters, did some stripping- including with her own daughter, and wrote a series of books about having sex with men and how to attract men. I have this great lobby card that you can see here from "A Date with Death" that was made in 1959 before she had that big Platinum Marilyn Monroe hairdo. 

I have this autographed card of Liz that you can see here matched up with her book cover photo. I'm not exactly sure that it is authentic because of the star dotting her I, but it does match some other examples (aside from the star) and maybe she did occasionally dot her I's with a star. I went to her house in Las Vegas in the early 2000's and knocked on the door of this cute little hacienda looking house with bougainvillea and other flowers.  We had a verbal exchange through the closed door, where I was pleading with her to autograph a few items for me. But she said that she was not dressed- which I assumed meant that she was not “painted and bewigged” and that I should come back the next day.  I don't remember the exact reason why, but I didn't make it back to her house. Perhaps we didn't have time before the flight, but I really wish I had gone back.  I think that I rested in the comfort that now that I confirmed her address, I would mail her something later to sign. Which I never did- damn it!  She was a true character!!  Pretend it’s 1971 and we’re at her strip show -

Regarding Mink Stole, I was lucky to come across this DVD of "Stuck" signed by Mink.  The movie seems to have some pretty stinkeroo ratings (3.6 IMDb) but I may watch it ...someday.  She was great in "Hush Up Sweet Charlotte" playing Velma Crothers, the role made famous by Agnes Moorehead in the 1964 "Hush, Hush" movie. But the 2015 version with Mink stars my very close friend Matthew Martin as Charlotte - and it is a must see.  (You're welcome for the promo, Annie. 50/50)

But back to Mink.  This classic 3 minutes of Mrs. Gravel's mental breakdown in "Desperate Living" is THE Mink showcase!

I want to say that I vaguely remember Edith Massey and Divine making appearances in San Francisco, both promoting their music or doing some other appearances, but either they didn't happen (faulty memory) or I simply didn't go. I was familiar with Edie's awful ear splitting "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Punks, Get Off My Grass", because a friend of mine got a kick out of playing that record over and over again.  Finding this autographed photo of her was a big win.  I love this pose - and she has a beautiful signature.  Anybody who has a chance to watch the documentary on her, “Love Letter to Edie”, should sit back, get stoned and enjoy the surrealness of it. This brief 7 minutes of Edie and John is also a good glimpse into Thrift Store “Queen Carlotta”

There's a limited series of books called "Pendulum" (3 or 4 issues) and two of them are filled with interviews/pix of John Waters and his stars.  Great in-depth interviews with Jean Hill and Mary Vivian Pierce are among those featured. I've shown here a scan of Mary Vivian's autograph to the author/editor because I only wish I had an original from her.  UPDATE: Once again, my friend Michael Augustine-Reed came through and sent me a great handwritten note by Mary Vivian where she says that “Pink Flamingos was the best”.  But I personally love Princess Cuckoo the best. Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh

When it comes to Divine all I can say is wow. Glenn was probably the first famous drag queen that I knew of.  I remember hearing "Shoot Your Shot" in the bars, but I had no idea until many years later that he had such a big catalog of music- and that some of them charted in the United Kingdom and on the American dance charts.  I've got a lot of his vinyl and music on CD, but this autographed brightly colored 12-in of "Hard Magic" is an absolute favorite in my collection. It is also simply mesmerizing to watch him perform (sing/growl/shout) European TV shows during the height of his music fame. This was way before the glamor of RuPaul's Drag Race, and it is raunchy gritty drag at its best. Props to Divine!  He really accomplished his dream and even performed on Top of the Pops. Now THIS is a fun watch -

The first time I met John Waters was at a book signing for "Crackpot" in the mid/late 80's.  I remember him being super dapper, that Pencil Thin Mustache and he seemed genuinely happy to be signing for us. Notice how nice and clean his signature is on “Crackpot”. Because his autograph has seriously degraded over time as you can tell from some of my other items.  I've gotten his autograph through the mail, and I hear that he is STILL friendly and accommodating to fan requests TTM. But I've also had the pleasure of meeting him after one of his Christmas (?) shows and it was an absolute blast. It was a situation where small groups were allowed to meet him in a private sitting area, and it was basically just me, Kenny M., a couple others and John Waters. I would say that everybody in the room was pretty well-lit.  The conversation was quite animated. I don't remember exactly what we covered but I do remember one of my friends drunkenly doing closed-eye-talking while standing in front of John Waters, who was sitting. John seems to be much amused with our presence, interacted on our level (buzzed) and dished out plenty of clever one-liners and witticisms. 

John Waters mainstream movies like “Serial Mom” (stories about my interaction with Kathleen Turner to follow), “Hairspray”, “Cry Baby” and even “Pecker” and “Dirty Shame” are fun to watch – albeit watered down in shock value.  He makes up for it with clever casting.  Which reminds me ... I've got Ruth Brown in my autograph collection and completely forgot until just now that she played Motormouth Maybelle in "Hairspray". But for those who don't know .... vintage Ruth Brown was amazeballs!

The True Grit and Impact of John Waters is in his early films, and they are simply avant-garde classics that I think get better with time. Watching Divine turn into a murderous monster because of not getting cha-cha heels, making somebody model themselves to death, facial acid attacks and scooping up dog poop to put in her mouth are scenes that should be experienced by all! But it is also John's writing that makes me laugh out loud. All of his books are highly entertaining to me, and his sense of humor is akin to, (but more twisted than) David Sedaris.  And when you mix in John's propensity for name dropping, celebrity worship, and obsession with murderers and collecting (especially odd books), it's just too much good stuff for me to pass up!  

Long live Patty Hearst - but no white heels after Labor Day!!!