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My Son Divine by Frances Milstead, Steve Yeager, Kevin Heffernan
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Frances Milstead, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Yeager Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2001-11-01 ISBN: 1555835945 Number of pages: 192 Publisher: Alyson Books
Book Reviews of My Son DivineBook Review: The Human Behind The Glamour Summary: 5 Stars
When you think of glamour you automaticly think of the most beautiful "woman" in the world: the 300+ pound monstrosity, Divine! Yet there was a side to HIr that few saw or understood. This book is written by HIr mother.
Harris Glenn Milstead was the shy overweight femboy who was constantly teased as a child.
Fate brought him into the universe of the budding gay director, John Waters. It took John's warped psyche and Glenn's perfectionism to create the glorious persona, Divine. The result shocked and overjoyed millions and millions of moviegoers and students of the bizarre. Yet in private, Glenn was still the shy femboy who was extremely personal and generous. His only flaws were his love for food and marijuana.
After being enstranged from his parents for years, they finally reconciled and shared out remaining years close and personal. Glenn's star was at last rising and he was being noticed as a great and talented character actor in his own right, apart from the grossout persona, Divine. Yet, as he was preparing for a permanent role in the series 'Married with Children, fate took him from us. Tipping over 400 pounds, he had an All-American heart attack in his sleep.
Few actors can match Glenn's exuberance and hunger for life and humorous good times. He had more talent in his little finger than most actors have in their entire lifetimes. It is sad that he was taken from us right when he was on top of his game. Yet, thank God, we still have the movie records of him and his joys and talents to gross us out and make us feel good.
Get to understand Glenn in ways deeper than him wearing outrageous drag and eating dog spoor for the camera. Read this book and open your mind to the other who made us love him so much through talent, hard work and his outageous antics on film!
Summary of My Son DivineThis remarkable biography-written by Divine's mother Frances Millstead, with Kevin Heffernan and Steve Yeager, the award-winning filmmakers whose documentary film Divine Trash won the Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival-reveals a never-before-seen side of the internationally renowned actor and drag performer. As she tells of his childhood, their long estrangement, and a heart-warming reconciliation before his death, Frances Millstead brings a mother's love and insight to the story of Glenn Harris Millstead, who would shock his way to international stardom as Divine, the star of John Waters cult films Female Trouble, Pink Flamingos, Polyester, and his breakthrough hit, Hairspray. Following him as he grows from angelic choirboy to troubled teen to flamboyant adult, this account reconciles for the first time the two sides of Divine-outrageous performer and loving son-as the legendary star's humanity is lovingly and movingly revealed through words and heretofore unpublished photos. Features: Hundreds of previously unpublished photographs. 8 page full color insert Marketing Plans: Bookstores: Posters, Postcards, Tattoos Media targets: Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, US Weekly, Premiere, Vanity Fair. NPR national and affiliate programs. Network morning shows. Advance reader copies available. Frances Millstead lives in Florida, wher she is active in a variety of civic and religious groups and works to increase acceptance for the gay and lesbian members of the Southern Baptist Convention. Kevin Heffernan is assistant professor of cinema at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he lives with his wife and daughter. Steve Yeager is the director of Divine Trash, On the Block, and In Bad Taste. He lives in Baltimore. An Excerpt Thursday, October 18, 1945, was a beautiful fall day. The doctor had told me I would give birth around the 19th. I decided to go to my mother-in-law's house so I wouldn't be alone if I went into labor. Harris dropped me off there on his way to work. Mom and I prepared dinner, and we talked and laughed about my having the baby. I was No mother wants to watch her son eat dog poop, as Frances Milstead, mother of the gifted actor and outrageous drag persona Divine (1945-1988) would agree. Divine asked her not to see the John Waters film Pink Flamingos, in which the unforgettable poop-noshing scene occurs, and she has abided by his wishes. To her credit, though, she proudly describes the scene and its aftermath, in which Divine's friends overheard him calling an emergency room to ask what diseases his 12-year-old son might have picked up from eating a dog turd ("Yes, well, he's a little retarded."). Clearly Milstead is no ordinary mother. Page after page she provides a remarkably unembarrassed view of her son's adventures on and off screen. With amusing childhood details for true devotees of Divine, plenty of new photos, and judicious quoting from other sources, such as John Waters and his friend and producer Pat Moran, My Son Divine serves as a corrective to Bernard Jay's harshly drawn Not Simply Divine, and offers a warm, entertaining version of the drag star's life. --Regina Marler
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