Holly's Walk On The Wild Side Has Ended

December 7, 2015 3:18 AM

Holly came from Miami FLA/ Hitchhiked her way across the USA

From the Guardian....

Holly Woodlawn – Warhol superstar, transgender role model and inspiration behind Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side – died on 6 December after battling brain and liver cancer. She was 69.

“I was very happy when I gradually became a Warhol superstar. I felt like Elizabeth Taylor!” Woodlawn told the Guardian in 2007 “Little did I realise that not only would there be no money, but that your star would flicker for two seconds and that was it. But it was worth it, the drugs, the parties, it was fabulous."

posted by AGameOfMoans (41 comments total)

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posted by Faint of Butt at 3:45 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by oheso at 3:56 AM on December 7, 2015

But it was worth it, the drugs, the parties, it was fabulous.

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posted by Mister Bijou at 3:58 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by Monsieur Caution at 3:59 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by Splunge at 4:25 AM on December 7, 2015

Holly's vivid, trashy, tell-some The Holly Woodlawn Story: A Low Life in High Heels is a great read - RIP.
posted by ryanshepard at 4:26 AM on December 7, 2015 [3 favorites]

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posted by Halloween Jack at 4:40 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by wotsac at 4:54 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by drezdn at 5:00 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by Bringer Tom at 5:01 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by shiny blue object at 5:11 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by Gelatin at 5:18 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by oneironaut at 5:23 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by biggreenplant at 5:25 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by brujita at 5:27 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by TwoStride at 5:29 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by NedKoppel at 5:32 AM on December 7, 2015

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I recently saw "Walk on the wild side" - rendered in an anodyne orchestral form - as background music for fountains of Burj Khalifa's lake in Dubai. The lack of lyrics made me think of Holly.
posted by rongorongo at 6:05 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by mikelieman at 6:08 AM on December 7, 2015

rendered in an anodyne orchestral form

in lieu of Herbie Flowers
posted by thelonius at 6:18 AM on December 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

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posted by valkane at 6:21 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by allthinky at 6:24 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by Etrigan at 6:25 AM on December 7, 2015

★
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:57 AM on December 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

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posted by tonycpsu at 7:11 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:17 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:18 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by oceanjesse at 7:21 AM on December 7, 2015

I lived next door to Holly in West Hollywood for 4 years. She smoked like a chimney, she was a total sweetheart and she used one of Andy's wigs as a trivet in her kitchen.

Miss you Holly.
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posted by Sophie1 at 7:30 AM on December 7, 2015 [39 favorites]

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posted by pt68 at 7:33 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by marienbad at 8:02 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by From Bklyn at 8:07 AM on December 7, 2015

I follow Joe Dallesandro on FB. He was with Holly at hospice yesterday when she passed. Earlier, he had made a FB post where people could leave their goodbye messages to Holly in the comments (over 400 of them when I last looked) , and he read them to her on her last day. She left this world knowing she was loved.
posted by conic at 8:09 AM on December 7, 2015 [18 favorites]

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posted by evilDoug at 8:12 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by BibiRose at 8:26 AM on December 7, 2015

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posted by drnick at 9:15 AM on December 7, 2015

I saw a great performance by Holly Woodlawn at the Paradise Lounge in San Francisco in the 90s - Holly sang accompanied by a pianist. She was so over-the-top that she was rolling on the stage on the first song.

Also saw her at a couple of other public appearances in SF - most recently in 2010 at the Castro theater for a screening of Beautiful Darling, a film about Candy Darling. Here's my photo from the Q&A. (she is seated, and standing next to her is Jeremiah Newton, who was a close friend of Candy.)

I think of Holly, Candy, and Jackie Curtis as a triumvirate of Warhol Superstars. There is also a documentary on Jackie Curtis, but sadly there is not one on Holly, though she appears in the documentaries on the other two. There was talk over the years about a movie version of Holly's autobiography A Low Life in High Heels. At various points it was suggested that Holly might play herself, and at one point it was even floated that Madonna might play Holly. In 2004 it was suggested that Euan Morton might play Holly. But it seems that a film has never come together.

Holly was in a 1972 movie called Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers which is a lost film (scroll down). Vincent Canby panned it, but I would still like to see it if it is ever found.

Thank you Holly, for the memories.
posted by larrybob at 10:25 AM on December 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

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posted by treepour at 11:28 AM on December 7, 2015

Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo...

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posted by jim in austin at 7:50 PM on December 7, 2015

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posted by On the Corner at 3:12 AM on December 8, 2015

Craig Highberger, who did the Jackie Curtis documentary, has posted a new video, Remembering Holly Woodlawn.

Also today Fresh Air played an archive interview with Holly Woodlawn from 1991, when her memoir came out.
posted by larrybob at 5:25 PM on December 9, 2015