On October 19, 1945, actor Harris Glenn Milstead, aka "Divine," was born.

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Last edited Sun Oct 20, 2024, 08:03 AM - Edit history (2)

Actor Divine was #BornOnThisDay, Oct. 19, 1945. Remembered for his films Female Trouble (1974), Polyester (1981) & Hairspray (1988). Suffering from obesity, he passed in 1988 (age 42) from an enlarged heart. #RIP #gonetoosoon #GoneButNeverForgotten #GoneButNotForgotten #exercise

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Divine (performer)


Divine in a publicity photograph from the 1980s

Born: Harris Glenn Milstead, October 19, 1945; Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died: March 7, 1988 (aged 42); Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Website: divineofficial.com

Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988), better known by his stage name Divine, was an American actor, singer, and drag queen. Closely associated with the independent filmmaker John Waters, Divine was a character actor, usually performing female roles in cinematic and theatrical productions, and adopted a female drag persona for his music career.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland to a conservative middle-class family, Milstead developed an early interest in drag while working as a women's hairdresser. By the mid-1960s he had embraced the city's countercultural scene and befriended Waters, who gave him the name "Divine" and the tagline of "the most beautiful woman in the world, almost." Along with his friend David Lochary, Divine joined Waters' acting troupe, the Dreamlanders, and adopted female roles for their experimental short films Roman Candles (1966), Eat Your Makeup (1968), and The Diane Linkletter Story (1969). Again in drag, he took a lead role in both of Waters' early full-length movies, Mondo Trasho (1969) and Multiple Maniacs (1970), the latter of which began to attract press attention for the group. Divine next starred in Waters' Pink Flamingos (1972), which proved a hit on the U.S. midnight movie circuit, became a cult classic, and established Divine's fame within the American counterculture.

Pink Flamingos


Theatrical release poster

Pink Flamingos is a 1972 American exploitation comedy film directed, written, produced, narrated, filmed, and edited by John Waters. By far Waters' best-known movie, it is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes Female Trouble (1974) and Desperate Living (1977). The film stars the countercultural drag queen Divine as a criminal living under the name of Babs Johnson, who is proud to be "the filthiest person alive". While living in a trailer with Edie (Edith Massey) and Crackers (Danny Mills)—her mother and son respectively—and her companion Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce), Divine is confronted by the Marbles (David Lochary and Mink Stole), a pair of criminals envious of her reputation who try to outdo her in filth. The characters engage in several grotesque, bizarre, and explicitly crude situations. The movie was filmed in and in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland; Waters grew up in suburban Baltimore.

This is from the film that made him famous, in a manner of speaking. It was filmed on location in Baltimore, in 1972.

Pink Flamingos-The Girl Can't Help It .mov
66,518 views•Sep 6, 2011

M. A.

Little Richard , John Waters, Divine , Baltimore 1972 Christmas Eve

I'm trying to identify that car at 0:49. Let's see:

Internet Movie Cars Database, Pink Flamingos

Hmmm, nothing.

This might have set a new standard for broadcast television:

Divine - Born To Be Cheap
249,591 views•Oct 20, 2007

DiffrentDrumr
1.84K subscribers

From Alan Thicke's late night show "Thicke Of The Night" (circa 1980-81.)

Thu Oct 19, 2023: On this day, October 19, 1945, actor Harris Glenn Milstead, aka "Divine," was born.

Wed Oct 19, 2022: On this day, October 19, 1945, actor Harris Glenn Milstead, aka "Divine," was born.

Sat Oct 19, 2019: Born on this day, October 19, 1945: Divine