"Candy came from out on the Island,
In the back room she was everybody's darling,
But she never lost her head,
Even when she was giving head,
She says, 'Hey babe, Take a walk on the wild side'"
In the back room she was everybody's darling,
But she never lost her head,
Even when she was giving head,
She says, 'Hey babe, Take a walk on the wild side'"
(Lyrics from the 'Lou Reed' song 'Walk On The Wild Side')
Candy Darling was born James Lawrence Slattery in Forest Hills, Queens. There is some conjecture around her year of birth. It is widely speculated that Candy was born between 1946 - 1948, However her friend, roommate, and posthumous editor, Jeremiah Newton, states that she was born on November 24, 1944.
Candy's early years were spent in Long Island, where she and her mother had moved after her parents divorced. She spent much of her childhood watching television and old Hollywood movies, from which she learned to impersonate her favorite actresses, such as 'Joan Bennett' and 'Kim Novak'. In 1961 she signed up for a course at the 'DeVern School of Cosmetology' in Long Island. She claimed to have "learned about the mysteries of sex from a salesman in a local children's shoe store" and finally revealed an inclination towards crossdressing when her mother confronted her about local rumors, which described her as dressing as a girl and frequenting a local gay bar called 'The Hayloft'. In response, Jimmy left the room and reappeared in full feminine attire. Her mother later said that, "I knew then... that I couldn't stop Jimmy. Candy was just too beautiful and talented".
Her first assumed name was Hope Slattery. Darling adopted this name sometime in 1963/1964 after she started going to gay bars in Manhattan and making visits to a doctor on Fifth Avenue for hormone injections. 'Jackie Curtis' stated that Candy adopted the name from a well-known Off-Off Broadway actress named 'Hope Stansbury', with whom she lived for a few months in an apartment behind the Caffe Cino so that she could study her. 'Holly Woodlawn' remembers that Darling's name evolved from Hope Dahl to Candy Dahl and then to Candy Cane. 'Jeremiah Newton' believed she adopted her forename out of a love for sweets. In her autobiography, Woodlawn recalled that Darling had adopted the name because a friend of hers affectionately called her "darling" so often that it finally stuck.
Darling saw 'Andy Warhol' at the after-hours club called The Tenth of Always. Candy was with 'Jackie Curtis', who invited Warhol to a play that she had written and directed, called 'Glamour, Glory and Gold', starring Darling, as "Nona Noonan", and a young Robert De Niro. Taylor Mead brought Warhol to see it and afterwards went to the club Salvation in Sheridan Square, where he was joined by Candy and Curtis at his table.
Warhol cast Darling in a short comedic scene in 'Flesh' (1968) with 'Jackie Curtis' and 'Joe Dallesandro'. After 'Flesh', Candy was cast in a central role in 'Woman In Revolt' (1971). She played a Long Island socialite, drawn into a woman's liberation group called PIGS (Politically Involved Girls), by a character played by Curtis.
'Women in Revolt' was first shown at the first Los Angeles Filmex as 'Sex'. Later it was shown as 'Andy Warhol's Women', Warhol rented out the Cine Malibu on East 59th Street and launched the film with a celebrity preview on February 16, 1972.
Candy Darling went on to appear in other independent films, including 'Brand X', by 'Wynn Chamberlain', 'Silent Night, Bloody Night', as well as a co-starring role as a victim of trans-bashing in 'Some of My Best Friends Are...'
She also appeared in 'Klute' with 'Jane Fonda' and 'Lady Liberty' with 'Sophia Loren'. In 1971 she went to Vienna to make two films with director 'Werner Schroeter'; 'The Death of Maria Malibran', and another one that was never released.
Her theatre credits include two 'Jackie Curtis plays', 'Glamour, Glory and Gold' (1967) and 'Vain Victory: The Vicissitudes of the Damned' (1971), She was also in 'Tennessee Williams' play, 'Small Craft Warnings', at the invitation of Williams himself. She starred in the 1973 Off-Broadway revival of 'The White Whore' and the 'Bit Player', a 1964 play by 'Tom Eyen'. Darling's character, a Hollywood actress known only as "the Whore", was based on 'Marilyn Monroe'.
Darling died of leukemia on March 21, 1974, aged 29, at the Columbus Hospital division of the Cabrini Health Center. In a letter written on her deathbed and intended for Andy Warhol and his followers, Darling said, "Unfortunately before my death I had no desire left for life . . . I am just so bored by everything. You might say bored to death. I wish I could meet you all again."
Her funeral was attended by huge crowds, including friends 'Pat Ast' and 'Julie Newmar'; a piano piece was played by 'Faith Dane'. 'Gloria Swanson' was remembered for saluting Darling's coffin.
Candy Darling was cremated, her ashes interred by her friend 'Jeremiah Newton' in the 'Cherry Valley Cemetery', located in Cherry Valley, New York, a tiny historical village located at the foot of the Catskill Mountains.
During her life and even after her death Candy was the muse of many artists and musicians inspiring such works as:
- In 'The Rolling Stones' song "Citadel", released in 1967, Candy is mentioned along with her friend 'Taffy Tits'.
- 'Peter Hujar's photo, "Candy Darling on her Deathbed" (shown above) was used by 'Antony and the Johnsons' for the cover of their 2005 'Mercury Music Prize'-winning album 'I Am a Bird Now'.
- Sculptor 'Greer Lankton' famously made a bust of Candy that was displayed at the 1995 Whitney biennial.
- 'The Kinks' song "Lola" was supposedly inspired by Candy Darling.
- 'Lou Reed's' song 'Walk on the Wild Side' talked about Candy and other Warhol Actors.
- An image of her, taken from Women in Revolt, was also featured on the front cover of the 1987 single "Sheila Take a Bow" by the English group 'The Smiths'. The last song on lead singer 'Morrissey's solo album 'You Are the Quarry' is called "You Know I Couldn't Last".
- 'Daniel Ash's' first solo album 'Coming Down' has a song called "Candy Darling".
- The song "Queen of War" by French artist 'Electrosexual' features a sample of Candy's voice from the film 'Flesh', directed by 'Paul Morrissey'.
Candy Darling's letters, sketches and journal entries were compiled into a book titled 'My Face for the World to See' by 'Hardy Marks publications'.
