Walk on the Wild Side

“I'm a thousand different people. Every one is real.”

Her eyes glittered with the drunken rush of old Hollywood glamour. Her pouty red lips brought grown men to their knees. Her dramatic, self-indulgent wit made her an icon.

Her name made people smile.

Candy Darling.

She was born a male. In the 1950s, people knew her as little Jimmy Slattery, the boy with the drunken gambling father and sweet, but timid mother.

To escape her stifling blue-collar life in New York City, the future diva drowned herself in old Hollywood films. She worshipped Kim Novak. She envied Elizabeth Taylor. She dreamed of being Marilyn Monroe.

By the time she was a teenager, Candy was putting on her most stylish dresses, perfecting her makeup in the mirror, and strutting out the door to party at all the hottest gay bars in town. She changed her name and never looked back.

As a gorgeous woman with an outgoing personality and loads of confidence to boot, Candy was naturally drawn to the stage. She wanted to be beyond famous. She wanted to be a STAR.

She was starring in a burlesque show (featuring a talented, but virtually unknown actor named Robert De Niro) in 1967 when she caught the attention of pop artist Andy Warhol.

Intrigued by her addictive charisma and overwhelming sexuality, Andy asked Candy to act in his next film, Flesh.

Soon, the pair became best friends. Candy was a staple at the Warhol Factory. With the famous artist by her side, she lit up the most glitzy nightclubs in the world. She mingled with movie stars. She was the subject of several extremely famous rock songs. She was at the height of her fame.

But it was too good to last.



It wasn't long before Andy grew bored with the "chicks with dicks" theme. It was so last year, he decided. So, he ditched the transsexual. Candy went from being his BFF to being shunned by the man who had made her a superstar.

Suddenly, she was all alone. It was cruel and shocking to the 20-something performer.

Using her Warhol boost, Candy managed to keep her career afloat for a while during the early 1970s. She had small roles in low budget and even big budget films. She starred in a smattering of plays.

And then the inevitable occurred.

Candy was diagnosed with leukemia. It was the result of the hormones (mostly estrogen) she had been taking to maintain her feminine appearance during the last decade. The cancer ate away at her body with incredible speed.

Instead of being depressed, Candy saw her deadly illness as the role of a lifetime. The 29-year-old played the dying femme fatale with so much style and flamboyance, it would have made her old Hollywood idols proud. She even posed for a deathbed glamour shot.

She quite possible left the most charming death note in celebrity history:

To whom it may concern

By the time you read this I will be gone. Unfortunately before my death I had no desire left for life. Even with all my friends and my career on the upswing I felt too empty to go on in this unreal existence. I am just so bored by everything. You might say bored to death. It may sound ridiculous but is true. I have arranged my own funeral arrangements with a guest list and it is paid for. I would like to say goodbye to Jackie Curtis, I think you're fabulous. Holly, Sam Green a true friend and noble person, Ron Link I'll never forget you, Andy Warhol what can I say, Paul Morrissey, Lennie you know I loved you, Andy you too, Jeremiah don't take it too badly just remember what a bitch I was, Geraldine I guess you saw it coming. Richard Turley & Richard Golub I know I could've been a star but I decided I didn't want it. Manuel, I'm better off now. Terry I love you. Susan I am sorry, did you know I couldn't last I always knew it. I wish I could meet you all again.

Goodbye for Now

Love Always
Candy Darling

And just as she dreamed, Candy Darling has become a legend. She was the first drag queen to take over pop culture. Her influence can be found in movies, famous drag queens, and reality shows to this day.

With her fabulousness and cheerful glamour, she changed the world...and made it a more special one.

The Lady Lesbian

She was born into a world of scandal.

Her mother was the gorgeous mistress to King Edward VII and her father was a shadowy figure who was barely around.

By the time Violet Trefusis realized what was going on around her, she had already decided her life was going to be MUCH different than that of her promiscuous mother.

Unfortunately, the pretty little child had absolutely no idea that her future would not only eclipse her mother's famous affair, but shock the entire country.

When Violet was a teenager, she fell in love with a girl a couple years older, named Vita. Their flirtations came to a close when the king died and Violet's mother decided to take her family abroad for a couple years as a courtesy to her royal lover's grieving family.

When Violet came back to London, she was outraged to learn that Vita was engaged. To a man! To make Vita jealous, Violet flirted mercilessly with men at society parties and even got engaged a couple times to get her crush's attention.

But, it didn't work.

Vita

Vita remained happily married, giving birth to two sons. But then one day Vita's husband had a confession. He was cheating on her...with men. Stunned by her husband's homosexual liaisons, Vita made an agreement with him: he could have sex with as many men as he wanted, but she got to do the same...with women.

Thrilled by the turn of events, Violet once again declared her love for Vita and much to her astonishment, her wish came true! The two women spent every waking moment together, holding hands in the lush green countryside to frolicking on the beaches of South France.

Gossip of their affair traveled back to London, much to the dismay of Violet's mom. Even though the middle-aged woman had once been the mistress to the very married King of England, at least she had done it with a little dignity and discretion! Not prancing around Europe without a care in the world! With a woman, nonetheless!What was her daughter thinking?!

She threatened to cut off her daughter's finances until she married. Violet was torn. It was 1919. She had no skills to get a job. There was no way she could support herself alone. She begged Vita to leave her husband, so the two of them could run off together and live as a couple freely, without the hypocrisy of fake marriages disguising their true love. They would worry about money later, but at least they would have each other, honestly.

But Vita refused. Violet was asking something of her that wouldn't be socially acceptable until nearly 100 years later.

Frustrated and bitter, Violet agreed to marry the man of her mother's choice, only as long he agreed to never consummate the marriage. Here she was entering the hypocritical life of her mother, something she promised herself she would never do, but it seemed she wasn't being offered a better choice.

Her handsome new 20-something husband agreed to the platonic marriage, simply thinking that Violet was merely a pure and innocent girl who was terrified of sex. After the marriage was finalized, Violet finally confessed to her husband his worst nightmare: she was a lesbian.

When she tried to leave her husband to go back to Vita, however, she had her entire family as a roadblock.

Her younger sister, Sonia, was engaged to a very wealthy and respectable aristocrat (together, they would eventually become the grandparents to Camilla Parker Bowles). Violet's parents were adamant that their openly gay daughter not destroy the union by flaunting her homosexuality in public. Violet fought so hard to be able to see Vita, that it destroyed her family. Both her father and sister stopped speaking to her.

By the time her sister was married, it was too late for Violet and Vita to rekindle their romance. Someone had spread a rumor to Vita that Violet and her husband were sleeping together. Even though Violet insisted to Vita that it simply wasn't true, Vita was already too hurt. She ended their relationship, leaving Violet in anguished, broken-hearted despair.

In the late 1920s, Vita would go on to have one of the most famous lesbian affairs in world-wide history with writer Virginia Woolf.

Vita & Virginia

Violet, however, turned into a ghost of herself after the break-up.

In the 1920s, she began a long-term affair with the sewing machine heiress, Winnaretta Singer, who was married to a prince. But instead of wild passion and dreams of running away, the romance was much more discreet and controlled.

Violet's mother actually approved of this affair, because not only was it being conducted in good taste, but Winnaretta was one of the wealthiest and socially acceptable women in Europe. If her daughter was going to insist on being a lesbian, at least she was now sleeping with the right woman!

Winnaretta Singer

But Violet was miserable. She was living the lesbian version of her mother's life. She was nothing more than a mistress to married royalty.

Whatever happened to living free? Defying hypocrisy? Being PROUD of who you were?

Sadly, those were feelings way before her time. The world wasn't ready for it yet.

(source)

After World War II, Violet and Vita reconnected and rekindled their romance. They remained close friends for life.

Vita eventually passed away in 1962 and Violet passed away ten years later.

But their forbidden and tortured love remains the source of legend.

Books, movies, and history have preserved a bond forever.

A bond that couldn't even last for the people who created it nearly 100 years ago.

The Real Snow White

Growing up, Adriana Caselotti didn't know a life without music.

The enchanted little girl and her big sister were educated in an Italian convent, while her famous mother performed opera. When the family moved to Los Angeles years later, her father established himself as a very prominent voice teacher.

One day, in 1934, Adriana's father received a call from a Disney casting director, who was looking for a little girl's singing voice for a "small project."

 

Although she was already 18, Adriana begged her father to let her audition. She thought it would be fun. Plus, the talented young singer dreamed of a life in showbiz. Living in Hollywood, fame was all around her, all the time, enveloping her with excitement.

Reluctantly, her father allowed her to audition.

When Adriana arrived at the Disney studio, she coyly lied to the casting director, telling him she was much younger. Nobody questioned the bright-eyed brunette. And when she opened her mouth to sing, she wasn't nervous one bit.

But her nerves might have been rattled if she knew that Walt Disney was sitting in his office, listening to the auditions. He wanted to hear the singers, rather than see them. When Adriana's highly trained, high-pitched trills filled the speaker system, he immediately sought out his producers. "That's our Snow White," he told them.

 

When Adriana was told she received the role, she was absolutely thrilled. When she questioned what the project was about, producers were dismissive. "It's going to be longer than our usual seven-minute long cartoons," they told the attractive girl. She accepted the answer for what it was worth and went skipping home to share the good news with her family.

She had absolutely no idea that she was going to be part of history.

You see, Walt Disney was creating the very first full-length animated feature film cartoon. And not just that, but also the very first Disney Princess.

Adriana went on to spend long, exhausting days in the studio, recording numerous songs and dialogue. She thought it was a little silly they wanted this much audio for a small cartoon, but as a polite, respectful employee, she never questioned them.

In the end, she received $970 (today, around $15,000) for her hard work. She was ecstatic.

When the film was finished and being publicized around the world, Adriana felt a little hurt she had been kept in the dark. She wasn't even invited to the film's premiere! Harry Stockwell, who played the voice of the prince, suggested they sneak into the premiere. So, they did. Hiding up in a balcony, Adriana couldn't believe her eyes when she saw all her favorite movie stars, such as Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland, give her animated persona a standing ovation.

Several months later, when Adriana's identity was exposed, media around the world wanted to feature the beautiful songstress. But, Walt Disney forbid it. He said he didn't want the illusion of Snow White to be spoiled.

Since she was under a Disney contract, Walt went even further to prohibit Adriana from appearing in any films or plays. He essentially destroyed her career, before it could even blossom. All to protect his princess.

Although she was devastated, Adriana did nothing but smile. She was naturally optimistic and could never remain sad for very long. She was always happy, all the time. Just like Snow White.

Eventually, many years later, Walt relented and allowed Adriana to do promotions for Disney. As an adult, she dressed up as Snow White all over the world, performing at radio stations, children's hospitals, and schools. She adored every minute of it.

Even as an elderly woman, whenever Adriana would see someone sad or depressed, she would start singing, "I'm Wishing" and immediately cheer them up.

Unfortunately, in 1997, Adriana died of lung cancer. She left behind no children and several broken marriages.

But her legacy lives on forever, captured in a magical fairytale that always promises a happy ending, even when the real world is falling apart.

Technicolor Couture

I'm not a huge fan of musicals, but one of my guilty pleasures is Bye Bye Birdie.

The 1963 teen movie parodies the real-life drafting of Elvis into the United States Army.

It's cute, bubbly, adorable, and a technicolor dream come true.

But the main reason for watching it is because of its delightfully adorable star, Ann Margret.

The Swedish-born beauty is as sweet and innocent as American apple pie in this musical.

And it established the 20-year-old as a legimate fashion icon.

Ann Margret was the Britney Spears of the 1960s, starting out as an all-American girl-next-door to quickly transforming into a mischevious sex kitten.

Girls wanted to be her. Guys wanted to bang her.

In the early 1960s, she had a steamy affair with Elvis, that rocked headlines all over the world. Despite having a nasty break-up, the two remains close friends until his death, which made his wife absolutely livid.

In 1967, she married the love of her life, an actor named Roger. The two are still married today.

In 1972, while performing at Lake Tahoe, she fell 22 feet from an elevated platform onto the stage and nearly broke every single bone in her face. She had reconstructive facial surgery and spent months recovering.

In the 1980s, she used to drive around Beverly Hills in a pink Cadillac, like a bad-ass.

She has always been a huge motorcycle fan, a passion that started in the 1960s. She still rides her Harley today.

In 2000, she was thrown off her motorcycle while throwing caution to the wind in rural Minnesota. She suffered three broken ribs and a fractured shoulder. She's fine now.

Her latest work, an episode of Law & Order: SVU in 2010 earned her an Emmy award, which drew a standing ovation at the ceremony. Not bad, eh?

What do you think of Ann Margret? Do you like her 1960s style?

Your 1950s childhood

When most people look back at the 1950s, they see the decade as a delicious whirlwind of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, James Dean, soda fountains, poodle skirts, chocolate milkshakes, and motorcycles.

But, in reality, the world was a much darker place.

Imagine being a kid in the 1950s...

...and these were your toys.

 

 

 

Oh, you don't want to play by yourself anymore? I understand. How about playing a board game with your parents? That's safe, right?

 



 

No? Okay, how about browsing through your mom's fashion magazines? Surely those won't be terrifying. Christian Dior dresses, Chanel suits, and satin gloves. Sigh. Let's look at some of the advertisements now!

 

 

 

 

 

Well, fuck. Forget that shit. Let's just watch television!

 

 

 

Ugh, seriously?!?!

Ummm you know what, mom? I think I'm just going to go play outside!

 

 

 

 

Much, much better.

 

Phew.