26 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE APRIL 16, 1993

ENTERTAINMENT

A frank, funny view of 1960s New York gay life

A Low Life in High Heels: The Holly Woodlawn Story by Holly Woodlawn

with Jeff Copeland Introduction by Paul Morrissey HarperPerennial, 305 p., $12.00 paperback

Reviewed by Peter Taylor

Holly Woodlawn, star of several Andy Warhol films, has written an autobiographical story of her/his life. Drugs, sex, parties and will-power are what kept this extravagant and intelligent person alive, while growing up in Manhattan during the '60s.

We follow her charming life from the time she was growing up with her family in

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Puerto Rico to her ups and downs in New York City. Holly (aka Harold Ajzenberg) worked her way up from the gutter and onto the silver screen, attempting to achieve the status of a "Warhol" superstar. Following her move, running away from her parents in Florida (after her mother moved for a better life in America), Holly and a friend traveled up the East Coast to New York City. With Holly ending up being the only one to remain there, she learned to survive on the streets of New York--an experience which stayed with her even to the present. Several drag queens who felt pity for Holly took her under their wings and taught her how to live, with the most basic necessities in life-makeup and the clothes on her back. Living

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quarters were supplied by her new-found friends who let Holly stay for short periods of time, usually a few months. Money for food and especially that very important ingredient of life--drugs--was supplied by turning tricks, a profession which Holly soon outgrew.

Once Holly had established herself for a few years, she linked up with two queens, Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling, who introduced her to the joys and follies of stardom. Both ladies had worked on previous films for the Factory, an arts establishment headed by the king of pop culture himself, Andy Warhol. Holly tried to do anything to make herself a name to be reckoned with, by lying, stealing, anything for the name of glory and to be associated with the celebrity pull of the title "Warhol Superstar." Following a couple of ups and a lot of downs--you can take that any way you'd like--she eventually ended up on the set of a new Warhol film, Trash, which was to be directed by Paul Morissey. First asked to do only one scene, Holly was asked back for more shootings, because everyone who watched the dailies (screenings of what was previously filmed) were impressed by her verve and gutsy acting.

The film received glowing reviews, but it was her performance that caught the critics' attention. Holly Woodlawn was finally a somebody. The director George Cukor tried to get her nominated for a BestSupporting Actress Oscar. He failed to do so, not because of her lifestyle, but that the nomination was entered too late to be considered. She became involved in a life of parties, sex, drugs, and general decadence.

Very soon Holly fell out of the limelight. She was back on the streets and was poor to boot. Of course, there were still parties

every night--at least they were places to stay overnight with drugs and food to con-

sume.

Holly eventually established herself as a stage act in New York City at the Reno Sweeney, a gay club that "had class with a capital K." She was a sensation with both the gay and straight crowds. She could almost be proud of her career. Drugs were almost out of her life, although liquor was her ever-present companion in every instance of her life. She had her friends and her adoring fans. What more could a lady want from life? Then tragedy struck twice. Holly's two closest friends died, one from cancer, the other from a heroin overdose.

Holly Woodlawn's story is tragic. She fought her way to the top. This is a tale of hope and strength, of bettering oneself despite the odds, knowing that you are a part of society that others ridicule. Her writing is campy and breezy. It is a treat to hear a voice that gives a frank, very funny, at times sad view of gay life in the '60s. She elicits laughs and tears with her sarcastic, wry and ribald words of wisdom and her skewed but shrewd views of the world around her. Her first person account is never pretentious, egotistical or exploitive. There is a happy ending to Ms. Woodlawn's story: this book.

Washington DC APRIL 25, 1993 DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

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