JACKIE-CURTIS - AN APPRECIATION
”Superstar in a Housedress” director Craig Highberger

Filmmaker Craig Highberger and Jackie Curtis at the Fortune Theater in 1974.

John Holder, Jr. was born in New York City on February 19,1947. He died of a drug overdose May 15, 1985 at the age of 38. In his short life,under the name he chose for himself – Jackie Curtis – he became an actor, a singer, a Warhol Superstar, a published poet, a playwright and a director.

His father, John B.Holder was a Veterans' Administration worker, and his mother, whose maiden name was Jean Uglialoro was a certified public accountant. They met in New York City at ”Slugger Ann’s ” her mother’s Lower East Side bar. After marrying, Jean soon became pregnant and the couple moved to John ’s hometown, Stony Creek, Tennessee.

Jean missed the big city and could not adjust to life in a small town environment. Unfortunately, John had no desire to live in New York, so the couple split up.Jean returned to New York with her infant. As John Holder Jr.grew up, his grandmother Slugger Ann took the predominant matriarchal role in his life. He was a loner as an adolescent and spent as much time as possible at the movies.

Carol Burnett was starring in ”Once Upon a Mattress” in an off-Broadway theater across the street from where he lived and her performance was a revelation to John, who decided to change his name to Jackie Curtis and become an actor.

Jackie Curtis in "James Dean" mode at home in his Lower East Side Manhattan apartment in early 1974.
Photo Credit: Craig Highberger

Jackie first appeared on stage at the age of 17 at La Mama Experimental Theater Club in Tom Eyen ’s “Miss Neferititi Regrets”. He played Tolomy, but was upset because co-star Bette Midler (who played Miss Neferititi) had the better role.He began dressing in drag and met Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey,who cast him (as a female) in the films ”Flesh ”, and ”Women in Revolt”.

Jackie began writing plays,including “Glamour,Glory and Gold” (1968) which starred Candy Darling and Robert De Niro in his
first stage role, and “Americka Cleopatra ” (1972) in which co-star Harvey Fierstein played Jackie ’s mother. Jackie ’s plays “Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit” produced by John Vaccaro ’s Play-House of the Ridiculous in 1970, and “Vain Victory: the Vicissitudes of the Damned” (1971) were both huge hits. The New York Times, Newsweek magazine,and the Village Voice described these avant garde plays as “ridiculous,” “outrageous,” “bizarre ”, and “disorienting” but they sold out for months.

Jackie ’s plays frequently lampoon sexuality and make fun of social conventions. “Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit” is a collection of lines and scenes from old B-movies, comic books, TV commercials, Shakespearean sonnets, pulp fiction and other sources. It had a powerful manic energy and utilized simultaneous action and dialogue in a completely innovative way.

Jackie Curtis in his "Barbra" wig at Max's Kansas City in 1973.
Photo Credit: Craig Highberger

In one infamous scene, Heaven Grand (the lead female character played by Jackie) reclines, dying at center stage, while one character stands on a toilet seat, lecturing on a variety of topics, and a set of Siamese triplets (joined at the asshole) spin wildly around the stage singing.

Needless to say, experimental works like these confounded critics. One prominent New York critic wrote: “The players loud declamations and frenetic staging give the disorienting impression that there must be plot and dialogue that you could follow - if you only knew how.”

Jackie spent years both living and performing in his unique style of drag which usually included just a wig, foundation makeup with some glitter around the eyes, and a 1930s gown held together with safety pins. Depending upon his mood, he would dress as a man and affect a James Dean persona. You never knew if he would show up as a girl or a boy.

Jackie Curtis created more than just plays, poetry and entertainment. Jackie created an amazing energetic aura of boundless creativity that drew others to him like moths are drawn to a source of light. Jackie was an artist whose greatest creation was his own persona that constantly amused and astonished those in his magical orbit.

At his wake,friends spontaneously filled Jackie’s casket with photographs and mementos of his career. Several people tucked joints and packs of Kool cigarettes into his suit pockets. One person brought a sequined magic wand and tucked it under Jackie ’s arm. Another slipped in a cocktail shaker full of martinis. A group of people sprinkled his face and body with glitter. Later,at the gravesite,friends covered Jackie’s burial mound with so much red glitter that it was visible a half mile away from the highway.