Interview with Drag Queen Divine

There comes a moment in life for some when the realization hits that you're way too fabulous for everyone else—more talented and fierce than all the nauseating kids in your class, and of course, you were destined to leave the monotony of your suburban existence behind and become the star you were meant to be. But there was one problem, that fierceness got suffocated by your parents, teachers, and anyone else that didn't "get it." What's a kid to do? For many the solution was: Divine. Hollywood's First Drag Superstar Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine, helped many live out their fantasies of living that outrageous life they had always dreamt of. He helped define and pave the way for a generation to come.

In a country that demands sex stars—indeed, sex stars with gimmicks—Divine was certainly as big as the demands. Obviously the sex-appeal wasn't his shtick, so what was the better option? Shock and awe. With iconic Director John Waters, Divine made shock-value her road to fame poking fun at what was the standards of sex and beauty later dubbing himself as The Filthiest Person Alive.

How does anybody come off calling themselves something so pompous as the World's Filthiest Person Alive? You might begin by doing a movie like Mondo Trasho, which, as Divine puts it, is "a parody of all the trashy things in the world. I play a really trashy bleached blonde. We shoot one scene in a laundromat where I have a vision of the Virgin Mary. Crazy stuff like that. Fun." Or maybe show up at an event with a chainsaw and fake scars on your face while wearing a mini skirt. He broke every rule. But maybe that wasn't enough.

Divine's crowning glory came when he played in the Camp-King John Waters's cult classic trash film, Pink Flamingos. The plot revolves around a competition between Babs Johnson (Divine) and her family with their rivals the Marbles, for the title of Filthiest People Alive. They constantly try to out-do one another through acts that would be considered criminal, if not criminally insane. To promote the movie, Divine booked himself as "The World’s Filthiest Person" and invited the local press of Baltimore to a small "luncheon" at the trailer-camp site of the movie location. For entertainment, Divine waddled behind a small poodle, scooped up a handful of its droppings and ate the whole pile of shit in front of the mob of photographers and reporters. That's how you get the title of Filthiest Person Alive!

Throughout the rest of his life, Divine continued to shock fans and critics alike. For instance, Divine was once at one of these uptight, high-brow bullshit, black-tie-and-evening-gown events at the Metropolitan Opera, and he had two large grapefruits for tits somehow suspended in this low-cut dress. Fame, he realizes instinctively, will never replace fun. As he remarked in an interview during the production of Ron Link's Neon Woman: "You can't stop the flasher from flashin'. Trash, filth, perversion—it's dee-vine!"

Female Trouble is yet another Waters masterpiece, where Divine played a high school dropout named Dawn Davenport. It all started during Christmas, when Dawn's parents failed to buy her the one single thing she requested—a pair of "cha-cha heels." The scene plays out exactly how you'd imagine: a grown, overweight man in drag, in his night gown, attacking two old people. Dawn crushes her mother with the Christmas tree and proceeds to run away from home. Later she's picked up by an anonymous motorist (also played by Divine but as a man) and they fuck on a mattress by the side of the road. Instant classic.

In another classic, Neon Woman, he plays a former "entertainer," now running a sleazy strip joint full of junkies, murderers, thieves, alcoholics, and burlesque dolls. Your typical, everyday Divine setting, one might say.

But lastly you can't end anything regarding Divine without mentioning the masterpiece, Hairspray. For John Waters, this was the most subversive thing he had ever directed in his entire career. Hairspray features the pleasantly plump Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), a cheerful, dance-crazed teenager who will do anything to be on her favorite dance TV show, "The Corny Collins Show." Divine played her mother. Also probably the most subversive thing Divine had ever done. Using her charms and talent, Tracy wins a dance competition and quickly obtains a regular position on the show. The movie touched upon the racist attitudes of the 1960s. It was more a political statement than the shock factor roles that Divine was know to play. But this movie definitely showed how diverse an actor Divine could be.

Being one of the first drag queens to make an appearance on the big screen, the late and great Divine continues to have a profound impact on queer culture as well as the mainstream that has transcended decades after his death. This impact is explored in depth during the below vintage interview with Cheri magazine. So what do you get when you have a 300-pound drag queen with a outrageous reputation for doing the most insane things with an even hotter mouth to boot? Divine: The Filthiest Person Alive, thats what!

Cheri: Do you consider yourself kinky?

Divine Hush! You'll give me a bad name.

(Laughs) What does it mean to be kinky, anyhow?

HaHAAAAhaaaa HAAAAhaa! Dahrling. Oh God...anything out of the normal. Then again, I'm no authority. [Divine winks... we all laugh...] One on the top and one on the bottom. That's what they mean by normal, isn’t it?

Did you ever think of having a sex change?

NOOOOO! Really, I'm quite content the way I am.

I heard some stories about you...

(Interrupts) LIES! LIES! ALL FUCKING LIES! [Divine is really getting, to say the least, dramatic—and it's a scream. He pounds his forehead.] Why must they always tell those horrible stories about me? [He winks.] What did you hear?

Oh, Provincetown...

Oh, I had a place, a store—you know, a sort of boutique—called DIVINE TRASH. We sold old shit. I mean [gracious voice] antique clothing. Well, I guess I am, a-hem, a very loose, ha-ha, person. But I'm not quite as loose as SOME people seem to think. If I were that loose, I'd be in jail or put away somewhere—that's for sure.

Where do you live?

Well, I'm on the road so much that it hardly matters, but I guess you could say New York. I like the West Coast, and I'm not comparing it to New York because you can't, but New York is really the only place you can live and be accepted.

Do you like to travel?

Well… sometimes. But it's part of my job, so that's it.

How do people react to you in small towns, like in the South or the Midwest?

People in the Midwest are very cool, blasé towards me. Everyone was very nice to me when I drove through Texas, even the truckers at those little rest stops. Surprisingly enough, it's New York where people show the strongest reaction. I remember one time I went to a feast in Little Italy, you know?

Yeah, like a San Gennaro, or something.

Yes. And everyone thought I was Nero...

How did you come up with such a crazy look? Are you trying to give transvestites a bad name?

(Laughs) The original look (Pink Flamingo look) of shaving the head, eyebrows and stuff was created by Van Smith, who always does my makeup. Really, I don't have a clue how to put all that shit on. At first, I just wanted to look different. I'm not really a drag queen—I'm basically an actor.

Where are you from originally?

Baltimore, Maryland.

What did you do before acting?

I was a hair-dresser for three years. It drove me up a fucking wall! John (Waters) and I made films part-time, usually on Sundays, since that was the day everyone had off. By the time we made Pink Flamingos, we had all just about tripped our minds out.

How did you meet John Waters?

We grew up together in Baltimore. He always said I was the girl next door, almost. We'll be shooting together again in October.

Were you in drag growing up?

(Laughs) Nooo, never. It was just something John thought would be funny for the movie—to take a fat man and make him a female sex star.

Do you think sex has become a trendy thing?

I think it's always been a trendy thing. I think that sex has become really popular again in the last year or so. I think sex was big in the 50s when we had Monroe, Mansfield, and those hot numbers. Then the whole sort of natural look took over, which is NOT sexy, AT ALL.

How about Diane Keaton?

Not sexy, AT ALL. I don't even know why she makes films.

How about Farrah Faw...

No. I don't find her sexy or attractive. I don't see any reason for her, though she is okay for TV. Her movie was awful but she did look fabulous on the cover of Playboy.

Do you think there is a particular trend in sex right now?

I think people are starving for glamor, which doesn't necessarily mean sex, I suppose. I love the glamorous look that's why I love Elizabeth Taylor. I mean, she's always so glamorous and sexy, too, bearing her bosoms and all that. Raquel Welch is a perfect example of my kind of woman.

The women you call sexy—are you attracted to them sexually, or do you simply admire their sexiness?

It depends. Some women turn me on sexually, while there are others who I simply admire for their ability to turn people on. The women who have turned me on tend to be older than me, big-bosomed, and painted.

The point I was trying to make about sex being trendy is that, for example, S and M is suddenly very hot: in magazines, movies, newspapers, and on the streets. It's fashionable, visible.

Well, S and M has always been around, but now it's more out in the open, that's all. I mean, THANK GOD that practically nothing is hush-hush anymore. But I really don't think that things have changed much, just that they're out in the open. I'm not an authority on S and M but I do try to find out as much as I can about these things, just in case they might be fun. But it's not a big turn-on for me. Slapping people around isn't the same as making love—it's more like a good fight. [Laughs.] But it's great that everything is more out in the open. It's ridiculous, for instance, that gays can't be school teachers in certain places. Sexual preference doesn't have anything to do with how well you can work. Like people say there shouldn't be porn movies or things like Neon Woman. No one is forcing anybody to go, or to stay, for that matter. If you don't like it, go see Sound of Music and, by all means, have a ball. But don't put other people down, or bring them down, for that matter.

Do you get that a lot?

Sure! [Divine imitates the assholes who try to put him down.] “Why do you look like that?” Because I want to look this way, that's why. “Why do you do what you do?” Because I WANT to do it. I'm a happy person doing what I want to do and I'm not hurting anybody. A lot of people get off on what I do, and if you don't, LEAVE! Nobody's chained to his seat. A lot of people who say I'm horrible and disgusting I find pretty disgusting. I don't think anybody is in a position to put anybody else down. Some of the people who say I look like a freak ought to go home and take a look in the fucking mirror.

Have you ever been to a swingers' club like Plato's Retreat?

No.

How about a nudist camp?

(Laughs) I don't like camp. No, really, I've never been to one, but I have been to nude beaches where there were men, women and dogs.

Have you ever had any pets?

Yes, I've had dogs, horses, ducks, and a cat named Inky. I've always wanted a pig.

Are pigs your favorite animals?

I also like elephants. I like fat animals—I don't know why. [Laughs.] Maybe I'm identifying. I always wanted to do a nightclub act with hogs worked into it in some way. I did a movie called Mondo Trasho, in which I die in a pig pen.

Do you go around in drag?

Never, except for public appearances.

Do your fans, like at parties and things, sort of expect you to be a wild-and-crazy guy?

I can't worry about that part. What I am on stage or what I do in movies is quite different from my personal life. I don't go around eating dogshit all the time. Although I have to admit when I was younger, I was real crazy—drugs, wild sex, Oh God, everything! I don't really have the time and I'm not interested in having sex and taking drugs all the time, nonstop. I have a lot of friends who do nothing but get high and beat the bush, but it gets tiring—and I'm not that way anymore.

Learn More About Divine

While Cheri looks at Divine's career and lifestyle, there is far more to his story than is told here. If you are interested in learning more about Divine, and seeing more interviews with him and his friends and coworkers, watch I Am Divine.

I Am Divine tells the fun and poignant tale of Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine. Interviews and clips look at his life, from an overweight, teased Baltimore youth to internationally recognized drag superstar. Interviews with John Waters, Ricki Lake, Tab Hunters, and Mink Stole divulge interesting facts about his career and his persona.