Curtis was born in New York City to John Holder, Sr. and Italian-American Jenevive Uglialoro. Curtis spent part of his life living and performing as a man (sometimes adopting a James Dean persona) and sometimes as a woman. While living and performing in drag, Curtis would typically wear lipstick, glitter around the eyes, frizzed-out red hair, and ripped and torn dress and stockings. This unique style, a combination of trash and glamour which Curtis pioneered in the late 1960s when frequenting such high profile nightclubs as Max’s Kansas City, has prompted assertions that Curtis inspired the “Glitter rock” or “Glam Rock” persona of the 1970s.
“Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier”, Andy Warhol said of his associate. Primarily a stage actor, Curtis debuted at the age of 17 in Tom Eyen’s play Miss Neferititi Regrets. Curtis began to write his own plays immediately after this experience, often featuring famous transsexuals, such as… read more
Curtis was born in New York City to John Holder, Sr. and Italian-American Jenevive Uglialoro. Curtis spent part of his life living and performing as a man (sometimes adopting a James Dean persona) and sometimes as a woman. While living and performing in drag, Curtis would typically wear lipstick, glitter around the eyes, frizzed-out red hair, and ripped and torn dress and stockings. This unique style, a combination of trash and glamour which Curtis pioneered in the late 1960s when frequenting such high profile nightclubs as Max’s Kansas City, has prompted assertions that Curtis inspired the “Glitter rock” or “Glam Rock” persona of the 1970s.
“Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier”, Andy Warhol said of his associate. Primarily a stage actor, Curtis debuted at the age of 17 in Tom Eyen’s play Miss Neferititi Regrets. Curtis began to write his own plays immediately after this experience, often featuring famous transsexuals, such as his friend Candy Darling and, later, Holly Woodlawn, both of whom appeared in his productions which enjoyed successful runs Off-Off-Broadway and were well-reviewed in New York. Curtis’ work is representative of the Theatre of the Ridiculous. As writer and lead actress some of her plays include: Glamour, Glory and Gold, which also starred Candy Darling and Melba LaRose, Jr. A second production the following year, featured Robert De Niro in his first appearance on stage, playing several roles; Vain Victory, which opened at La Mama, Etc with a cast of East Village Drag Stars, and opened with the now famous line, “One must never let the public behind the scenes. They are easily disillusioned and then they are angry with you, for it is the illusion they love”; Amerika Cleopatra which featured Harvey Fierstein; Femme Fatale, with Patti Smith, Jayne County (at that time billed as Wayne County) and Penny Arcade; and Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit with Holly Woodlawn, produced by John Vaccaro’s Playhouse of the Ridiculous in 1970.
These plays caught the attention of Andy Warhol and his director Paul Morrissey, who cast Curtis and Candy Darling in Flesh (1968) and, with the addition of Holly Woodlawn, in Women in Revolt (1971); a comedic spoof of the women’s liberation movement in which all the female leads are played by transsexuals and transvestites. Warhol films directed by Morrissey were made in a completely innovative way – without a script. Morrissey gave the actors the basic idea of the scene and line suggestions and then simply let the camera roll as the actors improvised.
Apart from acting, Curtis also wrote poetry and sang. In 1974 Curtis and Woodlawn appeared in the successful and critically acclaimed Cabaret in the Sky at the New York Cultural Center. A CD of songs by Paul Serrato from the Curtis musicals Lucky Wonderful and Vain Victory, including the love ballad “Who Are You” which Curtis sang (as a man) to Candy Darling, was released in 2004. Curtis’ poem, B-Girls, much of which is based on Curtis’ observations of people who visited Curtis’ grandmother’s Bowery bar, Slugger Anns, led to Curtis’ inclusion in the 1979 book, The Poets’ Encyclopedia. It was the longest poem in the book, spanning a total of eight pages. —wikipedia
