Jackie Curtis • About this Site

A feature-length biographical documentary.
"Superstar in a Housedress - The Life and Legend of Jackie Curtis"
© 2003 HMI - all rights reserved

Written, Produced and Directed by Craig B. Highberger
Narrated by Lily Tomlin
Featuring Photographs by Jack Mitchell
Music by Paul Serrato
Interviews with 30 people who knew and worked with Curtis, including Penny Arcade, Joe Dallesandro, Harvey Fierstein, Joe Franklin, Taylor Mead, Paul Morrissey, Sylvia Miles, Jack Mitchell, Michael Musto, Ellen Stewart, Lily Tomlin, John Vaccaro and Holly Woodlawn. Plus media personalities, writers and literary editors to put the work and life of Jackie Curtis in historical perspective.
Rare footage includes: never before seen excerpts from Curtis' plays "Vain Victory", "Femme Fatale", and "Glamour, Glory and Gold", plus excerpts of the legendary 1974 "Cabaret in the Sky - An evening with Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis", and hundreds of never-before-published photos of Jackie, Candy, Holly, Joe Dallesandro, Andy Warhol, Paul Morrissey and many others.

Filmmaker Craig B. Highberger with comedienne Lily Tomlin, in Los Angeles June 2003, after completion of an on-camera interview and narration recording. Tomlin was a great friend and admirer of Jackie Curtis, and attended rehearsal's of "Vain Victory" just before it opened in 1971.
Opening Night May 5, 2004 *Photo Album#1* *Photo Album #2*

Superstar in a Housedress won the Ellen Flanders Documentary Award at the Toronto Inside Out film festival. This Audience Award for best documentary film was presented at the closing night gala in Toronto on May 30.

Superstar in a Housedress was a selection of the prestigious "Film as Art" program of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC and screened at the Hirshhorn Museurm in November 2004.

Jackie Curtis CD on sale: a new CD on X-Centric Records of Jackie Curtis singing four songs by Paul Serrato entitled Who Are You? is available. These songs were from Curtis and Serrato's first musical collaboration, Lucky Wonderful and have been newly remastered from a 1968 recording session.

The title song is background to the photo montage at the conclusion of Superstar in a Housedress. For details, or to purchase click here.

Jackie Curtis' hit play "Glamour, Glory, & Gold" had a successful revival at LaMama Dec. 4 - 14 2003, starring D'Arcy Drollinger, and directed by Joe Preston (Jackie's cousin) click here for photos, and reviews of the play!