When I was in my mid-teens, my sister got kicked out of our home. She was only 16. She had no money and nowhere to go, so she went to live with “The Hippies” on Read Street, in Baltimore City. We lived in the Suburbs and I, being the little brother, went to visit her whenever I could. I grew my hair long, for the first time……collar length! I mean, this was dream come true for me. I had just gotten my first Led Zepplin and Jimi Hendrix records. There were all these artsy, colorful people, everywhere. Pat Moran, who would go on to cast John Waters’ movies had a store in that block. So did Edith Massey, who played Edie, The Egg Lady, in John’s early films. I would wake up in the morning and look out the window and see Divine (Glenn Milstead), the Drag Queen Legend, with his 5 o’clock shadow, furry pink slippers, walking his poodle, down on the street.
I met many cast members, in those early John Waters movies. Mink (Nancy) Stole was the older sister of John and George Stole, friends from the Baltimore Experimental High School, (where I hung out, after dropping out of Jr High School!!). My best friend, Mike Fitchett, was Edie, The Egg Lady’s escort to premiers and parties. Mary Vivian Pierce was. often at Ledbetters, when I played, yelling “Play “Hey, Good Lookin”!…which we did, after all…she was a movie star.
John Waters was always nice and hysterically funny. I didn’t know him well but was around him often. Mike, knew him.
My sister, Margaret worked at H-A-R-R-Y, a local, alternative, paper, with P.J. O’Rourke, of all people. She ended up being an extra in John Waters’ film, “Female Trouble”, sitting behind Divine in a long classroom scene and, later, in a crowd when Divine shot her audience at a performance.
Margaret Carter, in glasses, looking bored, behind Divine.
My Entertaining Life-Steve Carter 