Candy Darling
Encyclopedia
Candy Darling was an American actress, best known as a Warhol Superstar
. A male-to-female transsexual
, she starred in Andy Warhol
's films Flesh
(1968) and Women in Revolt
(1971), and was a muse of the protopunk
band The Velvet Underground
.
, son of Theresa Phelan, a bookkeeper at Manhattan's Jockey Club, and James (Jim) Slattery, who was described as a violent alcoholic. There is some conjecture around her year of birth. According to former Warhol associate, Bob Colacello
, Candy was born in 1946, while IMDb has listed her year of birth as 1948. Her friend, roommate, and posthumous editor, Jeremiah Newton, states that she was born on November 24, 1944.
Candy's early years were spent in Massapequa Park, Long Island
, where she and her mother had moved after her parents divorced. Her half-brother Warren, a product of Theresa Slattery's first marriage, left home for the U.S. military, leaving Jimmy as the only child. Warren later denied his connection to her.
She spent much of her childhood watching television and old Hollywood movies, from which she learned to impersonate her favorite actresses, such as Joan Bennett
and Kim Novak
. In 1961 she signed up for a course at the DeVern School of Cosmetology in Baldwin
, on Long Island. She claimed to have "learned about the mysteries of sex from a salesman in a local children's shoe store" and finally revealed an inclination towards crossdressing when her mother confronted her about local rumors, which described her as dressing as a girl and frequenting a local gay bar
called The Hayloft. In response, Jimmy left the room and reappeared in full feminine attire. Her mother later said that, "I knew then... that I couldn't stop Jimmy. Candy was just too beautiful and talented."
Late at night, Darling would often take a short taxi ride to the LIRR
train station, avoiding the attention of neighbors she would receive if she walked. There she would take the train to Manhattan
, frequently sitting across from Long Island starlet Joey Heatherton
. Once there, she referred to her Cape Cod
-style home, at 79 First Avenue in Massapequa Park, as her "country house" and hung out in Greenwich Village
, meeting people through the circle of Seymour Levy, on Bleecker Street
.
Darling met Jeremiah Newton in the summer of 1966. Newton was on his first trip to the Village
from his home in Flushing, Queens
. The two would become friends and roommates, living together in Manhattan
and Brooklyn
until the time of Darling's death in 1974.
Her first assumed name was Hope Slattery. According to Bob Colacello
, Darling adopted this name sometime in 1963/1964 after she started going to gay bars in Manhattan
and making visits to a doctor on Fifth Avenue for hormone
injections. Jackie Curtis
stated that Candy adopted the name from a well-known Off-Off Broadway actress named Hope Stansbury, with whom she lived for a few months in an apartment behind the Caffe Cino so that she could study her. Holly Woodlawn
remembers that Darling's name evolved from Hope Dahl to Candy Dahl and then to Candy Cane. Jeremiah Newton believed she adopted her forename out of a love for sweets. In her autobiography, Woodlawn recalled that Darling had adopted the name because a friend of hers affectionately called her "darling" so often that it finally stuck.
at the after-hours club called The Tenth of Always. Candy was with Jackie Curtis
, who invited Warhol to a play that she had written and directed, called Glamour, Glory and Gold, starring Darling, as "Nona Noonan", and a young Robert De Niro
, who played six parts in the play. It was performed at Bastiano's Cellar Studio on Waverly Place. Taylor Mead
brought Warhol to see it and afterwards went to the club Salvation in Sheridan Square, where he was joined by Candy and Curtis at his table.
Warhol cast Darling in a short comedic scene in Flesh
(1968) with Jackie Curtis and Joe Dallesandro
. After Flesh, Candy was cast in a central role in Women In Revolt
(1971). She played a Long Island socialite, drawn into a woman's liberation group called PIGS (Politically Involved Girls), by a character played by Curtis. Interrupted by cast disputes encouraged by Warhol, Women in Revolt took longer to film than its predecessor and went through several title changes before it was released. Darling wanted it called Blonde on a Bum Trip since she was the blonde, while Curtis and Woodlawn told her it was more like "Bum on a Blonde Trip", titles which were both used in the film during Candy's interview scene.
Women in Revolt was first shown at the first Los Angeles
Filmex as Sex. Later it was shown as Andy Warhol's Women, an homage to George Cukor
. Unable to get a distributor for the film, Warhol rented out the Cine Malibu on East 59th Street and launched the film with a celebrity preview on February 16, 1972. After the screening there was a dinner in Candy's honor at Le Parc Périgord restaurant, on Park Avenue
, followed by a party at Francesco Scavullo
's townhouse, where they watched TV reviews of the movie, some of which called it "a rip-off", and that it "looked as if it were filmed underwater," and "proves once again that Andy Warhol has no talent. But we knew that since the Campbell's Soup cans."
Among the guests at Darling's party were D.D. Ryan, Sylvia Miles
, George Plimpton
, Halston
, Giorgio di Sant 'Angelo and Egon
and Diane von Furstenberg
. Jackie Curtis stood out in the cold, along with other gate crashers. When a security guard asked, "My God, what are they giving away in there?" one of the guests responded, "Would you believe, a transvestite?"
The day after the celebrity preview. a group of women wearing army jackets, pea coats, jeans and boots and carrying protest signs demonstrated outside the cinema against the film, which they thought was anti-women's liberation. When Darling heard about this, she said, "Who do these dykes think they are anyway?... Well, I just hope they all read Vincent Canby's review in today's Times. He said I look like a cross between Kim Novak
and Pat Nixon
. It's true - I do have Pat Nixon's nose."
, Silent Night, Bloody Night
, as well as a co-starring role as a victim of trans-bashing
in Some of My Best Friends Are...
She also appeared in Klute
with Jane Fonda
and Lady Liberty with Sophia Loren
. In 1971 she went to Vienna
to make two films with director Werner Schroeter
; The Death of Maria Malibran, and another one that was never released. Her attempt at breaking into the mainstream movie circuit, by campaigning for the leading role in Myra Breckinridge
, (1970) led to rejection and bitterness.
Her theatre credits include two Jackie Curtis plays, Glamour, Glory and Gold (1967) and Vain Victory: The Vicissitudes of the Damned (1971), She was also in Tennessee Williams
' play, Small Craft Warnings
, at the invitation of Williams himself. She starred in the 1973 Off-Broadway
revival of The White Whore and the Bit Player, a 1964 play by Tom Eyen
. Darling's character, a Hollywood actress known only as "the Whore", was based on Marilyn Monroe
. As a review of the play stated, "With her teased platinum hair and practiced pouts, Miss Darling looks like her character and resolutely keeps her acting little-girl-lost. The role-playing aspect works to her advantage. She could, after all, be a male lunatic pretending to be the White Whore."
on March 21, 1974, aged 29, at the Columbus Hospital division of the Cabrini Health Center. In a letter written on her deathbed and intended for Andy Warhol and his followers, Darling said, "Unfortunately before my death I had no desire left for life . . . I am just so bored by everything. You might say bored to death. (D)id you know I couldn't last. I always knew it. I wish I could meet you all again."
Her funeral was attended by huge crowds, including friends Pat Ast and Julie Newmar
; a piano piece was played by Faith Dane
; Gloria Swanson
was remembered for saluting Darling's coffin.
Candy Darling was cremated
, her ashes interred by her friend Jeremiah Newton in the Cherry Valley Cemetery, located in Cherry Valley, New York
, a tiny historical village located at the foot of the Catskill Mountains.
in the 1996 film I Shot Andy Warhol.
A feature length documentary on Candy, titled Beautiful Darling
, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival
(or Berlinale) in February 2010. The documentary features archival film and video footage, photographs, personal papers, archival audio interviews with Tennessee Williams
, Valerie Solanas
, Jackie Curtis
and Candy's mother, as well as contemporary HD interviews with Holly Woodlawn
, Fran Lebowitz
, John Waters
, Julie Newmar
, Peter Beard and Taylor Mead
. Chloë Sevigny
narrates the film, voicing Candy's private diary entries and personal letters. The film was directed by James Rasin and produced by Jeremiah Newton and Elisabeth Bentley.
Darling appears as a character in the 2011 HBO film Cinema Verite portrayed by William Belli.
Warhol superstar
Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life...
. A male-to-female transsexual
Trans woman
A trans woman is a male-to-female transsexual or transgender person and the term trans woman is preferred by some individuals over various medical terms. Other non-medical terms include t-girl, tg-girl and ts-girl...
, she starred in Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's films Flesh
Flesh (film)
Flesh is a 1968 film directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.Flesh is the first film of the "Paul Morrissey Trilogy" produced by Andy Warhol. The other films in the trilogy include Trash and Heat. All three have gained a cult following and are noted examples of the ideals and ideology of the...
(1968) and Women in Revolt
Women in Revolt
Women In Revolt is a 1971 satire film produced by Andy Warhol and directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.The stars of the film are Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn, three transgendered superstars of Andy Warhol's Factory scene. Jackie and Candy had previously appeared in Flesh...
(1971), and was a muse of the protopunk
Protopunk
Protopunk is a term used retrospectively to describe a number of musicians who were important precursors of punk rock in the late 1960s to mid-1970s, or who have been cited by early punk musicians as influential...
band The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
.
Early life
Candy Darling was born James Lawrence Slattery in Forest Hills, QueensForest Hills, Queens
Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.-Neighborhood:The neighborhood is home to upper-middle class residents, of whom the wealthier residents often live in the neighborhood's Forest Hills Gardens area...
, son of Theresa Phelan, a bookkeeper at Manhattan's Jockey Club, and James (Jim) Slattery, who was described as a violent alcoholic. There is some conjecture around her year of birth. According to former Warhol associate, Bob Colacello
Bob Colacello
Bob Colacello is an American writer. Raised in Bensonhurst, New York, Colacello graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1969, and also has an MFA degree in film criticism from Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts.- Early endeavors and...
, Candy was born in 1946, while IMDb has listed her year of birth as 1948. Her friend, roommate, and posthumous editor, Jeremiah Newton, states that she was born on November 24, 1944.
Candy's early years were spent in Massapequa Park, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where she and her mother had moved after her parents divorced. Her half-brother Warren, a product of Theresa Slattery's first marriage, left home for the U.S. military, leaving Jimmy as the only child. Warren later denied his connection to her.
She spent much of her childhood watching television and old Hollywood movies, from which she learned to impersonate her favorite actresses, such as Joan Bennett
Joan Bennett
Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
and Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
. In 1961 she signed up for a course at the DeVern School of Cosmetology in Baldwin
Baldwin, Nassau County, New York
Baldwin is a hamlet located in the town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 24,033 at the 2010 census.Baldwin is also a station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road....
, on Long Island. She claimed to have "learned about the mysteries of sex from a salesman in a local children's shoe store" and finally revealed an inclination towards crossdressing when her mother confronted her about local rumors, which described her as dressing as a girl and frequenting a local gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
called The Hayloft. In response, Jimmy left the room and reappeared in full feminine attire. Her mother later said that, "I knew then... that I couldn't stop Jimmy. Candy was just too beautiful and talented."
Late at night, Darling would often take a short taxi ride to the LIRR
Lirr
Lirr or LIRR may refer to:*Long Island Rail Road, a commuter railroad in Long Island, New York, USA*Lapeer Industrial Railroad, in Lapeer, Michigan*Leeds Inner Ring Road, a motorway and A-road circling Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
train station, avoiding the attention of neighbors she would receive if she walked. There she would take the train to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, frequently sitting across from Long Island starlet Joey Heatherton
Joey Heatherton
Joey Heatherton is an American actress, dancer, and singer.-Early life:Christened Davenie Johanna Heatherton and nicknamed "Joey," she was raised in Rockville Centre, New York, a suburb of New York City. There she attended St. Agnes Cathedral School, a Catholic grade and high school...
. Once there, she referred to her Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
-style home, at 79 First Avenue in Massapequa Park, as her "country house" and hung out in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, meeting people through the circle of Seymour Levy, on Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street is a street in New York City's Manhattan borough. It is perhaps most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street is a spine that connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was once a major center for American bohemia.Bleecker...
.
Darling met Jeremiah Newton in the summer of 1966. Newton was on his first trip to the Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
from his home in Flushing, Queens
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
. The two would become friends and roommates, living together in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
until the time of Darling's death in 1974.
Her first assumed name was Hope Slattery. According to Bob Colacello
Bob Colacello
Bob Colacello is an American writer. Raised in Bensonhurst, New York, Colacello graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1969, and also has an MFA degree in film criticism from Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts.- Early endeavors and...
, Darling adopted this name sometime in 1963/1964 after she started going to gay bars in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and making visits to a doctor on Fifth Avenue for hormone
Hormone
A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...
injections. Jackie Curtis
Jackie Curtis
John Curtis Holder, Jr. , better known as Jackie Curtis, was an actor, writer, singer and Warhol Superstar.-Early life and career:...
stated that Candy adopted the name from a well-known Off-Off Broadway actress named Hope Stansbury, with whom she lived for a few months in an apartment behind the Caffe Cino so that she could study her. Holly Woodlawn
Holly Woodlawn
Holly Woodlawn is a Puerto Rican-born transgendered actress and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash and Women in Revolt .-Early life:...
remembers that Darling's name evolved from Hope Dahl to Candy Dahl and then to Candy Cane. Jeremiah Newton believed she adopted her forename out of a love for sweets. In her autobiography, Woodlawn recalled that Darling had adopted the name because a friend of hers affectionately called her "darling" so often that it finally stuck.
The Warhol years
Before they met, in 1967, Darling saw Andy WarholAndy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
at the after-hours club called The Tenth of Always. Candy was with Jackie Curtis
Jackie Curtis
John Curtis Holder, Jr. , better known as Jackie Curtis, was an actor, writer, singer and Warhol Superstar.-Early life and career:...
, who invited Warhol to a play that she had written and directed, called Glamour, Glory and Gold, starring Darling, as "Nona Noonan", and a young Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, who played six parts in the play. It was performed at Bastiano's Cellar Studio on Waverly Place. Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead is an American writer, actor, and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films including Tarzan and Jane Regained.....
brought Warhol to see it and afterwards went to the club Salvation in Sheridan Square, where he was joined by Candy and Curtis at his table.
Warhol cast Darling in a short comedic scene in Flesh
Flesh (film)
Flesh is a 1968 film directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.Flesh is the first film of the "Paul Morrissey Trilogy" produced by Andy Warhol. The other films in the trilogy include Trash and Heat. All three have gained a cult following and are noted examples of the ideals and ideology of the...
(1968) with Jackie Curtis and Joe Dallesandro
Joe Dallesandro
Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
. After Flesh, Candy was cast in a central role in Women In Revolt
Women in Revolt
Women In Revolt is a 1971 satire film produced by Andy Warhol and directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.The stars of the film are Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn, three transgendered superstars of Andy Warhol's Factory scene. Jackie and Candy had previously appeared in Flesh...
(1971). She played a Long Island socialite, drawn into a woman's liberation group called PIGS (Politically Involved Girls), by a character played by Curtis. Interrupted by cast disputes encouraged by Warhol, Women in Revolt took longer to film than its predecessor and went through several title changes before it was released. Darling wanted it called Blonde on a Bum Trip since she was the blonde, while Curtis and Woodlawn told her it was more like "Bum on a Blonde Trip", titles which were both used in the film during Candy's interview scene.
Women in Revolt was first shown at the first Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
Filmex as Sex. Later it was shown as Andy Warhol's Women, an homage to George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
. Unable to get a distributor for the film, Warhol rented out the Cine Malibu on East 59th Street and launched the film with a celebrity preview on February 16, 1972. After the screening there was a dinner in Candy's honor at Le Parc Périgord restaurant, on Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
, followed by a party at Francesco Scavullo
Francesco Scavullo
Francesco Scavullo was an American fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of Cosmopolitan and his celebrity portraits.-Biography:...
's townhouse, where they watched TV reviews of the movie, some of which called it "a rip-off", and that it "looked as if it were filmed underwater," and "proves once again that Andy Warhol has no talent. But we knew that since the Campbell's Soup cans."
Among the guests at Darling's party were D.D. Ryan, Sylvia Miles
Sylvia Miles
-Early life and career:Miles was born Sylvia Reuben Lee in New York City, the daughter of Belle and Reuben Lee, a furniture maker....
, George Plimpton
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
, Halston
Halston
Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston was a clothing designer of the 1970s. His long dresses or copies of his style were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques.-Early life and career:...
, Giorgio di Sant 'Angelo and Egon
Egon von Fürstenberg
Egon von Fürstenberg or Prince Egon of Fürstenberg was a fashion designer.- Family :Eduard Egon Peter Paul Giovanni Prinz zu Fürstenberg was the elder son of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg and his first wife, Clara Agnelli , a sister of Fiat's chairman, Gianni Agnelli. His stepmother was the Texas...
and Diane von Furstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...
. Jackie Curtis stood out in the cold, along with other gate crashers. When a security guard asked, "My God, what are they giving away in there?" one of the guests responded, "Would you believe, a transvestite?"
The day after the celebrity preview. a group of women wearing army jackets, pea coats, jeans and boots and carrying protest signs demonstrated outside the cinema against the film, which they thought was anti-women's liberation. When Darling heard about this, she said, "Who do these dykes think they are anyway?... Well, I just hope they all read Vincent Canby's review in today's Times. He said I look like a cross between Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
and Pat Nixon
Pat Nixon
Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan Nixon was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. She was commonly known as Patricia or Pat Nixon.Born in Nevada, Pat Ryan grew up in Los Angeles, California...
. It's true - I do have Pat Nixon's nose."
After Warhol
Candy Darling went on to appear in other independent films, including Brand X, by Wynn ChamberlainWynn Chamberlain
Wynn Chamberlain, also known as Win Chamberlain and Elwyn Chamberlain, is an American artist, film maker and author...
, Silent Night, Bloody Night
Silent Night, Bloody Night
Not to be confused with a more controversial and popular film called Silent Night, Deadly Night.Silent Night, Bloody Night is a low-budget 1974 psychological horror film directed by Theodore Gershuny. It stars Patrick O'Neal and cult actress Mary Woronov in leading roles, with John Carradine in a...
, as well as a co-starring role as a victim of trans-bashing
Trans-bashing
Trans bashing is the act of victimizing a person physically, sexually, or verbally because they are transgender or transsexual. Unlike gay bashing, it is committed because of the target's actual or perceived gender identity, not sexual orientation...
in Some of My Best Friends Are...
Some of My Best Friends Are...
Some of My Best Friends Are... is a 1971 drama film written and directed by Mervyn Nelson.-Plot:On Christmas Eve 1971 in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, a group of gay men and women meet at the Blue Jay Bar to talk about their lives and relationships....
She also appeared in Klute
Klute
Klute is a 1971 film which tells the story of a prostitute who assists a detective in solving a missing persons case. It stars Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi and Roy Scheider. The movie was written by Andy Lewis and Dave Lewis and directed by Alan J. Pakula.Klute was the first...
with Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
and Lady Liberty with Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
. In 1971 she went to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to make two films with director Werner Schroeter
Werner Schroeter
Werner Schroeter was a German film director and screenwriter, who some consider among the most important German writer-directors of the post-war period.-Biography:...
; The Death of Maria Malibran, and another one that was never released. Her attempt at breaking into the mainstream movie circuit, by campaigning for the leading role in Myra Breckinridge
Myra Breckinridge (film)
Myra Breckinridge is a 1970 American campy comedy film, based on Gore Vidal's 1968 novel of the same name, the film was directed by Michael Sarne, with Raquel Welch in the title role. It also starred John Huston as Buck Loner, Mae West as Leticia Van Allen, Farrah Fawcett, Rex Reed, Roger Herren,...
, (1970) led to rejection and bitterness.
Her theatre credits include two Jackie Curtis plays, Glamour, Glory and Gold (1967) and Vain Victory: The Vicissitudes of the Damned (1971), She was also in Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' play, Small Craft Warnings
Small Craft Warnings
Small Craft Warnings is a play by Tennessee Williams, an expansion of an earlier one-act play, Confessional, that was included in the Williams Dragon Country compilation of 1970...
, at the invitation of Williams himself. She starred in the 1973 Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
revival of The White Whore and the Bit Player, a 1964 play by Tom Eyen
Tom Eyen
Tom Eyen was an American playwright, lyricist, television writer and theatre director.Eyen is best known for works at opposite ends of the theatrical spectrum...
. Darling's character, a Hollywood actress known only as "the Whore", was based on Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
. As a review of the play stated, "With her teased platinum hair and practiced pouts, Miss Darling looks like her character and resolutely keeps her acting little-girl-lost. The role-playing aspect works to her advantage. She could, after all, be a male lunatic pretending to be the White Whore."
Illness and death
Darling died of leukemiaLeukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
on March 21, 1974, aged 29, at the Columbus Hospital division of the Cabrini Health Center. In a letter written on her deathbed and intended for Andy Warhol and his followers, Darling said, "Unfortunately before my death I had no desire left for life . . . I am just so bored by everything. You might say bored to death. (D)id you know I couldn't last. I always knew it. I wish I could meet you all again."
Her funeral was attended by huge crowds, including friends Pat Ast and Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.-Early life:...
; a piano piece was played by Faith Dane
Faith Dane
Faith Dane, frequently known simply as Faith, is an actress, musician, and artist. She is also a perennial candidate for elected office in Washington, D.C....
; Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
was remembered for saluting Darling's coffin.
Candy Darling was cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
, her ashes interred by her friend Jeremiah Newton in the Cherry Valley Cemetery, located in Cherry Valley, New York
Cherry Valley, New York
Cherry Valley, New York is the name of two locations in Otsego County, New York:*Cherry Valley , New York*Cherry Valley , New York...
, a tiny historical village located at the foot of the Catskill Mountains.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1968 | Flesh Flesh (film) Flesh is a 1968 film directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.Flesh is the first film of the "Paul Morrissey Trilogy" produced by Andy Warhol. The other films in the trilogy include Trash and Heat. All three have gained a cult following and are noted examples of the ideals and ideology of the... |
Candy | |
| 1970 | Brand X | Marlene D-Train | |
| 1971 | La Mortadella Lady Liberty (film) Lady Liberty is a 1972 French-Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Sophia Loren, William Devane, Gigi Proietti, Susan Sarandon and Danny DeVito.-Plot summary:... |
Transvestite | Alternative title: Lady Liberty |
| Klute Klute Klute is a 1971 film which tells the story of a prostitute who assists a detective in solving a missing persons case. It stars Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi and Roy Scheider. The movie was written by Andy Lewis and Dave Lewis and directed by Alan J. Pakula.Klute was the first... |
Discothèque Patron | ||
| Some of My Best Friends Are... Some of My Best Friends Are... Some of My Best Friends Are... is a 1971 drama film written and directed by Mervyn Nelson.-Plot:On Christmas Eve 1971 in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, a group of gay men and women meet at the Blue Jay Bar to talk about their lives and relationships.... |
Karen / Harry | ||
| Women in Revolt Women in Revolt Women In Revolt is a 1971 satire film produced by Andy Warhol and directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.The stars of the film are Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn, three transgendered superstars of Andy Warhol's Factory scene. Jackie and Candy had previously appeared in Flesh... |
Candy | ||
| 1972 | Der Tod der Maria Malibran | ||
| 1974 | Silent Night, Bloody Night Silent Night, Bloody Night Not to be confused with a more controversial and popular film called Silent Night, Deadly Night.Silent Night, Bloody Night is a low-budget 1974 psychological horror film directed by Theodore Gershuny. It stars Patrick O'Neal and cult actress Mary Woronov in leading roles, with John Carradine in a... |
Guest | |
| 2002 | The Cockettes The Cockettes (film) The Cockettes is a 2002 American documentary film. It was directed by Bill Weber and David Weissman, and produced by Weissman. Its subject is the 1960s-70s San Francisco performance group The Cockettes. The film debuted at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury... |
Herself | Archive footage for Documentary |
| 2004 | Superstar in a Housedress Superstar in a Housedress Superstar in a Housedress is a feature-length documentary by independent filmmaker Craig Highberger about the life and legend of Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis. Highberger also wrote the biography of the same name, published by Penguin imprint Chamberlain Bros. in 2005... |
Herself | Archive footage for Documentary |
| 2006 | Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film is a four-hour 2006 documentary by Ric Burns about pop artist Andy Warhol.The film is Burns' cinematic argument that Warhol was the greatest artist of the second half of the 20th Century... |
Herself | Archive footage for Documentary |
| 2010 | Beautiful Darling Beautiful Darling Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar is a 2010 feature-length documentary film about Candy Darling, the transgender pioneer, actress and Andy Warhol Superstar. The film was written and directed by James Rasin and features Chloe Sevigny as "the voice of... |
Herself | Archive footage for Documentary |
Portrayals in film
Candy Darling was first portrayed by Stephen DorffStephen Dorff
Stephen Dorff is an American actor, best known for portraying Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat, Johnny Marco in Somewhere, and for his roles in Blade and Cecil B. DeMented.-Early life:...
in the 1996 film I Shot Andy Warhol.
A feature length documentary on Candy, titled Beautiful Darling
Beautiful Darling
Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar is a 2010 feature-length documentary film about Candy Darling, the transgender pioneer, actress and Andy Warhol Superstar. The film was written and directed by James Rasin and features Chloe Sevigny as "the voice of...
, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
(or Berlinale) in February 2010. The documentary features archival film and video footage, photographs, personal papers, archival audio interviews with Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, Valerie Solanas
Valerie Solanas
Valerie Jean Solanas was an American radical feminist writer, best known for her attempted murder of Andy Warhol in 1968. She wrote the SCUM Manifesto, which called for male gendercide and the creation of an all-female society.-Early life:Solanas was born in Ventnor City, New Jersey, to Louis...
, Jackie Curtis
Jackie Curtis
John Curtis Holder, Jr. , better known as Jackie Curtis, was an actor, writer, singer and Warhol Superstar.-Early life and career:...
and Candy's mother, as well as contemporary HD interviews with Holly Woodlawn
Holly Woodlawn
Holly Woodlawn is a Puerto Rican-born transgendered actress and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash and Women in Revolt .-Early life:...
, Fran Lebowitz
Fran Lebowitz
-Life:Born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey, Lebowitz is best known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York sensibilities. Some reviewers have called her a modern-day Dorothy Parker...
, John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
, Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.-Early life:...
, Peter Beard and Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead is an American writer, actor, and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films including Tarzan and Jane Regained.....
. Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Stevens Sevigny is an American film actress, fashion designer and former model. Sevigny gained reputation for her eclectic fashion sense and developed a broad career in the fashion industry in the mid 1990s, both for modeling and for her work at New York's Sassy magazine, which labeled her...
narrates the film, voicing Candy's private diary entries and personal letters. The film was directed by James Rasin and produced by Jeremiah Newton and Elisabeth Bentley.
Darling appears as a character in the 2011 HBO film Cinema Verite portrayed by William Belli.
Portrayals on stage
Candy was portrayed by Broadway actor, Brian Charles Rooney, in "Pop!" a new musical by Anna K. Jacobs & Maggie-Kate Coleman, at Yale Repertory Theatre, directed by Mark Brokaw (Broadway: After Miss Julie, How I Learned to Drive, etc.): November - December 2009In popular culture
- Darling is the subject of The Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's song "Candy Says" and was one of several Warhol associates mentioned in Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's "Walk on the Wild Side". - In The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
song "Citadel", released in 1967, Candy Darling is mentioned along with her friend Taffy Tits. - Peter HujarPeter HujarPeter Hujar was an American photographer known for his black and white portraits. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, United States. Hujar later moved to Manhattan to work in the magazine, advertising, and fashion industries. His subjects also consisted of farm animals and nudes...
's photo, "Candy Darling on her Deathbed" was used by Antony and the JohnsonsAntony and the JohnsonsAntony and the Johnsons is a music group presenting the work of Antony Hegarty and his collaborators.-Career:British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Antony's music through his Durtro label. The debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released...
for the cover of their 2005 Mercury Music Prize-winning album I Am a Bird NowI Am a Bird NowI Am a Bird Now is the second album by New York City band Antony and the Johnsons. It won the Mercury Music Prize on September 6, 2005. After winning the prize, the album shot up the UK albums chart from #135 to #16 in one week, the biggest jump in the history of the Mercury Music Prize...
. - Greer LanktonGreer LanktonGreer Lankton was an American artist, whose work was dedicated to creating life-like, posable dolls and figures. Greer Lankton was born Greg Lankton in Flint, Michigan, to a Presbyterian minister and his wife. It was during her rough childhood as a feminine boy that she began creating dolls."It...
famously made a bust of Candy that was displayed at the 1995 Whitney biennial. - The KinksThe KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
' song "LolaLola (song)"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by The Kinks which details a romantic encounter between a young man and a transvestite he meets in a club in Soho, London....
" was supposedly inspired by Candy Darling. - An image of her, taken from Women in Revolt, was also featured on the front cover of the 1987 single "Sheila Take a BowSheila Take a Bow"Sheila Take a Bow" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in April 1987, reaching #10 in the UK Singles Chart, their highest chart placing in their career....
" by the English group The SmithsThe SmithsThe Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
. The last song on lead singer MorrisseyMorrisseySteven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
's solo album You Are the QuarryYou Are the Quarry-CD:-DVD:# "Irish Blood, English Heart" # "First of the Gang to Die" # "First of the Gang to Die" # "I Have Forgiven Jesus"...
is called "You Know I Couldn't Last," a clear reference to her famous deathbed quote. - Daniel AshDaniel AshDaniel Gaston Ash is the guitarist for Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, and solo projects.-Life and work:After going to concerts in his teenage years, Ash made a decision to be on a stage in some way...
's first solo album Coming DownComing Down (album)Coming Down is the first solo album from former Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, and Love and Rockets guitar player Daniel Ash. First single "This Love" was a #2 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S., where his former bandmates Peter Murphy and David J had already scored Top 10 hits...
has a song called "Candy Darling". - Candy Darling's letters, sketches and journal entries were compiled into a book titled My Face for the World to SeeMy Face for the World to See"My Face for the World to See" is the published diaries of Warhol Superstar Candy Darling....
by Hardy Marks publications. - The song "Queen of War" by French artist ElectrosexualElectrosexualElectrosexual is a French electronic musician, composer, performer, record producer and Music video director living in Berlin.His passion for early electronic engines and primitive sounds from Analog synthesizer inspired his creativity mingling of rough masculine basses with an uptempo rhythm. He...
features a sample of Candy's voice from the film FleshFlesh (film)Flesh is a 1968 film directed by American filmmaker Paul Morrissey.Flesh is the first film of the "Paul Morrissey Trilogy" produced by Andy Warhol. The other films in the trilogy include Trash and Heat. All three have gained a cult following and are noted examples of the ideals and ideology of the...
, directed by Paul MorrisseyPaul MorrisseyPaul Morrissey is an American film director, best-known for his association with Andy Warhol.Morrissey attended Ampleforth College, a private Roman Catholic boarding school and Fordham University, both Roman Catholic schools, and later served in the United States Army...
.
Sources and further reading
- My Face for the World to See: the Diaries, letters and drawings, Candy Darling, edited by Jeremiah Newton, Hardy Marks Publications 1992, ISBN 0-945367-21-X
- I Shot Andy Warhol, Mary Harron and Daniel Minahan, Bloomsbury 1996, ISBN 0-7475-2995-7
- A Low Life in High Heels, Holly Woodlawn, with Jeff Copeland, St Martin's Press 1991, ISBN 0-312-06429-2
- Popism: the Warhol '60s, Andy Warhol, Hutchinson 1981
- The Life and Death of Andy Warhol, Victor Bockris, 4th Estate 1998, ISBN 1-85702-805-8
- Holy Terror: Andy Warhol close up, Bob Colacello, Cooper Square 2000, ISBN 0-8154-1008-5
- Man Enough to be a Woman, Jayne County
- Beautiful DarlingBeautiful DarlingBeautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar is a 2010 feature-length documentary film about Candy Darling, the transgender pioneer, actress and Andy Warhol Superstar. The film was written and directed by James Rasin and features Chloe Sevigny as "the voice of...
: The Life and Times of Candy Darling Andy Warhol Superstar, film by James Rasin