Acting Class with Mink Stole

Mink Stole is a living legend.
Having shot to fame as part of the talented group of actors assembled by inimitable filmmaker John Waters, Stole was best known for portraying the nemesis of the characters played by Waters’ ultimate star, Divine, who was celebrated for the purely satanic nature of his roles. One of her most notable roles is the wicked, red-haired, cat-eye glasses-sporting villain Connie Marble in the notorious Pink Flamingos (1972). It was this performance that set the stage for the plethora of grotesque figures she was to play throughout her career as a Waters regular. These included screeching, spoiled child Taffy Davenport in the 1974 movie Female Trouble, murderous housewife Peggy Gravel in Desperate Living (1977), and unforgettable secretary Sandra Sullivan in box-office hit Polyester.
The screen time allotted to Stole decreased as Waters’ films became more mainstream, yet she remained a fixture on each and every one of his movies. Her other Waters credits include Cry Baby, which starred Johnny Depp; Hairspray, with Ricki Lake, Sonny Bono and Debbie Harry; Cecile B. Demented, with Melanie Griffith and Stephen Dorff; and a memorable role as Kathleen Turner’s neighbor who is driven mad by the latter’s phone harassments in the 1990s hit Serial Mom. With time she became a favorite of LGBT filmmakers, who cast her in numerous films, the following being a mere sample: Leather Jacket Love Story (1997), But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), Girl Play (2004), the Eating Out movies (2006-2011), and All About Evil (2010).