66. I AM DIVINE

glenn milstead--a shy, overweight baltimore kid, bullied in school, befriended his down the street neighbor, john waters. a budding, offbeat, outsider filmmaker.  described as two entwined pieces of energy, they became fast friends.  waters featured him in eccentric films, and created the phenomenon known as DIVINE.  forever to be known as the character that ate dog sh** in "polyester", s/he (they refer to this person as one or the other throughout the film) went on to star in numerous films, and delighted in co-starring with tab hunter.  big, bold, raucous--she toured and performed on stage as well.  divine also had a music career,  punk before punk was popular.  increasingly overweight and stressed by many types of excess, those around him worried.  waters cast divine as edna turnblatt in "hairspray", one of my favorite films.  the film finally brought glenn to mainstream stardom.  while reported to be upset that, as john waters muse, he wasn't  the featured performer of the film, he embraced the role that any other mere drag queen would never have taken.  edna turnblatt in all her plain jane glory made us believe she was above all else, a wife and mother.  divine played the role as a true actor, which made him proud, his parents proud and all that knew him proud.  he had lived his life wanting to be a star and he'd made it.  the hairspray role led  to being cast on "married with children".  sadly, it wasn't to be.  at age 43, glenn died in his sleep from a massive heart attack the night before shooting was to begin.  as the drag queen of the century, he remains a cult figure, but one with genuine talent, a kind heart, a likeable personality, and proof that there's not just one way to live a successful, happy and productive life.