Jackie's friendship and professional association with
Andy Warhol began in the mid-1960s. He
appeared in director
Paul Morrissey's
Andy Warhols Women (1971) with
Candy Darling and
Holly Woodlawn and
Flesh (1968) with
Joe Dallesandro and
Candy Darling, presented by Andy Warhol.
For these unique films, director Paul Morrissey gave the actors
information about their character, the scene and suggested lines. The
camera rolled and everyone improvised much of the content in a single
take.
Jackie was perhaps happiest on stage. His wild creative energies were
unleashed on appreciative audiences at venues including Playhouse of
the Ridiculous, La Mama E.T.C., the Poetry Project at St. Marks Church,
Bastianos Theater, Pyramid, and many other Manhattan theaters. His
talent transcended gender and he reveled in melodramatic female roles.
In 1970, Jackie Curtis auditioned in drag for
Busby Berkeley's revival of the 1920s
musical "No, No, Nanette" - too bad Busby Berkeley and Broadway weren't
ready for Curtis in the chorus line! Jackie's cabaret performances were
stunning. In 1973 he appeared at the New York Cultural Center in
"Cabaret in the Sky - an Evening with
Holly Woodlawn and
Jackie Curtis", an event attended
by gay New York and "cafe society" alike.
Fortunately, Jackie's singing talents were documented on video in the
1970s and also on recently rediscovered studio recordings of songs from
"Vain Victory" - which are to be released on CD in the near future!
Jackie Curtis began writing plays in the late 1960s in which he usually
appeared as the female lead. "Amerika Cleopatra" ran during the summer
of 1968. Jackie's co-stars included Alexis del Lago and
Harvey Fierstein, who played "Cleo's
Jewish Mother".
'Robert de Niro' made his first appearance
on the stage opposite Candy Darling during
the first run of "Glamour, Glory, and Gold" in 1967. Jackie's musical
"Lucky Wonderful", with music composed by Paul Serrato, was produced in
1968 at the Bastianos Theater. "Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit" was
performed by John Vaccaro's Playhouse of the Ridiculous in 1969 and
toured internationally for two years. Jackie Curtis' "Vain Victory" was
produced at La Mama in 1971. It was an immediate smash hit and ran all
summer long to packed houses.
Jackie was a prolific writer and a published poet. Jackie's poetry
focuses on his fascination with stardom, glamorous divas, and broken
dreams. He was proudest of his inclusion in "The Poets' Encyclopedia"
published by the editors of the literary journal "Unmuzzled OX" in
1979. The poem "B-Girls" is the longest work in the 310 page volume (8
pages). It is based upon Jackie's observations of the barroom denizens
of "Slugger Ann's", his grandmother's bar. (Jackie lived above the bar
with his grandmother for much of his life.)
Jackie died of an accidental heroin overdose on May 15, 1985. He was
just 38 years old. At his wake, friends filled his casket with
photographs and mementos of his career, packs of Kool cigarettes, a
magic wand, a cocktail shaker full of martinis, and sprinkled his face
and body with glitter.
Later, after the funeral, friends covered his burial mound with so much
red glitter that it was visible in the distance from the highway.
Jackie's unique talents and his wonderful friendship and spirit will
always be sorely missed by those who had the good fortune to know him.
