DESIGNER UNKNOWN DIVINE / RED PARROT. 1983. 24x19 inches, 61x48 1/4 cm. Condition A: minor creases and abrasions in image. Drag queen, actor and singer Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead) came to fame in Baltimore largely due to his friendship with movie director John Waters. The two collaborated on many films between 1966 and 1988, including the director's seminal Pink Flamingos in 1972 and the cult classic Hairspray in 1988. The no longer extant Red Parrot was an enormous ballroom, with dancing and live performances. Divine began singing in clubs towards the end of the 1970s. His live performances were as viscerally "trashy and outrageous" as his onscreen characters. One week after this show, Madonna (herself an up and coming star) took to the same stage for which there is also a poster.
