Edith Massey

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Edith Massey
Edith Massey.png
Edith Massey in archive footage from Steve Yeager's 1998 documentary Divine Trash
Born (1918-05-28)May 28, 1918
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Lymphoma and diabetes
Resting place Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation Actress, singer
Years active 1970–1984
Spouse(s) Silvio Gigante (m. 1946–53)

Edith "Edie" Massey (May 28, 1918 – October 24, 1984) was an American actress and singer. Massey was best known for her appearances in a series of movies by director John Waters.[1] She was one of the Dreamlanders, Waters's stable of regular cast and crew members.

Early life

Born in New York City,[2][3] Massey was one of ten children. According to Massey's brother Morris, their parents "just threw up their hands one day, dropped off those who couldn't fend for themselves at a local orphanage or 'home,' and disappeared".[4] In the 1975 documentary Love Letter to Edie, Massey said she was raised in an orphanage and eventually was placed in a foster home. Her foster family members were cruel to her and, as a teenager, she ran away to Hollywood.[4] In the documentary Divine Waters (1981), Massey explained that she was "born in New York, but raised in Denver, Colorado....I was movie crazy, so I went to California to try and get in the movies, but instead I became a barmaid."

In 1946, Massey married a soldier, Silvio Gigante, in Reno, leaving him about five years later because she got "restless".[5] However, in Divine Waters, Massey said that the marriage lasted "about seven years. It was my fault; I left him for another man, so I blame myself for it."

She worked in several odd jobs through the years, and she eventually relocated to Baltimore, Maryland where she worked as a barmaid at Pete's Hotel.[2] Filmmaker John Waters met Massey while she was working at Pete's Hotel in 1969 and offered her a role as herself in the film Multiple Maniacs. In the early 1970s, she quit her job at Pete's and opened a thrift store called Edith's Shopping Bag in the Fell's Point area of Baltimore.[6]

Collaboration with John Waters

Massey gained a cult following from her appearances in five films directed by John Waters: Multiple Maniacs (1970), in which she appeared as herself and, in a dream sequence, as the Virgin Mary; Pink Flamingos (1972), playing Divine's egg-loving mother, Edie; Female Trouble (1974), as Aunt Ida; Desperate Living (1977), as the evil Queen Carlotta of Mortville; and in her final role in a Waters film, Polyester (1981), as Cuddles Kovinsky.

Later career and death

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Massey capitalized on the infamy of Waters's films by touring as the lead singer of a punk band, Edie and the Eggs. She also posed for a series of greeting cards. Later, when the Baltimore winters became too much for her to endure, she moved to Venice, California, where she opened another thrift store with the money she earned from acting in Waters's films. In 1980, she was featured in John Mellencamp's music video for "This Time."[7] The year she died, Massey starred in her final film Mutants in Paradise. She read for a role in Paul Bartel's Western parody Lust in the Dust (1985) opposite longtime co-star Divine, but actress Nedra Volz was cast instead.[8][9]

In 1982, Massey recorded a cover of The Four Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry" that was included on the compilation albums The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records and A Date With John Waters.[10][11]

Massey died of complications of lymphoma and diabetes on October 24, 1984 in Los Angeles.[12][13] Her body was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in the Garden of Roses at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.[14][15]

Legacy

Director Robert Maier made a documentary short about her in 1975 titled Love Letter to Edie. There is a director's authorized version re-mastered from his original 16mm color film footage.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1970 Multiple Maniacs Edith/Virgin Mary
1972 Pink Flamingos Edie
1974 Female Trouble Aunt Ida
1975 Love Letter to Edie Herself
1976 Edith's Shopping Bag Herself
1977 Desperate Living Queen Carlotta
1981 Polyester Cuddles Kovinsky
1983 My Breakfast with Blassie Herself Uncredited
1984 Mutants in Paradise Dr. Durchfall
1985 Divine Waters Herself
2000 In Bad Taste Herself Archival footage
2005 Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream Herself Archival footage
2013 I Am Divine Herself Archival footage

References

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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lust in the Dust DVD Special Features, including Edith Massey audition tape
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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