A Rare Envelope from Divine to John Waters- 1980
Here’s an artifact. Too bad it’s not a letter. The envelope contained a handful of cash receipts from Divvy for reimbursement from “Polyester,” which had just wrapped. Since I was the line producer and had to approve all expenses, John handed them to me. A brief note from Divine’s agent/manager, Bernard Jay, requested a check at “my earliest convenience.”
The stationary design was so hip and cool. It’s not clear, but Divine holds a straight razor in his right hand as an icon of his “dangerousness.” I don’t remember, but the absent-minded doodles on the stamp and around John’s address, probably means I was on the phone with Bernard Jay questioning some of the receipts, and was constantly being put on hold. I eventually delivered the approved receipts to New Line Cinema”s Chelsea office. They no doubt groaned at having to reimburse Divvy for cab fare, long distance phone charges, and probably flowers to decorate the apartment where he stayed while shooting “Polyester.”
Of all the hundreds of letters I received, this one deserved to go in the permanent file.
Read about Robert Maier’s fifteen years working with John Waters in the new book “Low Budget Hell: Making Underground Movies with John Waters.” Available on Amazon.com and booksellers around the world.
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