THE SPEAKERS

PHILLIP WARD is the editor of Quentin Crisp’s forthcoming final book, Dusty Answers. As Executor of the Estate of Quentin Crisp, he organized Mr. Crisp’s memorial, An Evening for Quentin Crisp, held at Cooper Union’s Great Hall on March 03, 2000 . He co-edited the memorial tribute booklet Quentin Crisp 1908–1999. Mr. Ward is content editor and webmaster of the Quentin Crisp Archives. He is also co-editor of Van Gogh's Ear, a joint publication of Allen Ginsberg's New York's Committe on Poetry and French Connection Press.

Phillip Ward's writings and photographs have appeared in an array of magazines, journals, books, and on Internet. Such as: Quentin Crisp: I'm An Englishman In New York, The Purple Journal, Van Gogh's Ear, Chiron Review, The Onion, HX, Bent Voices, Priapus, Rende, The Sentimentalist, Pacifica Radio Archives, Deaf Arts UK Magazine, GayToday, nightcharm, The Tactile Mind Press, The Aquarian, Rutledge Gnus, and The New York Theatre Workshop. Mr. Ward's photographs and artwork have appeared in exhibits at Art@Large, Exit Art Gallery, Chelsea Market, Fourth Street Photo, The Emerging Collector, Caffé Rafaella on Seventh Avenue, Rafaella on Ninth, and The Rocking Horse Cafe.



ELAINE GOYCOOLEA and DENISE PRATT-RENNER are daughters of Quentin Crisp’s brother, Lewis. Both reside in Santiago, Chile.

FRANCES RAMSAY is the daughter of Quentin Crisp’s sister, Phyllis, and lives in Devon, England.

PENNY ARCADE is an internationally-known performance artist from New York’s Lower East Side. As a teenager, she appeared in Andy Warhol’s Women in Revolt. Over the years she has worked with Tom O’Horgan, Charles Ludlam, and Quentin Crisp.

LOUIS COLAIANNI is a professor of voice and speech at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is the author of The Joy of Phonetics and Accents (Drama Publishers, 1994) and Shakespeare's Names: A New Pronouncing Dictionary (Drama Publishers, 1999).

EVAN THOMPSON and JOAN SHEPARD are an "acting family" who kindly invited Quentin Crisp into their family and home, and entertained him on most all of his birthdays in the United States. Directed by Mr. Thompson, Mr. Crisp was seen by New York audiences as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Soho Repertory Theatre.

STEPHEN SORRENTINO is a New Yorker who now makes his home on the West Coast and has worked under many titles: actor, singer, comedian, impersonator, and songwriter. Mr. Sorrentino starred with Mr. Crisp in the movie Homo Heights.

TIM FOUNTAIN has written for theatre, film, and television. In 1999 he adapted Mr Crisp's New York diaries and other books for a one-man show entitled Resident Alien. It was performed by Bette Bourne at London's Bush Theatre where Mr. Fountain is Literary Manager.

GUY KETTELHACK worked with Mr. Crisp, both as agent and editor, on the book The Wit and Wisdom of Quentin Crisp. Mr. Kettelhack is also the author of Dancing Around the Volcano Freeing Our Erotic Lives: Decoding the enigma of Gay Men and Sex. He lives in New York City.

ERIC BENTLEY was born in England in 1916, and was inducted into the (American) Theatre Hall of Fame in 1998. It was in America that he became a writer and all-round theatre person: playwright, director, performer—even theatre critic for The New Republic. Conspicuous on the New York theatre scene are his adaptations of the plays of Bertolt Brecht. Two of his own dramas are well-known gay plays: Round 2 and Lord Alfred’s Lover. In the latter, he cast Quentin Crisp as Lord Alfred Douglas with, of course, sensational results.

TAYLOR MEAD is an actor, poet, and Warhol superstar. Considered the "Comedian of the Beat Generation," Mr. Mead is unequaled as the "insouciant pop enigma who has seen everything and done it all." He was Tarzan in Andy Warhol’s first feature film, Tarzan and Jane Regained . . . Sort of. He also starred in another Warhol classic, Lonesome Cowboys.

JAMES ADLER is a composer who "writes for both chorus and orchestra with uncommon imagination," according to Derrick Henry of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Adler’s Memento Mori: An AIDS Requiem, which features the poetry of Quentin Crisp, received its New York premiere at Merkin Concert Hall on April 16, 2000. His web site can be found here.

MICHAEL MUSTO is a native New Yorker and is proud to call himself a gossip columnist. Mr. Musto is best known for his long-running column in the Village Voice, LA DOLCE MUSTO. His entertaining articles on celebrities, events, and New York nightlife can be found in several newspapers and magazines.

SYLVIA MILES was born in 1932 in New York City and grew up in Greenwich Village. Her acting career has encompassed big-budget movies to hip independent comedies, and has earned two Oscar nominations. Her one-woman show, It’s Me, Sylvia, was based on a series of autobiographical articles she wrote. A short list of her movies include: Midnight Cowboy; Farewell, My Lovely; Andy Warhol’s Heat; and Evil Under the Sun.

NED ROREM, composer, won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1976 orchestral suite, Air Music. He has written operas, symphonies, choral works, and over 1,000 songs. He is also the author of fourteen books, with the fifteenth, Lies, about to be published by Counterpoint. He lives in Nantucket and New York City.

RICHARD CONNOLLY is a writer, a producer, and a professor of communication arts. Professor Connolly is an editor of the book What Does It Mean to Be Human? (St. Martin’s Press, ISBN: 0-312-25237-4).

TOM STEELE was editor at Christopher Street and the New York Native for eighteen years. He was founding editor of TheaterWeek and Opera Monthly. Currently, Mr. Steele covers New York’s arts and entertainment for Fodor's Travel Publications, reviews restaurants for various publications and Web sites, and is finishing a cookbook for people with small kitchens. He lives in the East Village with playwright/filmmaker Raymond Luczak.

JOHN HURT, actor, is famous for his performance as Mr. Crisp in the television movie, The Naked Civil Servant. This poignant portrayal has influenced many lives, both gay and straight, since its release in 1975. Mr. Hurt has made many movies and lives in Ireland.

LARRY ASHMEAD has been a book editor for forty years, more than half that time at HarperCollins. In 1984 he published The Wit and Wisdom of Quentin Crisp, edited by Guy Kettelhack.

STEDMAN MAYS is an agent and founding partner at CLAUSEN, MAYS & TAHAN literary agency. Mr. Mays worked for years with Connie Clausen, Mr. Crisp's dear friend and longtime agent in America. Upon Ms. Clausen's death, Mr. Mays and his partner Mary Tahan took over the agency and the management of Mr. Crisp's theatrical engagements, endorsements, and literary properties.

CHARLES (CHIP) SNELL, as travel assistant and representative of Authors-on-Tour, frequently accompanied Mr. Crisp on his many engagements and appearances throughout the United States. Mr. Snell was with Mr. Crisp on his last trip to England, and was assisted by tour manager Mark Ball. Mr. Snell lives in California.