Candy Darling

Candy, oh candy, you rise like an angel over the shit-strewn wastelands of our miserable little lives; we remember you best as the Warhol Superstar who, in terms of beauty, nobility and sheer glamour, beat your fellow TG Warhol Superstars Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn to absolute motherfucking shit...
You were so funny in "Flesh", sitting on that couch reading out bits from old movie magazines, and as for "Women in Revolt" - talk about a star performance! Heard you also appeared in one of Andy's videotapes - something called "Phony", which I'm afraid I've never had a chance to see... Of course, there's those who talk as if Warhol star was all you ever were - and man, they really need fucking up the ass with a big strap-on! Your screen career consisted of so many other films besides Warhol's; "Silent Night, Bloody Night", "The Marriage of Maria Malibran" and "Some of my Best Friends Are..." to name just a few... and then there were your stage performances, most notably in Tenessee Williams' "Small Craft warnings", and of course your writings, collected in such volumes as "The Diaries of Candy Darling" and "My Face for the World to See"... Where'd you get the energy from, Candy? It seems like you never stopped firing on all four cylinders...

Here I am, though, talking like some motherfucking journalist, "giving a brief resume of your career for all those unfortunate souls who have never heard of you..." Like, what I really want to do is concentrate on Candy the person - a delicate, reserved, deeply feminine soul who nevertheless had a strong enough sense of self, plus the balls (no pun intended!) necessary for you to be whatever the hell it was you wanted to be. 'Nuff respect, Candy - 'cause in living your life the way you saw fit, you carried a torch for all the trannies, TSs and other transgendered people who came after you...

To live a life of your own choosing, and to do it sucessfully, is by itself one hell of an achievement, but for such a noble spirit to be encased in such a beautiful body, and with such a lovely face as well? Wow... Taking pride of place as my desktop wallpaper is that cheesecake shot of you standing in a long silk dress, fur wrap around your shoulders, a mysterious, seductive smile playing gently around your lips as you gaze directly into the lens of the camera... Oh, baby! Total glamourpuss or what? Every time I turn on my PC I get a dose of that picture, and as I stare at your beautiful image, I always suceed in drawing the strength - not to mention the inspiration - to follow where you have led... (That photo also fills my mind with all sorts of dirty, kinky fantasies; with your relaxed, confident and gently mocking smile, you always seem to me to be begging for a shaving cream pie right in your lovely face... but anyway... *cough*...)

Because of all that you have given us - your life, your looks, your brilliant career, and most of all, your shining example of a TG grrrl who had the courage, determination and guts to go out and live the life she wanted to, you definitely deserve to be set upon a gilded, glittering throne and worshipped by every tranny out there in the gilded, glittering tranniesphere. Here's hoping I'll get to meet you someday, Candy, and say all this to you in person; but till then, see you around... and thanks!