Divine (19 October 1945 – 7 March 1988), né Harris Glenn Milstead, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. Described by People magazine as the “Drag Queen of the Century”, Divine often performed female roles in both cinema and theater and also appeared in women’s clothing in musical performances. Even so, he considered himself to be a character actor and performed male roles in a number of his later films. He was often associated with independent filmmaker John Waters and starred in ten of Waters’s films, usually in a leading role. Concurrent with his acting career, he also had a successful career as a disco singer during the 1980s, at one point being described as “the most successful and in-demand disco performer in the world.”
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, into a conservative, wealthy middle class family, he became involved with John Waters and his acting troupe, the Dreamlanders, in the mid-1960s and starred in a number of Waters’s early films such as Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. These films have since become cult classics. In the 1970s, Milstead made the transition to theater and appeared in a number of productions, including Women Behind Bars and The Neon Woman, while continuing to star in such films as Polyester, Lust in the Dust and Hairspray.
The New York Times said of Milstead’s ’80s films: “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.” He was also described as “one of the few truly radical and essential artists of the century… was an audacious symbol of man’s quest for liberty and freedom.” Since his death, Divine has remained a cult figure, particularly with those in the LGBT community.
Divine Biography / Wiki
| Name | Divine |
| Also Know | Harris Glenn Milstead |
| Gender | Male |
| Known For | Acting |
| Place of Birth | Towson, Maryland, USA |
| Date of Birth | 1945-10-19 |
| Age(as in 2022) | 42 |
| Deathday | 1988-03-07 |
Divine Acting Movies
| Movie Name | Character | Release Date | Overview |
| Female Trouble | Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson | 1974-10-04 | The life and times of Dawn Davenport, showing her progression from bratty schoolgirl to crazed mass murderer – all of which stems from her parents’ re… |
| Polyester | Francine Fishpaw | 1981-05-29 | A suburban housewife’s world falls apart when her pornographer husband admits he’s serially unfaithful to her, her daughter gets pregnant, and her son… |
| The Alternative Miss World | Guest of Honour | 1980-09-18 | A filmed record of the 1978 “Alternative Miss World” beauty pageant held in a circus tent on Clapham Common in South London…. |
| Uncle Bob | Himself | 2010-06-26 | Robert Oppel’s documentary about the life and murder of his uncle and namesake, Robert Opel, the man who streaked the Academy Awards in 1974…. |
| I Am Divine | Herself (archive footage) | 2013-03-09 | Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine (1945-1988) was the ultimate outsider turned underground hero. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image… |
| Pink Flamingos | Divine / Babs Johnson | 1972-03-17 | Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate atte… |
| Divine: Live at the Hacienda | 1994-01-01 | On 16 February 1983, Divine performs a seven-song set at the Hacienda Club in Manchester. His peroxide blond hair sticks in all directions; he’s dress… | |
| Divine: Shoot Your Shot | 1995-01-01 | This show was filmed in Manchester, England in 1983, just as Divine’s recording career was taking off, and shows him at his tasteless and tacky best. … | |
| Multiple Maniacs | Lady Divine | 1970-04-10 | Lady Divine becomes enraged when her boyfriend cheats on her and descends into a life of murder and mayhem…. |
| Roman Candles | Party Guest / Man with Scarf | 1967-05-10 | John Waters’ second film, shot on 8mm, and featuring Divine for the first time. Essentially a plotless collage of random incidents involving sex, drug… |
| Divine Waters | Self | 1985-01-01 | This documentary focuses on the careers of influential partners in trash film, John Waters and Divine. The film includes interviews with Waters’ paren… |
| Divine: Shoot Your Shot & Live at the Hacienda | Self (archive footage) | 2000-01-01 | This DVD combines two concerts filmed at the Hacienda in 1983. Both were previously available on separate VHS releases. Shoot Your Shot is more dimly … |
| The Neon Woman | Flash Storm (archive footage) | 1990-01-01 | Produced in 1978, The Neon Woman is an “outrageous murder mystery†set in a run-down Baltimore burlesque house managed by a retired stripper, Flas… |
| Discolocos | Self (archive footage) | 2016-12-31 | The high energy movement in Mexico is visited without prejudice through its places and its protagonists. The icon Pascal Languirand is one of them…. |
| Lust in the Dust | Rosie Velez | 1984-11-14 | A group of unscrupulous characters seek buried treasure in the old west…. |
| Divine Trash | Himself | 1998-01-18 | The life and times of Baltimore film maker and midnight movie pioneer, John Waters…. |
| Hairspray | Edna Turnblad / Arvin Hodgepile | 1988-02-26 | ‘Pleasantly plump’ teenager Tracy Turnblad achieves her dream of becoming a regular on the Corny Collins Dance Show. Now a teen hero, she starts using… |
| Mondo Trasho | Divine / Greaser in Alley | 1969-03-14 | A day in the lives of a hit-and-run driver and her victim, and the bizarre things that happen to them before and after they collide (sexual assault by… |
| Rhythm Divine – History of Disco Music | Herself (Archival) | 1992-09-20 | The evolution of disco music through interviews and clips – Acid House, House, Disco, Funk, Italo-Disco, Italodance. Interviewed – Baby Ford, Deee-L… |
| The Diane Linkletter Story | Diane Linkletter | 1970-04-10 | This improvised film is based on the true-life suicide of TV personality Art Linkletter’s daughter, Diane. Mr. and Mrs. Linkletter fret about their da… |
| Eat Your Makeup | Jacqueline Kennedy | 1968-02-23 | John Waters’ first sixteen-millimetre film, about a deranged nanny who kidnaps young girls and forces them to ‘model themselves to death’ in front of … |
| Tally Brown, New York | 1979-05-04 | Tally Brown, New York is a 1979 documentary film directed, written and produced by Rosa von Praunheim. The film is about the singing and acting career… | |
| Underground and Emigrants | 1976-10-25 | In this film, outspokenly homosexual filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim has documented his encounters with friends in the New York “underground” arts moveme… | |
| Queen: The Magic Years vol. 1 | Self | 1987-11-30 | This video is the first of a three volume documentary on the band…. |
| Queen: Magic Years – A Visual Anthology | Self | 1987-11-30 | This video trilogy documents the music group Queen. Videos in this set are Magic Years Vol. 1 – The Foundations Magic Years Vol. 2 – Live Killers i… |
| Queen: The Magic Years vol. 3 | Self | 1987-11-30 | This anthology chronicles Queen’s 16 years. Footage includes “Live Aid” and the 1986 tour…. |
| Out of the Dark | Det. Langella | 1988-06-02 | A deranged killer wearing a clown mask begins preying on a group of young women working at a phone-sex company…. |
| Trouble in Mind | Hilly Blue | 1985-12-11 | The lives of an ex-con, a coffee-shop owner, and a young couple looking to make it rich intersect in the hypnotic Rain City…. |
| The British Guide to Showing Off | Self (archive footage) | 2011-11-11 | Documentary about British artist Andrew Logan as he attempts to put on the 2009 edition of his Alternative Miss World. The film also presents a histo… |
| In Bad Taste | Himself (archive footage) | 2000-01-01 | A documentary on the career of filmmaker John Waters. Featuring interviews with actors and fellow film-makers. The life and death of the actor Divine … |
| BEAT. Contour. Snatched. How Drag Queens Shaped the Biggest Makeup Trends | 2018-12-11 | How drag queens sharing tips and tricks in dressing rooms shaped the face of today’s mainstream makeup industry…. | |
| Studio 54 | Self (archive footage) | 2018-06-15 | Studio 54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism – a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolize an entire era. Its co-owners, … |
| Soul Ache | Actriz cantante (Singer actress) | 1998-08-14 | Aitor is a director making a film about a lonely man looking for love, called “Soul Ache.†While he uses his auditions to meet women, he really lo… |
| Tab Hunter Confidential | Self (archive footage) | 2015-03-15 | In the 1950s, Tab Hunter was number one at the box office and number one on the music charts and was Hollywood’s most sought-after young star. Natal… |
| The Cockettes | Self (archive footage) | 2002-01-16 | Documentary about the gender-bending San Francisco performance group who became a pop culture phenomenon in the early 1970s…. |
| Disclosure | Edna Turnblad (archive footage) | 2020-06-19 | An investigation of how Hollywood’s fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have… |
| Howard | Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson (archive footage) | 2018-04-22 | Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely … |
| Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy | Self (archive footage) | 2010-05-04 | For decades, Freddy Krueger has slashed his way through the dreams of countless youngsters, scaring up over half a billion dollars at the box office a… |
Writing
| Movie Name | Job | Release Date | Overview |
| The Diane Linkletter Story | Writer | 1970-04-10 | This improvised film is based on the true-life suicide of TV personality Art Linkletter’s daughter, Diane. Mr. and Mrs. Linkletter fret about their da… |
| Divine: Live at the Hacienda | Writer | 1994-01-01 | On 16 February 1983, Divine performs a seven-song set at the Hacienda Club in Manchester. His peroxide blond hair sticks in all directions; he’s dress… |
Credit: TMDB
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