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Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt;  – ) was an English
raconteur A humorist ( American) or humourist ( British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show busin ...
, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of his life and various media appearances. Before becoming well-known, he was an artist's model, hence the title of his most famous work, '' The Naked Civil Servant''. He afterwards became a gay icon due to his flamboyant personality, fashion sense and
wit Wit is a form of intelligent humour, the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny. Someone witty is a person who is skilled at making clever and funny remarks. Forms of wit include the quip, repartee, and wisecrack. Form ...
. His iconic status was occasionally controversial, due to remarks about subjects like the AIDS crisis. This invited censure from
gay activists Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...
, including human-rights campaigner
Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is a British human rights campaigner, originally from Australia, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for Bermon ...
. During his teen years, he worked briefly as a rent boy. He then spent thirty years as a professional model for life-classes in art colleges. The interviews he gave about his unusual life attracted great curiosity, and he was soon sought after for his personal views on social manners and the cultivation of style. His one-man stage show was a long-running hit both in Britain and America, and he also appeared in films and on television. Crisp defied convention by criticising both gay liberation and Diana, Princess of Wales. Despite considering himself a
gay man ''Gay'' is a term that Terminology of homosexuality, primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to Gay men, ...
for most of his life, just before his death, Crisp wrote in an autobiography that it had been "explained" to him that he was "not really homosexual", but was
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
.Crisp, Quentin. The Last Word. MB Books LLC, 2018 https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/11/21/quentin-crisp-reflects-on-trans-identity-in-exclusive-final-autobiography/


Biography


Early life

Denis Charles Pratt was born in Sutton, Surrey, on 25 December 1908, the fourth child of solicitor Spencer Charles Pratt (1871–1931) and former
governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...
Frances Marion Pratt (née Phillips; 1873–1960). His elder siblings were Katherine (1901–1976), Gerald (1902–1983) and Lewis (1907–1968). He changed his name to Quentin Crisp in his twenties after leaving home, and expressed a feminine appearance to a degree that shocked contemporary Londoners and provoked gay-bashing assaults. By his own account, Crisp was "effeminate" from an early age, resulting in his being teased while at
Kingswood House School Kingswood House School is an independent school in Epsom, Surrey in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1899 and moved to its present site in West Hill in 1920. In September 2021 it opened its doors to girls and became co-educational from ...
in
Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...
, Surrey, from which he won a scholarship to
Denstone College Denstone College is a mixed, independent, boarding and day school in Denstone, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. It is a Woodard School, having been founded by Nathaniel Woodard, and so Christian traditions are practised as part of Colle ...
,
Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from ...
, Staffordshire, in 1922. After leaving school in 1926, Crisp studied journalism at King's College London, but failed to graduate in 1928, going on to take art classes at the Regent Street Polytechnic. Around this time, Crisp began visiting the cafés of
Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...
– his favourite being The Black Cat in
Old Compton Street Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London. History The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. Th ...
– meeting other young gay men and rent-boys, and experimenting with make-up and women's clothes. For six months, he worked as a prostitute; in a 1998 interview, he said he was looking for love, but found only degradation, a reflection he had previously expressed in the 1968 '' World in Action'' interview, which aired on television in 1971. Crisp left home to move to the centre of London at the end of 1930, and after dwelling in a succession of flats, found a bed-sitting room in Denbigh Street,
Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Victor ...
, where he "held court with London's brightest and roughest characters." His 'outlandish' appearance – he wore bright make-up, dyed his long hair crimson, painted his fingernails and wore sandals to display his painted toe-nails – brought admiration and curiosity from some quarters, but generally attracted hostility and violence from strangers passing him in the streets.


Middle years

Crisp attempted to join the
British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
at the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, but was rejected and declared exempt by the medical board on the grounds that he was "suffering from sexual perversion". He remained in London during the 1941 Blitz, stocked up on cosmetics, purchased five pounds of henna and later paraded through the streets during the black-out, picking up G.I.s. In 1940, he moved into a first-floor flat at 129 Beaufort Street, Chelsea, a bed-sitting room that he occupied until he emigrated to the United States in 1981. In the intervening years, he never attempted any housework, writing famously in his memoir ''The Naked Civil Servant'': "After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse." Crisp left his job as an engineer's tracer in 1942 to become a model in life classes in London and the
Home Counties The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often inclu ...
. Crisp wanted to call his book ''I Reign in Hell'', a reference to Milton's ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674 ...
'' ("Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven"). Crisp's agent insisted on ''The Naked Civil Servant'', an insistence that later gave him pause when he offered the manuscript to Tom Maschler of
Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
on the same day that Desmond Morris delivered '' The Naked Ape''. ''The Naked Civil Servant'' was published in 1968 to generally good reviews, although it initially only sold 3,500 copies. Crisp was then approached by the documentary film maker Denis Mitchell to be the subject of a 1968 short film in which he discussed his life and lifestyle. The documentary aired on British television in 1971.


Fame

In 1975, the television version of '' The Naked Civil Servant'' was broadcast on British and US television, making actor
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in ...
and Crisp into stars. This success launched Crisp in a new direction: that of performer and tutor. He devised a one-man show and began touring the country with it. The first half of the show was an entertaining monologue loosely based on his memoirs, while the second half was a question-and-answer session with Crisp picking the audience's written questions at random and answering them in an amusing manner. After the success of the film, his autobiography was reprinted; '' Gay News'' commented that it should have been published posthumously (Crisp said that this was their polite way of telling him to drop dead). Gay rights campaigner
Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is a British human rights campaigner, originally from Australia, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for Bermon ...
said he had met Crisp in 1974, and alleged that he was not sympathetic to the Gay Liberation movement of the time. Tatchell said Crisp asked him: "What do you want liberation from? What is there to be proud of? I don't believe in rights for homosexuals."Peter Tatchel
"Quentin Crisp was no gay hero"
''The Independent'' 29 December 2009
By now Crisp was a theatre-filling humorist; in 1978, his one-man show sold out London's Duke of York's Theatre. He then took the show to New York. His first stay in the
Hotel Chelsea The Hotel Chelsea (also the Chelsea Hotel or the Chelsea) is a hotel in Manhattan, New York City, built between 1883 and 1885. The 250-unit hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the neighborhood of ...
coincided with a fire, a robbery, and the death of Nancy Spungen. Crisp decided to move to New York permanently and, in 1981, found a small apartment at 46 East 3rd Street in Manhattan's East Village. As he had done in London, Crisp allowed his telephone number to be listed in the
telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that ...
. He saw it as his duty to converse with anyone who called him, saying "If you don't have your name in the phone book, you're stuck with your friends. How will you ever enlarge your horizons?" He answered the phone with the phrase: "Yes, Lord?", or "Oh yes?", in a querulous tone of voice. His openness to strangers extended to accepting dinner invitations from almost anyone. Whilst he expected that the host would pay for dinner, Crisp did his best to "sing for his supper" by regaling his host with wonderful stories and yarns, much as he did in his theatrical performances. Crisp continued to perform his one-man show, published books on the importance of contemporary manners as a means of social inclusion (as opposed to etiquette, which he claimed is socially exclusive), and supported himself by accepting social invitations, and writing film reviews and columns for UK and US magazines and newspapers. He said that provided one could exist on peanuts and champagne, one could quite easily live by going to every cocktail party,
premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...
and first night to which one was invited. Crisp also acted on television and in films. He made his debut as a film actor in the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...
's low-budget production of ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
'' (1976). Crisp played
Polonius Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's play '' Hamlet''. He is chief counsellor of the play's ultimate villain, Claudius, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Generally regarded as wrong in every judgment he makes over the cours ...
in the 65-minute adaptation of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's play, supported by
Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdo ...
, who doubled as
Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama '' Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends u ...
and Gertrude. He appeared in the 1985 film '' The Bride'', which brought him into contact with Sting, who played the lead role of Baron
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...
and, in 1987, wrote the song "
Englishman in New York "Englishman in New York" is a song by English singer-songwriter Sting, from his second studio album '' ...Nothing Like the Sun'', released in October 1987. Branford Marsalis played soprano saxophone on the track, while the drums were played by ...
" for Crisp. Crisp also appeared on the television show ''
The Equalizer ''The Equalizer'' is an American spy thriller multimedia franchise initially co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, and originating with a CBS television series from 1985 to 1989, starring Edward Woodward. The concept was thereafte ...
'' in the 1987 episode "First Light", and as the narrator of director
Richard Kwietniowski Richard Kwietniowski (born 17 March 1957) is an English film director and screenwriter of Polish descent. During the 1980s he was a film lecturer at Bulmershe College of Higher Education (now Bulmershe Court in Reading, Berkshire. He has dir ...
's short film ''Ballad of Reading Gaol'' (1988), based on the
poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...
by
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
. Four years later, he was cast in a lead role, and got top billing, in the low-budget
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
'' Topsy and Bunker: The Cat Killers'', playing the door-man of a flea-bag hotel in a run-down neighbourhood, quite like the one he lived in. Director Thomas Massengale reportedly said that Crisp was a delight to work with. The 1990s would prove to be his most prolific decade as an actor, as more and more directors offered him roles. In 1992 he was persuaded by Sally Potter to play
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
in the film ''
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...
''. Although he found the role taxing, he won acclaim for a dignified and touching performance. Crisp next had an uncredited cameo in the 1993 AIDS drama ''
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.'' Crisp accepted some other small bit parts and cameos, such as a pageant judge in 1995's '' To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar''. Crisp's last role was in an independent film, ''American Mod'' (1999), while his last full-feature film was ''HomoHeights'' (also released as ''Happy Heights'', 1996). He was chosen by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
to deliver the first '' Alternative Christmas Speech'', a counterpoint to the Queen's Christmas speech, in 1993.


Last years

Crisp remained fiercely independent and unpredictable into old age. He caused controversy and confusion in the gay community by jokingly calling AIDS "a fad", and homosexuality "a terrible disease". He was continually in demand from journalists requiring a sound-bite, and throughout the 1990s his commentary was sought on any number of topics. Crisp was a stern critic of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her attempts to gain public sympathy following her divorce from
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
. He stated: "I always thought Diana was such trash and got what she deserved. She was Lady Diana before she was Princess Diana so she knew the racket. She knew that royal marriages have nothing to do with love. You marry a man and you stand beside him on public occasions and you wave and for that you never have a financial worry until the day you die." Following her death in 1997, he commented that it was perhaps her "fast and shallow" lifestyle that led to her demise: "She could have been – and she was swanning about Paris with Arabs. What disgraceful behaviour! Going about saying she wanted to be the queen of hearts. The vulgarity of it is so overpowering." In 1995 he was among the many people interviewed for '' The Celluloid Closet'', a historical documentary addressing how Hollywood films have depicted homosexuality. In his third volume of memoirs, ''Resident Alien'', published in the same year, Crisp stated that he was close to the end of his life, though he continued to make public appearances, and in June of that year he was one of the guest entertainers at the second Pride Scotland festival in Glasgow. In 1997 Crisp was crowned king of the Beaux-Arts Ball run by the Beaux Arts Society. He presided alongside Queen Audrey Kargere, Prince George Bettinger and Princess Annette Hunt. In December 1998 he celebrated his ninetieth birthday, performing the opening night of his one-man show, ''An Evening with Quentin Crisp'', at The Intar Theatre on Forty-Second Street in New York City (produced by John Glines of The Glines organisation). At the age of 90 Crisp wrote that he had "accepted" that he was
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
. In ''The Last Word'', published posthumously, Crisp wrote, "Having labeled myself homosexual and having been labeled as such by the wider world, I have effectively lived a 'gay' life for most of my years. Consequently, I can relate to gay men because I have more or less been one for so long in spite of my actual fate being that of a woman trapped in a man's body. I refer to myself as homosexual without thinking because of how I have lived my life. If you are reading this and are gay, think of me as one of your own even though you now know the truth. If it's confusing for you, think how confusing it has been for me these past ninety years."


Death

Crisp died of a heart attack on 21 November 1999, nearly one month before his 91st birthday, while staying at the home of a friend in
Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the city centre. Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the 2011 census, and Chorlton Park 15,147. By the 9th century, there was an Anglo-Saxon settlement h ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, on the eve of a nationwide revival of his one-man show. A humorous pact he had made with
Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have estab ...
to live to be a century old, with a decade off for good behaviour, proved prophetic. He was cremated with a minimum of ceremony as he had requested, and his ashes were flown back to his personal assistant and travel companion Phillip Ward in New York. He bequeathed his rights in three books to his respective collaborators: Phillip Ward for Crisp's final book ''The Last Word'' and the book ''And One More Thing'' (formerly titled ''Dusty Answers''); Guy Kettelhack for ''The Wit and Wisdom of Quentin Crisp'' and John Hofsess for ''Manners from Heaven''. He bequeathed all future UK-only income (but not the
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
s, which belong to Ward, literary agent Stedman Mays, writer Mary Tahan and are managed by Ward) from his remaining literary estate (including ''The Naked Civil Servant'') to the two men he considered to have had the greatest influence on his career: Richard Gollner, his long-time agent and his first agent Donald Carroll.


Posthumous works

In the two years before his death (1997–1999), Crisp had been compiling a work that was to initially be titled ''The Dusty Answers'' with Phillip Ward. Crisp and Ward developed material for this book through many hours of recorded interviews, which was necessary because Crisp had lost the use of his left hand and was unable to use a typewriter or computer. The resulting manuscript remained unpublished for eighteen years after Crisp's death, because Ward found it emotionally difficult to transcribe Crisp's words. A chance meeting with Laurence Watts, who interviewed Ward for ''
Pink News ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in 2005. It closely follows political progress on LGBT rights ar ...
'', led to a partnership that would see them co-edit Crisp's remaining work. On 21 November 2017, MB Books published ''The Last Word: An Autobiography'' by Crisp, edited by Ward and Watts. Whereas ''The Naked Civil Servant'' made Crisp famous and ''How To Become A Virgin'' detailed that fame, and his life in New York, ''The Last Word'' was written as a goodbye to the world, with Crisp knowing the end was near. In it he recounts several previously untold stories from his life, walks the reader through his journey from obscurity, and reflects on his philosophy. He also describes the realisation that he was a trans woman and not a gay man. In January 2019, MB Books published ''And One More Thing'', a companion book to ''The Last Word: An Autobiography'', again edited by Ward and Watts. This book contains material that the editors believed did not fit into ''The Last Word''. In ''And One More Thing'', Crisp primarily shares his views on other people, their lives and their opinions, from flapper girls to
Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist and writer. President Bill Clinton admitted to having an affair with Lewinsky while she worked at the White House as an intern in 1995 and 1996. The affair, and its repercu ...
, and from the British Royal Family to
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
. Also included are his collected poems, the script for his Alternative Christmas Message, broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 in 1993, and the script of his one-man show ''An Evening With Quentin Crisp''.


Influence and legacy

Sting dedicated his song "
Englishman in New York "Englishman in New York" is a song by English singer-songwriter Sting, from his second studio album '' ...Nothing Like the Sun'', released in October 1987. Branford Marsalis played soprano saxophone on the track, while the drums were played by ...
" (1987) to Crisp. He had jokingly remarked "that he looked forward to receiving his naturalisation papers so that he could commit a crime and not be deported." In late 1986 Sting visited Crisp in his apartment and was told over dinner, and the next three days, what life had been like for a homosexual man in the largely homophobic Great Britain of the 1920s to the 1960s. Sting was both shocked and fascinated and decided to write the song. It includes the lines: Sting says, "Well, it's partly about me and partly about Quentin. Again, I was looking for a metaphor. Quentin is a hero of mine, someone I know very well. He is gay and he was gay at a time in history when it was dangerous to be so. He had people beating up on him on a daily basis, largely with the consent of the public." Crisp was the subject of a photographic portrait by
Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black ...
and was also chronicled in
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
's diaries. In his 1995 autobiography '' Take It Like a Man'', singer
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
discusses how he had felt an affinity towards Crisp during his childhood, as they faced similar problems as young homosexual people living in homophobic surroundings. In 1991, a documentary about Crisp, ''Resident Alien'', was released by Greycat Films. Crisp was then the subject of the play ''Resident Alien'', by Tim Fountain, which starred his friend
Bette Bourne Bette Bourne (born Peter Bourne, 22 September 1939) is a British actor, drag queen, campaigner, and activist. His theatrical career has spanned six decades. He came to prominence in the mid-1970s onwards after joining the New York-based alterna ...
. The play opened in 1999 at the Bush Theatre in London; in 2001, it transferred to the New York Theatre Workshop where it won two
Obies Obies () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in the ...
(for performance and design). In 2002, it won a Herald Angel (Best Actor) at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
; subsequent productions have been seen across the US and Australia. The 1981
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
song ''No G.D.M'' by German electro band Gina X Performance is dedicated to Crisp. The song ''The Ballad of Jack Eric Williams (and Other Three-Named Composers)'' from William Finn's 2003 song-cycle ''Elegies'' refers to him. In 2009 a television sequel to ''The Naked Civil Servant'' was broadcast. Entitled ''
An Englishman in New York "An Englishman in New York" is a song by Godley & Creme, from their 1979 album '' Freeze Frame''. It is memorable for an innovative self-produced music video which involved Godley singing in front of Creme, as Creme conducted mannequins dresse ...
'', the production documented Crisp's later years in Manhattan. Thirty-four years after his first award-winning performance as Crisp,
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in ...
returned to play him again. Other co-stars included Denis O'Hare as Phillip Steele (an amalgam character based on Crisp's friends Phillip Ward and Tom Steele), Jonathan Tucker as artist
Patrick Angus Patrick Angus (1953–1992) was a 20th-century American painter who, among many other works, created a number acrylic paintings of the interior of the Gaiety Theater and some of its dancers and customers in the 1980s. Some of the titles are: '' ...
,
Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding S ...
as
Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have estab ...
, and Swoosie Kurtz as
Connie Clausen Connie Clausen (born Constance Clausen on June 11, 1923, in Menasha, Wisconsin, and died September 7, 1997, in New York City) was an American actress, author, and literary agent. Career Connie Clausen's career began in 1942 at the age of 19 ...
. The production was filmed in New York in August 2008 and completed in London in October 2008. The film was directed by British director Richard Laxton, written by Brian Fillis, produced by Amanda Jenks and made its premiere at the
Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
(the Berlin International Film Festival) in early February 2009, before being shown on television later that year. That same year, Crisp's great-nephew, academic and film-maker Adrian Goycoolea, premiered a short documentary, ''Uncle Denis?'', at the 23rd
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, formerly known as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF), is the biggest LGBTIQ+ film festival in Europe. It takes place every spring in London, England. It began in 1986, as a season of gay and ...
. The film uses interviews with family and previously unseen home movie footage. In collaboration with Crisperanto (The Quentin Crisp Archives) curator Philip Ward, Goycoolea also created an installation entitled 'Personal Effects' at the 2010 MIX NYC,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, which recreated Crisp's New York apartment using his personal effects and included home video footage. In 2013, with curator Ward, the
Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...
in Manhattan staged a three-month retrospective on Crisp, entitled ''Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Quentin Crisp''. The retrospective consisted of free screenings of interviews, one man shows, documentaries and other recorded media. In 2014 Mark Farrelly's solo performance ''Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope'' debuted at the Edinburgh Festival, before transferring to the St. James's Theatre in London and subsequently touring. It depicts Crisp at his Chelsea flat in the 1960s and performing his one-man show thirty years later. In the 2016 ''Ghostbusters'' reboot,
Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on '' The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Ni ...
explicitly based the dress style of his character (Martin Heiss) on Crisp. In his 2020 autobiography ''Confess'',
Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has ...
of
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
identifies Crisp as having been a hero of his. When the then closeted Halford had first seen ''The Naked Civil Servant'' in 1975, he had been impressed by the film and Crisp. Halford came out, in an MTV interview, on 4 February 1998. In 1999, Halford attended San Diego Pride with his partner, Thomas. While there, Halford met Crisp, and got a book signed by him ('To Rob, from Quentin'). According to Halford, he continues to treasure the signed book. Halford views himself as a rock version of Crisp, and refers to himself as the "stately homo of heavy metal".


Works

* ''Lettering for Brush and Pen'' (1936), Quentin Crisp and A.F. Stuart, Frederick Warne Ltd. Manual on typefaces for advertising. * ''Colour In Display'' (1938) Quentin Crisp, 131 pp., The Blandford Press. Manual on the use of colour in window displays. * ''All This and Bevin Too'' (1943) Quentin Crisp, illustrated by ''
Mervyn Peake Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...
'', Mervyn Peake Society . Parable, in verse, about an unemployed kangaroo. * '' The Naked Civil Servant'' (1968) Quentin Crisp, 222 pp., HarperCollins, . Crisp's account of the first half of his life. * ''How to Have a Life Style'' (1975), Quentin Crisp, 159 pp., Cecil Woolf Publ., . Essays on charisma and personality. * ''Love Made Easy'' (1977) Quentin Crisp, 154 pp., Duckworth, . Fantastical, semi-autobiographical novel. * ''Chog: A Gothic Fable'' (1979), Quentin Crisp, Methuen, London. Illustrated by Jo Lynch, Magnum (1981). * ''How to Become a Virgin'' (1981) Quentin Crisp, 192 pp., HarperCollins, . The second instalment of autobiography, describing his experience of the fame that ''The Naked Civil Servant'' and its dramatisation brought. * ''Doing It With Style'' (1981) Quentin Crisp, with Donald Carroll, illustrated by Jonathan Hills, 157 pp., Methuen, . A guide to thoughtful and stylish living. * ''The Wit and Wisdom of Quentin Crisp'' (1984) Quentin Crisp, edited by Guy Kettelhack, Harper & Row, 140 pp., . Compilation of Crisp's essays and quotations. * ''Manners from Heaven: a divine guide to good behaviour'' (1984) Quentin Crisp, with John Hofsess, Hutchinson, . Instructions for compassionate living. * ''How to Go to the Movies'' (1988) Quentin Crisp, 224 pp., St. Martin's Press, . Movie reviews and essays on film. * ''Quentin Crisp's Book of Quotations'', also published as ''The Gay and Lesbian Quotation Book: a literary companion'' (1989) edited by Quentin Crisp, Hale, 185 pp. . Anthology of gay-related quotes. * ''Resident Alien: The New York Diaries'' (1996) Quentin Crisp, 232 pp., HarperCollins, . Diaries and recollections from 1990 to 1994. * ''The Last Word: An Autobiography'', (2017) Quentin Crisp, edited by Phillip Ward and Laurence Watts, MB Books, 232 pp., . Quentin Crisp's final book, the third and last instalment of his autobiography, written during the last two years of his life. * ''And One More Thing'', (2019) Quentin Crisp, edited by Phillip Ward and Laurence Watts, MB Books, 193 pp., . A companion book to Quentin Crisp's ''The Last Word: An Autobiography''. Crisp shares his views on other people, their lives and their opinions. Included is the script for Quentin's Alternative Christmas Message, broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 in 1993, the script of his one-man show ''An Evening With Quentin Crisp'' and his collected poetry.


Filmography

* '' Captain Busby: the Even Tenour of Her Ways '' - (1967) - with ''
Martina Mayne Martina Thomson, stage name Martina Mayne, (c. 1925–2013) was a German actress, art therapist, poet and translator, active in England. In 2009 she produced the first published translation into English of the work of the German poet Paula Ludwi ...
'', as Marcella * '' World in Action (documentary) (Broadcast 1971, filmed in 1968) ...himself. Directed by Denis Mitchell. * '' The Naked Civil Servant'' (1975) (introduction)... himself * ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
'' (1976) .... Polonius * '' The Bride''.... Dr. Zalhus * ''
The Equalizer ''The Equalizer'' is an American spy thriller multimedia franchise initially co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, and originating with a CBS television series from 1985 to 1989, starring Edward Woodward. The concept was thereafte ...
'' .... Ernie Frick (episode, "First Light") (1987) * ''
Ballad of Reading Gaol ''The Ballad of Reading Gaol'' is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol () on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of gross indecency with other ...
'' (short) (1988) .... Narrator * '' Resident Alien'' (1990) (autobiography) .... Himself * '' Topsy and Bunker: The Cat Killers'' (1992) .... Pat the Doorman * ''
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...
'' (1992) .... Queen Elizabeth I * ''
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
'' (1993) (uncredited) .... Guest at Party * '' Red Ribbons'' (1994) (Video) .... Horace Nightingale III * ''Aunt Fannie'' (1994) (Video) .... Aunt Fannie * ''Natural Born Crazies'' (1994) .... Narrator * '' To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar'' (1995) .... New York pageant judge * '' Taylor Mead Unleashed'', (documentary-1996) Himself. Sebastian Piras director * ''
Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Broth ...
'' (1997) (voice) .... Narrator * ''Barriers'' (1998) * ''Famous Again'' (1998)


Discography

* "An Evening with Quentin Crisp" (2008) .... Cherry Red Records (U.K.) .... Double C.D. featuring live recordings made at Columbia Recording Studios, New York, on 22 February 1979. Also includes a 35-minute interview with Crisp by Morgan Fisher, recorded in June 1980. * "Miniatures 1 & 2" (2008) .... Cherry Red Records (U.K.) .... Double C.D. of one-minute tracks by many muses, poets, etc. Produced by Morgan Fisher in 1980 (Pt.1) and 2000 (Pt. 2). Crisp's track is titled "Stop the Music for a Minute".


See also

* LGBT culture in New York City *
List of LGBT people from New York City New York City is home to one of the largest LGBT populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' writes that the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most ...


References


Notes

* ''Take It Like A Man'', Boy George, Sidgwick & Jackson, 490 pages, . Autobiography of Boy George. * ''Coming on Strong'', Joan Rhodes, Serendipity Books, 2007. Autobiography of strongwoman Joan Rhodes who was an intimate friend of Crisp's for over half a century. * ''The Krays and Bette Davis'', Patrick Newley, AuthorsOnline Books, 2005. Memoir by showbiz writer Patrick Newley who acted as Crisp's P.A. for some years.


Biographies

* ''The Stately Homo: a celebration of the life of Quentin Crisp'', (2000) edited by Paul Bailey, Bantam, 251 pages, . Collection of interviews and tributes from those who knew Crisp. * ''Quentin Crisp'', (2002), Tim Fountain, Absolute Press, 192 pages, . Biography by dramatist who knew Crisp in the last few years of his life. * ''Quentin & Philip'', (2002), Andrew Barrow, Macmillan, 559 pages, . Dual biography of Crisp and his friend Philip O'Connor. * ''Quentin Crisp: The Profession of Being'', (2011), Nigel Kelly, McFarland, . Biography of Mr Crisp by Nigel Kelly who runs the www.quentincrisp.info website.


Further reading

;Archival sources * Robert Patrick. Letters from Quentin Crisp, 1991–1999 (.21 linear feet) are housed at the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...
. * Donald Carroll letters received from poets, 1959–1969 (.45 cubic feet) are housed Pennsylvania State University Libraries.


External links

* * World in Actionbr>- YouTube- YouTube

Official site
Crisperanto: The Quentin Crisp Archives ~ All Things Quentin Crisp!
Obituary
in the online magazine Salon.com
Interview from 1997
in Spike Magazine
One-hour radio interview from 1989
from Bob Claster's Funny Stuff – KCRW Santa Monica *
Cherry Red Records, who have released recordings by Quentin

Interview with Donald Carroll in 1981
by
Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for '' The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral hi ...
from the Studs Terkel Radio Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Crisp, Quentin 1908 births 1999 deaths 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male writers 20th-century LGBT people Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic British socialites English artists' models English calligraphers English designers English expatriates in the United States English gay actors English gay writers English graphic designers English male film actors English male prostitutes English male stage actors English male television actors LGBT broadcasters from the United Kingdom LGBT memoirists LGBT writers from England People educated at Denstone College People educated at Kingswood House School People from Sutton, London People from the East Village, Manhattan Writers from Manhattan Transgender actors Transgender models Transgender writers