Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt, (1908-12-25)25 December 1908 – 21 November 1999(1999-11-21)), was an English writer and raconteur.
From a conventional suburban background, Crisp grew up with effeminate tendencies, which he flaunted by parading the streets in make-up and painted nails, and working as a rent-boy. He then spent thirty years as a professional model for life-classes in art colleges, which he said was like being a naked civil servant. His agent suggested that this should be the title of his memoirs, which appeared in 1968. The interviews he gave about his unusual life attracted increasing public curiosity, and he was soon sought-after for his highly individual views on social manners and the cultivating of style. His one-man show was a long-running hit, both in England and America, and he also appeared in films and on TV.
As a high-profile gay person, Crisp defied convention by criticising both Gay Liberation and Princess Diana.
Read more about Quentin Crisp: Influence and Legacy, Works, Filmography, Discography
Famous quotes by quentin crisp:
“This woman did not fly to extremes; she lived there.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)
“Whenever we confront an unbridled desire we are surely in the presence of a tragedy-in-the-making.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)
“Living en famille provides the strongest motives for rudeness combined with the maximum opportunity for displaying it.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)
“Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)
“Because it is in the nature of things that they become extreme, we have passed down from manliness to cruelty. If I had been told when I was 20 that there was a tavern in the town where the brave and the cruel were gathered together, I would have run all the way and I would have gone up to the largest and leatheriest of the denizens and said: ‘If you truly love me, kill the bartender.’”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)