1979 Divine and Tom Snyder 1

In this broadcast, recorded off television in July 1979, "Tomorrow" host Tom Snyder interviews underground theatre people Holly Woodlawn, Ron Link and Divine. Link is the author of the off-off Broadway theatre piece "The Neon Woman," which starred Divine in 1978.  The Puerto Rican native Holly Woodlawn (born 1946) is considered the "last surviving queen" of Andy Warhol's famous drag sidekicks that included Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis. She was also hired to coach Dustin Hoffman in his drag role, "Tootsie" (1982). Some of Woodlawn's films are "Women In Revolt," "Trash" (1970) and "Broken Goddess" (1973). In 1976 Holly Woodlawn was cast as Divine's understudy in "Women Behind Bars," directed by Ron Link. She eventually replaced Billy Edgar as Divine's sidekick, Louise. Divine (r.n. Harris Glen Milsted, 1944-1988) was born in Baltimore, MD and is remembered as the City's most outrageous resident, along with high school friend John Waters. His contributions to counter culture theatre and alternative cinema are inestimable. He will always be remembered as the infamous comic leading lady in John Waters' films "Pink Flamingos" (1972), "Polyester" (1981), and "Hairspray" (1988), which was released a few days before his sudden death. In the latter he played both Edna Turnblad and Arvin Hodgepile (owner of the radio station). In the feature cartoon "The Little Mermaid" (1988) the corpulent character Ursula was actually based on Divine and was voiced by Pat Carroll.  This interview was taped before Divine had achieved mainstream fame, shortly after the closing of the play "The Neon Woman."  Ron Link's (1940-1999) career as a director and writer achieved attention in the 1960s at La Mama E.T.C. in Manhattan's East Village.  Actress Varley O'Connor recalled that Ron Link was "...the handsomest, most sophisticated and scariest man I had ever met..." In 1966 alone Link directed Robert Heide's "Why Tuesday Never Has A Blue Monday," Michael Goldman's "Meditations And Flashback," and Tom Eyen's "Give My Regards To Off Off Broadway," all produced at La Mama E.T.C.  It was during "Give My Regards To..." that Ron Link leaked it to the press that Candy Darling, who had always been reviewed as an actress, was really a man.  His production "Women Behind Bars" (which had been done in New York and London) took him to Los Angeles, where he became a theatre institution. In this interview, Link refers to his hilarious play "The Neon Woman" which starred Divine but only played in New York and San Francisco. Within a few years of moving to Los Angeles, he became highly respected as a director, writer and teacher. He amassed such credits as "Blade To The Heat, "Twist of Fate," "Seven Out," "Delirious," "Stand Up Tragedy," "Why Hannah's Skirt Won't Stay Down" and "Melody Jones."  Tom Snyder (1936-2007) spent a lifetime in broadcasting, and taped some of the most unusual and interesting interviews ever seen on television.

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