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| Actor John Hurt wins Special TEDDY Award for his outstanding acting performance in 'An Englishman In New York'. (Berlinale/TEDDY Foundation Awards) |
John Hurt first played Quentin Crisp over thirty years ago, in 1975 in Jack Gold’s legendary television production of The Naked Civil Servant. The film also proved to be an international success in cinemas. At the Guardian, John Hurt on reprising Quentin Crisp said, "In a sense, I thought it would be wrong not to do it."
In the first part of his memoirs, Britain's most famous homosexual depicted his life in anonymity. An Englishman in New York, directed by Richard Laxton, tells the story of Crisp's years of fame.
In 1981 Quentin Crisp accepts a theatrical engagement in New York. His agent, Connie Clausen (Swoosie Kurtz) sees to it that, on account of his ‘particular achievements’, he is awarded an indefinite residence permit as a ‘resident alien’. She also manages to organize regular bookings of his one-man-show, ‘How to be Happy’. Before long, the word is out and Quentin Crisp’s appearances are popular with more than a select few. One day, Connie introduces Crisp to Phillip Steele, (Denis O'Hare) the publisher of “The Village Voice” magazine. The two men soon become friends and Crisp – a genuine party animal who adores premieres – finds plenty of opportunity to parade his flamboyant style and sharp-tongued wit.
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| Actor John Hurt as Quentin Crisp in 'An Englishman In New York'. (Leopardrama Ltd./Berlinale/ TEDDY Foundation Awards) |
However, Crisp's careless comment during one interview, that AIDS is merely ‘a fad’ earns him more than a few enemies in New York’s gay community and eventually causes a rift between himself and Phillip Steele. In an interview with Reuters (now edited out), director, Richard Laxton noted that "It was a terrible thing to say but at the time he didn't have the knowledge of what AIDS was to become." It's also been noted that Crisp was afraid that homosexuality would become linked with disease.
Crisp subsequently strikes up a close relationship with a young artist named Patrick Angus (Jonathan Tucker). When Angus contracts AIDS and later dies, Crisp succeeds in persuading Steele to print Angus’ paintings in “The Village Voice”. The two men grow close once more. Their new relationship proves to be more enduring than the first; it is still going strong when performance artist Penny Arcade, (Cynthia Nixon) introduces Quentin Crisp to a hip, young audience who revere his iconic style – even at the grand old age of ninety. Quentin died on November 21, 1999.
Apparently, (and very little information is available right now), 'An Englishman in New York' will air later on in the year on British TV (ITV) in addition to making the rounds of international film festivals and possibly showing on American cable TV. Update: An Englishman in New York is now on DVD.
Related Links & Sources:
- Reuters: John Hurt back as Quentin Crisp in new film
- Reuters: Sharp wit of gay Englishman celebrated in Berlin
- Guardian: 'It would be wrong not to do it'
- TEDDY Award Video of John Hurt
- 2009 TEDDY Award Winners
- Berlindale
- Crisperanto (all things Quentin Crisp)
- Wikipedia: Quentin Crisp
- Sting - Englishman in New York (Sting's 1987/88 music video)
- IMDB: John Hurt
- IMDB: An Englishman in New York
- IMDB: The Naked Civil Servant
- The Naked Civil Servant DVD
- An Englishman in New York on DVD
