Divine (Glen Milstead)

He is also remembered as a major character in the documentary homage Divine Trash (1998) by Steve Yeager, covering the life and work of John Waters. Essex has nevertheless continued to act and sing and enjoys a large fan base in the UK. Divine died from an enlarged heart. However, by the time of his West End musical flop, Mutiny, based on the Mutiny on the Bounty story, in 1985, his appeal was on the wane. "Glenn was born before civil rights, gay rights, or women's rights...God doesn't want people created out of a Xerox machine...The tragedy is that Glenn was cut off right at the point of becoming who he really was, and the world will never see how that flower could have unfolded."
—Reverend Leland Higginbotham in his Eulogy at Divine's funeral; Baltimore, Maryland, March, 1988. In 1978, Essex was Che Guevara in the original production of Evita, and in the same year appeared in the film Silver Dream Racer, all the while continuing his successful singing career. In the 1980s, Glenn's music was a hit through America, Europe, and Australia. His music had progressive house techno beats with energizing lyrics that appealed to synth boppers. A number one hit and a follow-up film turned him into one of the UK's biggest stars.

Repeating their successful pairing in Polyester, in 1985 Divine appeared opposite Tab Hunter in their bigger hit Lust in the Dust. It took a couple of years for his career to take off, which it did with his appearance in the film, That'll Be The Day (1973) and a major hit, "Rock On" (which he wrote himself), in the same year. Divine starred in a number of films, and was particularly well known as being part of the regular crew known as the Dreamlanders that appeared in many of John Waters earlier works such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, and Hairspray. His big break came when he was selected to play the lead in the musical Godspell in 1971. John Waters was a childhood friend who he met while living there. Born in London, real name David Cook, he failed in his first attempt at stardom. Born to Bernard and Diana Francis Milstead, at the age of 12 the family moved to Lutherville, a suburb of Baltimore. David Essex (born July 23, 1947) is a British actor and singer who has enjoyed a varied career.

Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 Towson, Maryland - March 7, 1988) was better known by his drag persona Divine. ISBN 1555835945. Los Angeles: Alyson Books. My Son Divine.

Milstead, Frances; Heffernan, Kevin; and Yeager, Steve (2001). ISBN 0-671-88467-0. New York: Fireside. Not Simply Divine.

Jay, Bernard (1994). "Walk Like a Man" (1985). "I'm So Beautiful" (1984). "You Think You're a Man" (1984).

"Shake It Up" (1983). "Love Reaction" (1983). "Shoot Your Shot" (1982). "Native Love (Step by Step)" (1982).

The Best of Divine (1997) (compilation). The Originals and the Remixes (1996) (2 CD compilation). Shoot Your Shot (1995). Born to Be Bad (1995) (live).

The 12" Collection (1993) (compilation). The Best Of & The Rest Of (1989) (compilation). Maid In England (1988). The Story So Far (1984).

Jungle Jezebel (1982). My First Album (1982). Out of the Dark (1989). Hairspray (1988).

Lust in the Dust (1985). Trouble in Mind (1985). Polyester (1981). Female Trouble (1974).

Pink Flamingos (1972) (aka John Waters' Pink Flamingos). Multiple Maniacs (1970). The Diane Linkletter Story (1969). Mondo Trasho (1969).

Eat Your Makeup (1968).