Crisp, Quentin (1908-1999), was an eccentric and colorful English writer and performer. His autobiography The Naked Civil Servant (1968) described his life as a homosexual in London at a time when being homosexual was a social disgrace and homosexual acts were against the law. The book tells how Crisp defied the social conventions of the day and remained true to his own nature, despite the violence he sometimes experienced. Crisp uses honesty, wit, and ironic humor to describe both his adventures and his suffering at the hands of intolerant people.
As a young man, Crisp began wearing makeup. He later used nail polish and outlandishly colored hair dyes. During his early adulthood, Crisp was ridiculed and ostracized by his teachers and peers. He briefly studied journalism at the University of London but did not get a diploma. Because of his appearance, Crisp had great difficulty finding employment. He took several art courses and worked a variety of jobs as a commercial artist. For many years, Crisp was an artist’s model. In 1964, he gave a radio interview about his life, which resulted in offers to publish his autobiography. The Naked Civil Servant was published four years later. This book was followed in 1975 by How to Have a Life-style.
In 1975, The Naked Civil Servant was made into a television movie. Its broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1975 and in the United States in 1976 swept Crisp to public prominence. He began new careers as a storyteller and actor. Using his writings in The Naked Civil Servant and How to Have a Life-style, he brought his one-man show An Evening with Quentin Crisp to the London stage in 1978. He later performed the show in Australia and the United States. In 1981, he settled permanently in New York City.
In 1981, Crisp wrote How to Become a Virgin, which continued the narrative of his life and his new-found celebrity. In his later years, Crisp appeared as Lady Bracknell in a Greenwich Village performance of Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest, in the movie The Bride (1985), and as Queen Elizabeth I in a film adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando (1993). Crisp was a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers, often writing controversial opinions. He described homosexuality as an illness and challenged the views of gay rights activists (now generally called lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ] rights activists) who resisted integration with the rest of society.
Crisp was born on Dec. 25, 1908, in Sutton, Surrey. His original name was Denis Pratt. He adopted the name Quentin Crisp during his early 20’s. Crisp died in Manchester on Nov. 21, 1999, the day before a performance tour.
