His birth name was Harris Glenn Milstead but the world would come to know and love him as Divine. Divine would meet and become friends with a young John Waters, the American filmmaker, during his high school years and together they would turn the making of transgressive cult films into an art form. Divine became a prominent member of the Dreamlanders, a troupe of actors regularly employed by Waters, and starred in several of his films including Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, and Female Trouble. Waters would also cast Divine later in his career when Waters tried his hand at more mainstream films like Hairspray. Divine would also go on to release several popular dance/club records in the 1980s such as Shoot Your Shot, Shake It Up, and I’m So Beautiful. In 1988 Divine was cast to play two characters in the FOX prime-time series Married…With Children but he died in his sleep of heart failure on March 7th the night before he was due on set. Even after death Divine’s bold beauty and unforgettable flamboyance would leave a lasting impression and he would later become the inspiration for the design of Ursula the Sea-Witch in the Walt Disney classic The Little Mermaid.
