Jeffrey Schwarz’s documentary is a fine, touching tribute to John Waters’ larger-than-life drag diva, Divine, who became infamous for eating a poodle’s feces in Waters’ underground film “Pink Flamingos.’’
Born Harris Glenn Milstead and bullied for being overweight and an aspiring hairdresser, he found acceptance at age 17 from Baltimore neighbor Waters (who is interviewed extensively) and the eccentrics who peopled his outrageous movies.
Playing such out-there roles as Jackie Kennedy in a 1965 re-creation of the president’s assassination, Divine became such a celebrity in the gay community that he toured as a singer for years.
He and Waters began crossing over into the mainstream with the comedy “Polyester,’’ in which Divine was cast opposite former Hollywood heartthrob Tab Hunter, also his co-star in “Lust in the Dust.’’
Waters’ “Hairspray’’ was such a big hit that Divine was beginning to achieve his ambition to be taken seriously as an actor, and he was reconciled with the mother who disowned him when he came out as gay.
But his 300-pound-plus weight and heavy drug use caught up with the actor. He passed away in his sleep, at age 42, in 1988 — just before he was scheduled to guest-star, in a male role, on TV’s “Married . . . With Children.’’