Holly Woodlawn

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Holly Woodlawn

AKA Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl

Born: 26-Oct-1946
Birthplace: Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico
Died: 6-Dec-2015
Location of death: Los Angeles, CA
Cause of death: Cancer - unspecified

Gender: Transgender
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Actor, Performance Artist

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: First Lady of Transgender Cabaret

One of the first transgender entertainers to earn mainstream fame in American cabaret. Worked with Andy Warhol, appearing in his trashy movie Trash. In Vincent Canby's review of Trash, he wrote that "Holly Woodlawn, especially, is something to behold, a comic book Mother Courage who fancies herself as Marlene Dietrich but sounds more often like Phil Silvers." She was, of course, the subject of the first verse of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side:"

Holly came from Miami, FLA.
Hitchhiked her way across the U.S.A.
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She says, "Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side."

Woodlawn took her stage name from Holly Golightly, the central character in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, and from Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. She coached Dustin Hoffman in the art of drag for his movie Tootsie, and had small parts in such films as Milwaukee, Minnesota, Twin Falls Idaho, and Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss. She frequently toured from the 1980s to the mid-2010s, often appearing before sell-out crowds. She died in 2015.

Father: Joseph Ajzenberg
Mother: Aminta Rodriguez

Shoplifting
Violating Probation
German Ancestry Paternal
Puerto Rican Ancestry Maternal
Risk Factors: Brain Cancer, Liver Cancer

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
I Am Divine (9-Mar-2013) · Herself
The Lie (Jan-2011)
Beautiful Darling (12-Feb-2010) · Herself
Milwaukee, Minnesota (24-Jan-2003) · Transvestite
The Cockettes (16-Jan-2002) · Himself
Twin Falls Idaho (22-Jul-1999)
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)
Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol (18-Jul-1990) · Himself
Women in Revolt (Dec-1971) · Holly
Is There Sex After Death? (24-Oct-1971) · Herself
Trash (5-Oct-1970) · Holly Sandiago

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