Crime, drugs, prostitution, sexual ambiguity, and the cinema take center stage in this funny but relentlessly self-indulgent memoir by the self-proclaimed ``Venus de Warhol.'' Born Harold Ajzenberg, Woodlawn geared up for a ``roller coaster ride of life'' when he discovered he was ``a shy, skinny kid with buck teeth who happened to have a passion for tight pants, mohair sweaters, and mascara.'' Pressured by a homophobic Catholic upbringing, he ran away at age 15 from Miami to New York with hopes of becoming a ``Superstar.'' The N.Y.C. underground of the late 60's and early 70's is the perfect backdrop for Woodlawn's raucous accounts of rising to fame from the welfare rolls, doing bouts in the slammer, winning the title of ``Miss Donut of Amsterdam, New York,'' and, finally, riding ``the Warhol gravy train''—all told with mirth and untiring vulgarity. During the pandemonium, he managed to hobnob with the choicest of celebrities and ``hangers- on.'' Great stories abound, such as George Cukor's petitioning for an Oscar nomination for Woodlawn's role in Paul Morrissey's Trash (the film that won Woodlawn international recognition); and Woodlawn escorting Jim Morrison to the ``Mine Shaft,'' a once- notorious New York gay sex club. He also takes delight in sneering at such drag cohorts as Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, and one-time roommate Divine. Woodlawn is most interesting when he gets serious about the craft behind being a ``star of Stage!, Screen!, And Max's Kansas City!'' Preferring a stiff martini to method acting, he developed a style that combined ugly clothes, hysterical rant, and absurd posing and that won him audiences at cabarets throughout N.Y.C. But the self-aggrandizing tone wears thin, especially when he piles on clichÇs like ``Oh, so many men, so little time'' and ``I was fit to be tied!'' An enjoyable, sometimes mind-boggling document not only of Woodlawn but of those pre-MTV days when ``the bad, beautiful and voracious New York underground'' were truly shocking. (Sixteen pages of photographs—not seen.)
Pub Date: Nov. 18, 1991
ISBN: 0-312-06429-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
