Happy Crisp-mas

"The very purpose of existence is to reconcile the glowing opinion we hold of ourselves with the appalling things that other people think about us."

“Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne."

"Style is not the man; it is something better. It is a dizzy, dazzling structure that he erects about himself using as building materials selected elements from his own character.”

“If there were no applause and no criticism, who would you be?”

One hundred and ten years ago, an icon was born. Not in a manger, but in Sutton, South London.

All hail.

Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt, 25th December 1908 - 21st November 1999)

Pretending to be other people is my game

"It would be difficult to have any unfulfilled ambitions because I don't have any ambitions. I've never been that kind of performer."

"Pretending to be other people is my game and that to me is the essence of the whole business of acting."

"We are all racing towards death. No matter how many great, intellectual conclusions we draw during our lives, we know they're all only man-made, like God. I begin to wonder where it all leads. What can you do, except do what you can do as best you know how?"

"I never had any ambition to be a star, or whatever it is called, and I'm still embarrassed at the word."

"Someone once asked me, "Is there anything you regret?" and I said, "Everything!" Whatever you do, there was always a better choice."

Caligula in I, Claudius, "Max" in Midnight Express, John Merrick in The Elephant Man, "Winston Smith" in 1984, Stephen Ward in Scandal, the "War Doctor" in Dr Who; from one of the most memorable movie scenes of all time - the monster bursting from his stomach in Alien - to Harry Potter, from King Lear to the voice of "Hazel" in Watership Down - he played them all.

One of his most memorable roles, of course - and one which made a significant impact on one sad, closeted little Welsh boy [moi] back in the 1970s - was his magnificent portrayal of Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant:



We have lost a giant of stage and screen.

RIP Sir John Vincent Hurt, CBE (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017)

You must search inside yourself for what is uniquely you

"What would you be like if there was nobody else in the world? Who would you be if the only opinion that mattered was yours? Because if you want to be truly happy you must be that person. You must search inside yourself for what is uniquely you. When you find it, polish it until it becomes your style. It's no good being a pig farmer for 30 years looking back and saying 'I was meant to be a ballet dancer', by that time pigs are your style."

Quentin Crisp

Let us celebrate a recently launched (and admirable) new website dedicated to the life, times and style of "England's Stately Homo" - indulge yourself in the world of Crisperanto: The Quentin Crisp Archives.