Holly Woodlawn is a transgender icon. (Photo : YouTube)
Transgender icon Holly Woodlawn passed away on Dec. 6, Sunday, as the Andy Warhol superstar noted that Paul Morrissey catapulted her to fame thanks to "Trash."
Holly was part of the infamous Warhol superstars group that was composed of personalities promoted by the acclaimed pop artist through inclusion in artworks and films during the 1960s and the 1970s.
During a telephone call just days after the death of Lou Reed in October 2013, Woodlawn revealed that Morrissey had more significance than Warhol when it came to understanding how the transgender celebrity became famous, according to The New York Times.
Woodlawn was successfully persuaded by the American film director to appear in the 1970 film "Trash," which also had Jane Forth and fellow Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro. More importantly, "Trash" allowed Woodlawn to have her debut on the big screen.
"Trash" was a graphic movie in the sense that there were depictions of drug use and frontal nudity was included, aside from sex scenes. Interestingly, film director George Cukor tried but eventually failed to have Woodlawn nominated for an Academy award by launching a campaign.
After the aforementioned film, Woodlawn was then asked to appear in "Women in Revolt," which was released back in 1972. The satirical movie was produced by Warhol and was again directed by Morrissey. This time, the Woodlawn was accompanied by two other transgender stars, namely Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling.
Aside from being part of the two underground Morrissey films, Woodlawn was appreciated as an early advocate of the transgender movement. During her final days, the Warhol superstar was suffering from liver cancer that eventually took her life, according to ABC News.
However, the disease was not enough to get rid of her humor. The telephone call in October 2013 even had Woodlawn saying that she has been spending her remaining days by having lots of wine and electronic cigarettes.
In the end, Woodlawn wanted everyone to know that life should not be taken too seriously because people need to have a sense of humor to survive the harsh reality.
