Divine

When first creating his alter ego, Divine told make-up artist friend Van Smith that he wanted a look that was a cross between Jayne Mansfield and Clarabell the Clown from The Howdy Doody Show (1947).

Idolized Elizabeth Taylor as a teenager, and dressed up as her character "Gloria" from BUtterfield 8 (1960) for a Halloween party that he attended wearing a slip, fur coat, and stillettoes.

Their first efforts included Roman Candles (1967), Eat Your Makeup (1968) and Mondo Trasho (1969). . . .

Originally born Harris Glen Milstead just after the end of WWII, Baltimore's most outrageous resident eventually became the international icon of bad taste cinema, as the always shocking and highly entertaining transvestite performer, Divine. Milstead met maverick film director & good friend, John Waters, at high school in Baltimore, and the two combined to star in and direct several ultra low budget, taboo breaking cult films of the early 1970s.

however, their most infamous work together was the amazing Pink Flamingos (1972), in which Divine starred as "Babs Johnson", the "filthiest person alive" living in a pink trailer with her egg-eating grandmother, chicken-loving son and voyeuristic daughter.

Divine also starred as career criminal Dawn Davenport in Female Trouble (1974), as bored housewife Francine Fishpaw in Polyester (1981), as outlaw gal Rosie Velez in Lust in the Dust (1984) and in Waters' loving (but still slightly bizarre) salute to teen dance TV shows as Ricki Lake's mother in the superb Hairspray (1988).

John Waters wanted him to be in Desperate Living (1977), and had written the movie with him in mind, but he was unable to be in the movie as he was appearing in a play at the time.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 247-248. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

Was contracted to play a recurring role as the Uncle in Married... with Children (1987), but died the day before the shooting of the episode (#2.22, "All in the Family"). James 'Gypsy' Haake was cast as 'Uncle Otto' in Divine's place, and the episode was dedicated to Divine's memory.

Plays both a woman and a man (as the racist head of the station that airs the Corny Collins show) in his last film Hairspray (1988).

In Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989), the character of "Ursula" (voiced by Pat Carroll) was based on her.