Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988) was an American singer and actor best known by his drag persona Divine. He starred in many of John Waters’ films, including Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, and Hairspray, as part of Waters’ regular troupe of actors known as Dreamlanders. The New York Times said of Milstead’s films in the 1980s, “Those who could get past the unremitting weirdness of Divine’s performance discovered that the actor/actress had genuine talent, including a natural sense of comic timing and an uncanny gift for slapstick.”
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 19, 1945, Milstead was the son of Harris Bernard Milstead (May 1, 1917 – March 4, 1993) and Frances Milstead, née Vukovich (April 12, 1920 – March 24, 2009). His mother Frances had suffered two previous miscarriages in 1940 and 1943, and Milstead was raised as an only child. She always fought… read more
Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988) was an American singer and actor best known by his drag persona Divine. He starred in many of John Waters’ films, including Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, and Hairspray, as part of Waters’ regular troupe of actors known as Dreamlanders. The New York Times said of Milstead’s films in the 1980s, “Those who could get past the unremitting weirdness of Divine’s performance discovered that the actor/actress had genuine talent, including a natural sense of comic timing and an uncanny gift for slapstick.”
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 19, 1945, Milstead was the son of Harris Bernard Milstead (May 1, 1917 – March 4, 1993) and Frances Milstead, née Vukovich (April 12, 1920 – March 24, 2009). His mother Frances had suffered two previous miscarriages in 1940 and 1943, and Milstead was raised as an only child. She always fought for the rights of her son and after his death kept his legacy alive, becoming a defender and supporter of gay rights.
At the age of twelve, his family moved to Lutherville, a Baltimore suburb, where Milstead attended Towson High School. He graduated in 1963. It was during those years that he became acquainted with John Waters, who lived in his neighborhood. Waters recalled in later years that Milstead was picked on in high school by other students.
In the 1970s, Milstead starred as Divine in a number of New York City theater pieces, including Tom Eyen’s classic camp women’s prison drama, Women Behind Bars, which was a major off-Broadway hit in 1976, playing the lead role of the evil matron, Pauline. Divine returned to the stage in another Tom Eyen off-Broadway play, The Neon Woman, where he played the role of Flash Storm, the owner of a sleazy strip club plagued by a series of murders. Eyen’s play was loosely based on famed burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee’s book, The G-String Murders.
Milstead starred in a number of films and was part of the regular cast known as the Dreamlanders. The Dreamlanders appeared in many of John Waters’ earlier works such as Pink Flamingos (in 1972), Female Trouble, Polyester, and Hairspray. In 1985 Milstead appeared opposite Tab Hunter in their hit Lust in the Dust, repeating their successful pairing in Polyester.
He is also remembered as a major character in the documentary homage Divine Trash by Steve Yeager, covering the life and work of John Waters.
In 1988, the British film The Fruit Machine, also known as Wonderland in the United States, used Milstead’s songs in a nightclub disco dance sequence that showcased an early Robbie Coltrane in drag as “Annabelle”, the club’s owner (a cross between Divine and Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz).
Late in his career, Milstead also played male roles in his last three films: Trouble in Mind, Hairspray, and Out of the Dark. In Hairspray he played two roles, one male and one female (which he had first done in the earlier Female Trouble). He was also the inspiration for the design of Ursula the Sea-Witch in the Disney classic The Little Mermaid.
He visited Bergen, Norway, in the mid-1980s. At that time, Polyester had been a great success at the local cinema. He was treated as a real superstar by the press and by the audience to his live show. He told in an interview with Bergen Gay Radio that this was one of only a few times when he had experienced this kind of appreciation. Usually he felt he was just some kind of industrial entertainer.
On the evening of March 7, 1988, a week after Hairspray was released, he was in Los Angeles staying in the Regency Hotel. The next day, he was due to audition for a part in the Fox network’s television series Married… with Children.
After dining with friends, Milstead returned to the hotel, and before entering his room he leaned over the balcony and sang “Arrivederci Roma.” Known for his punctuality when working, people became concerned when he did not appear on the set the next morning. His manager, Bernard Jay, went to the hotel at noon to check on him, and used his pass key for access. The autopsy found he had died in his sleep of an enlarged heart at the age of 42. —Wikipedia
