“Jackie is just speeding away/thought she was James Dean for a day/then I guess, she had to crash/valium would’ve helped that bash”
Life and art were indistinguishable for Jackie Curtis. The playwright, actor and drag artist was constantly on a stage of his own making, sometimes for two to three days straight thanks to the input of copious amounts of speed. A New York native, Curtis sought the glamour of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene as a high schooler, bringing in plays conceived in amphetamine fits and starring in some of Warhol’s early films—Flesh and Women in Revolt—with fellow drag star Candy Darling. While Warhol’s films and Lou Reed’s tribute in song may be Curtis’ best-known efforts, Craig Highberger’s documentary Superstar in a Housedress reveals the actor’s ultimate impact on the New York avant garde scene as well as gender-bending stars such as David Bowie.