Divine
di·vine1
adjective
adjective: divine; comparative adjective: diviner; superlative adjective: divinest
of, from, or like God or a god.
"heroes with divine powers"
devoted to God; sacred.
"divine liturgy"
informaldated
excellent; delightful.
"that succulent clementine tasted divine"
noun
noun: divine; plural noun: divines; noun: Divine; noun: the Divine
dated
a cleric or theologian.
2.
providence or God.
I usually do a book review the 1st Thursday of the month but today I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something different. Actually, it's only cause I'm a terrible person and realized I've never read a book on Divine. Seriously what the fuck is wrong with me? I adore this person but apparently not enough to read a book. I will be though. I'm just trying to decide which one I want to go with 1st.
Since I'm a loser and didn't have a book for the theme of this week I wanted to tell you about Divine. I know I told you to give him a google and you still can. Seriously Divine is a damn good time. I also wanted to give you my take on him.
The main photo for this post may be the most recognizable photo, which is why I chose it. Honestly it really just sums up Divine.
Divine was born Harris Glenn Milstead on October 19, 1945, in Baltimore, Maryland. In the 60's he became interested in drag when he was working as a hairdresser. A craft that he did go to school to do. In 1963 he started dressing in Drag as his favorite celebrity Miss Elizabeth Taylor. I mean come on if you have to she is definitely one of the best choices.
Glenn is the name I was brought up with, Divine is the name I've been using for the past 23 years. I guess it's always Glenn and it's always Divine. Do you mean the character Divine or the person Divine? You see, it gets very complicated. There's the Divine you're talking to now and there's the character Divine, which is just something I do to make a living. She doesn't really exist at all."[133] At one point he had the name "Divine" officially recognized, as it appeared on his passport, and in keeping with his personal use of the name, his close friends nicknamed him "Divy".[134]
In the mid-60s he met John Waters through a mutual friend. It was actually waters that gave him the name Divine. Which he borrowed the name from a character in the book he was reading at the time Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet. It was a controversial book about homosexuals living on the margins of Parisian society. My favorite thing was that Waters would also introduce Divine as "the most beautiful woman in the world, almost". These went on to work on a ton of projects.
This one I just loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee. It's another one that just oozes Divine. Everything about it I adore from the face to the hands, and especially that shirt.
This shot is from Pink Flamingos which was the film that really launched him into stardom. There were 5 movies before this one. However, it was this movie that really launched him into the world of stardom mainly cause of the ending of it. If you haven't seen it then go buy it now. The ending was the 1st time it had been done and it drives people wild for various reasons. Probably the most well know the role he played was Edna Turnblad in 1988's Hairspray. The original which I prefer to the new one from a few years back.
About 2 weeks after the release of Hairspray, Divine died in his sleep due to an enlarged heart. This was on March 7, 1988, at the age of 45.
Divine was an inspiration for Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Since his portrayal of Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, the part was commonly played by male actors in the role including Harvey Fierstein in the 2002 Broadway musical, and John Travolta in the 2007 remake.
I literally wasn't even born yet when he died. I adore Divine, but I have an older soul. Born in the wrong generation kinda of thing. It's crazy to think that someone you never even shared the earth as such an effect our your life. He really did pave the way for not only drag queens or even gays. Anyone who wanted to be able to express themselves freely no matter how strange they may be. The legacy that was left behind by the Enigma will last forever.
There are a couple of books about him and this one above is from his mother. Check them out! Google his death. Buy all the movies. go do it now!
Thank me later!
