Before there was Laverne Cox or Janet Mock, before Caitlin Jenner brought trans issues into American TV viewers’ homes through her own reality television show, there was Holly Woodlawn. A trans performer who took the ambition and turbulent energy of ‘60s counterculture and melded it to a tattered version of old-school Hollywood glamour, Woodlawn was an actress (improvising, cracking wise and stealing scenes in Paul Morrissey’s Trash and Women in Trouble; Billy’s Big Hollywood Screentest), a cabaret star, author (of the 1991 memoir, “A Low Life in High Heels: The Holly Woodlawn Story” written with Jeffrey Copeland,) and groundbreaking icon. She died of cancer yesterday.
Born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl in Puerto Rico (her stage name was reportedly inspired by iconic film and literary character Holly Golightly,) Woodlawn was a figure who straddled worlds (Andy Warhol’s milieu; the streets where she turned tricks as a teenager.) She embodied the most pressing social concerns and cultural conversations of the day (the LGBT movement, in general; trans visibility and agency, specifically.) And she was such a dynamic figure that she inspired Lou Reed to write what would become the signature song for both, “Walk on the Wildside.” Most recently she appeared in the Netflix series “Transparent.”
Holly came from Miami F.L.A.
Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A.
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She said, hey babe, take a walk on the wild side,
Said, hey honey, take a walk on the wild side.
Candy came from out on the island,
In the backroom she was everybody’s darling,
But she never lost her head
Even when she was giving head
She sayes, hey baby, take a walk on the wild side
Said, hey babe, take a walk on the wild side
– “Walk on the Wild Side,” by Lou Reed
Photo by Jack Mitchell
