The Dreamland of Candy Darling
Wednesday, Oct 6, 2010
by Victor P. Corona
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/131621-the-dreamland-of-candy-darling/Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar documents the short life of the transsexual actress whom Warhol's POPism memoir described as "the most striking drag queen I'd ever seen". Oscar-nominated actress Chloe Sevigny supplies the voice of the Superstar, who grew up on Long Island being entranced by silver screen legends like Kim Novak and Lana Turner. After moving to Manhattan, her role in Glamour, Glory and Gold, written by Jackie Curtis, served as the entryway into Warhol's orbit. In addition to appearing in major underground films like Paul Morrissey's Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1971), Darling inspired the Velvet Underground song "Candy Says" and is mentioned in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side". After dying from cancer in 1974, her Upper East Side funeral drew the presence of icons like Julie Newmar and Gloria Swanson, a fitting tribute to a young actress whose dreams of Hollywood stardom were left unfulfilled.
