#outsider actress

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Born on this day 108 years ago: the sublime Edith “Edie” Massey (28 May 1918 – 24 October 1984) – Baltimore barmaid turned snaggle-toothed naïve outsider actress, “egg lady”, punk granny, plus-size model, thrift shop proprietress and perhaps the most beloved of John Waters’ stable of regular performers (aka the Dreamlanders). Massey made her film debut in Waters’ early “gutter film” Multiple Maniacs (1970). Her swan song was as cleaning lady turned debutante Cuddles Kovinsky in Polyester (1981). Her most treasured performances – as Mama Edie in Pink Flamingos (1972), Aunt Ida in Female Trouble (1974) and the cruel and corrupt Queen Carlotta, a rare villainous role, in Desperate Living (1977) – will enthral aficionados of cult cinema forever. The combo of Massey and Divine onscreen together is probably my all-time favourite comedy double act (like Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz for freaks, punks and degenerates). Eat a hard-boiled egg, raise a glass of sherry or use “rah sha sha” in a sentence today in Edith Massey’s memory! Pictured: portrait of Massey by Peter Palladino.

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Born on this day 107 years ago: the fabulous Edith Massey (28 May 1918 – 24 October 1984) – barmaid turn snaggle-toothed naïve outsider actress, “egg lady”, punk granny, plus-size model, thrift shop proprietress and perhaps the most beloved of John Waters’ stable of regular performers (aka the Dreamlanders). Massey made her film debut in Waters’ early “gutter film” Multiple Maniacs (1970). Her swan song was in Polyester (1981). Her most treasured performances – as Mama Edie in Pink Flamingos (1972) and Aunt Ida in Female Trouble (1974) – will enthral aficionados of cult cinema forever. The combo of Massey and Divine onscreen together is probably my all-time favourite comedy double act (like Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz for freaks and punks). Pictured: Massey as the cruel and corrupt Queen Carlotta, a rare villainous role in in Desperate Living (1977). Massey’s delivery of lines like “Every word I ever utter shall be considered a royal proclamation!”, “Seize her and fuck her!”, “This’ll teach you to arouse royalty!” and “Damn that hellcat of a daughter of mine!” are immortal. Eat a hard-boiled egg or use “rah sha sha” in a sentence today in Edith Massey’s memory!

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“I adored her. I loved her whiskey voice; she had this voice that just reeked of soul and sweetness. She was like the Billie Holiday of the dispossessed.” Stacy Keach “She had talent, yes but God she was exhausting.” John Waters "The last thing my mother said to me was, 'SuSu, your life is a celebration of everything that is cheap and tawdry.' I've always liked that, and I've always tried to live up to it." Susan Tyrrell

Died on this day: the truly wild maverick “outsider actress” Susan Tyrrell (née Susan Jillian Creamer, 18 March 1945 – 16 June 2012). “Actor often cast in sleazy, raunchy roles” was The Guardian’s headline for Tyrrell’s obituary. Seriously - what greater career summation could an actress possibly hope for? She brought nuance, humanity and perversity to her portrayals of grotesques, harridans, shrews and alcoholics. For better or for worse, off-screen the hard-drinking Tyrrell wasn’t dissimilar from the characters she played. And as Michael Musto concluded in his Village Voice tribute, “Hollywood never really embraced her – she was too strong, fiery, talented, unsculptable. Too unique.” Films I’ve loved her in: Fat City (1972), Andy Warhol’s BAD (1976), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), Forbidden Zone (1980), Angel (1984) and its 1985 sequel Avenging Angel, Big Top Pee-Wee (1988), Cry-baby (1990) and Powder (1995). But if you’ve never seen a Tyrrell film, I’d recommend starting with ultra-freaky 1981 horror movie Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker (aka Night Warning) as a starting point. She’s ferocious in that one!

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Born on this day 105 years ago: the fabulous Edith Massey (28 May 1918 – 24 October 1984) – snaggle-toothed naïve outsider actress, “egg lady”, punk granny, plus-size model, thrift shop proprietress and perhaps the most beloved of John Waters’ stable of regular actors. Massey made her film debut in Waters’ early “gutter film” Multiple Maniacs (1970). Her last appearance was in Polyester (1981). Her most treasured performances – as Mama Edie in Pink Flamingos (1972) and Aunt Ida in Female Trouble (1974) – will enthrall aficionados of cult cinema forever. The combo of Massey and Divine onscreen together is probably my all-time favourite comedy double act (like Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz for freaks and punks). Eat a hard-boiled egg or use “rah sha sha” in a sentence today in Edith Massey’s memory!

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Died on this day 38 years ago: snaggle-toothed punk granny, thrift shop proprietress and “outsider actress” Edith “Edie” Massey (28 May 1918 - 24 October 1984) – perhaps the most beloved of all John Waters’ freaky repertory troupe of actors. Massey made her film debut in Waters’ early “gutter film” Multiple Maniacs (1970). Her last appearance was in Polyester (1981). Her most treasured performances – as Mama Edie the Egg Lady in Pink Flamingos (1972) and Aunt Ida in Female Trouble (1974) – will enthral aficionados of cult cinema forever. The combo of Massey and Divine onscreen together is probably my all-time favourite comedy double act (like Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz for freaks and punks). Eat a hardboiled egg or use “rah sha sha” in a sentence today in Edith Massey’s memory! Pictured: portrait of Edith Massey in Fells Point, 1982 by Jim Burger. Via. 

[bitter69uk]

“I adored her. I loved her whiskey voice; she had this voice that just reeked of soul and sweetness. She was like the Billie Holiday of the dispossessed.” Stacy Keach 

“She had talent, yes but God she was exhausting.” John Waters 

"The last thing my mother said to me was, 'SuSu, your life is a celebration of everything that is cheap and tawdry.' I've always liked that, and I've always tried to live up to it." Susan Tyrrell

The truly wild maverick “outsider actress” Susan Tyrrell (née Susan Jillian Creamer, 18 March 1945 – 16 June 2012) died on this day ten years ago aged 67. “Actor often cast in sleazy, raunchy roles” was The Guardian’s headline for Tyrrell’s obituary. Seriously - what greater career summation could an actress possibly hope for? She brought nuance, humanity and perversity to her portrayals of grotesques, harridans, shrews and alcoholics. For better or for worse, Tyrrell wasn’t dissimilar off-screen from the characters she played. When long-time admirer John Waters cast her as Ramona Rickettes in Cry-Baby (1990), he found the frequently drunk and volatile Tyrrell a holy terror to work with. More happily, I love the actor and podcaster Sam Pancake’s recollection of encountering Tyrrell when she lived in Silverlake. Her roommate at the time was drag performer Sean DeLear. “Seanie was in the bathroom so long today I had to go out in the yard, dig a hole and take a shit in it!” Tyrrell screeched to Pancake. If you’ve never seen a Tyrrell film, I’d recommend freaky 1981 horror movie Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker as a starting point. Portrait by George Wilhelm.

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"The last thing my mother said to me was, 'SuSu, your life is a celebration of everything that is cheap and tawdry.' I've always liked that, and I've always tried to live up to it."

The truly wild maverick “outsider actress” Susan Tyrrell (18 March 1945 – 16 June 2012) was born 75 years ago today.  When she died, The Guardian’s headline for Tyrrell’s obituary announced, “Actor often cast in sleazy, raunchy roles.” Seriously - what greater career summary could an actress possibly hope for? She brought nuance and humanity to her portrayals of grotesques, harridans, shrews and alcoholics. Here is Tyrrell as Queen Doris of the Sixth Dimension in the 1980 film The Forbidden Zone. Read my tribute to Susan Tyrrell here.

Let’s face it: the puritanical, hypocritical and homophobic hellsite Tumblr has become a dying platform since it banned adult content in December 2018. I post here less and less. Follow me instead on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or on my blog. Fuck Tumblr!

[bitter69uk]

Susan Tyrrell (18 March 1945 – 16 June 2012) was born 70 years ago today – an excuse to re-visit my tribute / eulogy to this truly wild maverick “outsider actress” who brought nuance, conviction and humanity to her portrayals of harridans, shrews, grotesques, freaks and alcoholics. I love her performances in John Huston’s Fat City (1972), Andy Warhol’s BAD (1977) and John Waters’ Cry-baby (1990).