Happy Birthday to writer and performer Dolores Deluce, who used to live with Divine, the drag queen from John Water's films and performed often with the San Francisco Cockettes.

{Best of Feast of Fun, originally posted as FOF #1875 - Confessions of a Counter Culture Diva - 10.08.13}

In the 1960s, Dolores Deluce was rejected by her family for giving birth to a biracial child, only to be embraced by a different kind of family.

Her new family included Divine, the Cockettes, assorted Venice Beach bad boys, and her many loving gay “husbands.” Along the way she met many freaky celebrities like John Waters, Edith Massey, Rip Taylor and Joan Rivers, and was even crowned “Miss Alternative L.A.”

Our guest today, Delores Deluce, was one of the few women to perform with the Cockettes, the highly influential theater group of hippie drag queens in San Francisco of the early 70s.

A five-foot diva in six-inch heels, Dolores slept with many a gay man in the Bay Area during the free love era, mostly because they were all really, really high. Surprisingly, she's lived to tell her story in her memoir: My Life, A Four Letter Word: Confessions of a Counter Culture Diva.

Listen as Dolores talks about her friendships and run-ins with Divine, John Water's colorful cast of characters and watching friends of hers like disco superstar Sylvester die from AIDS.

• Featured Book:
Delores Deluce - My Life, A Four Letter Word: Confessions of a Counter Culture Diva:
https://amzn.to/3nrztdG