Bruce Eyster

Thanks for checking out my website !

Here’s a few things you might already know about me , if not you can read this not so condensed biography .

My real name IS Bruce Eyster .

I have always been a visual artist .

I am originally from St. Louis , Missouri or Misery as I like to refer to it .

No offense to the people I know and love who are still in that river front , town . The people are the only reason I have for visiting that city .

However , growing up there was a not the most pleasant experience , for me .

You see , I grew up in a ghetto section called : Wellston . It had been a very nice area . At one time it had been a real shopping mecca but not when I arrived .

By the time I was aware of my surroundings it was very hostile and segregated .

I still , meet people in New York or when I travel who are from St. Louis and when I tell them that I grew up in Wellston , their eyes widen and they always say : ” And you’re still alive !” LOL !

I do have relatives there and did try to stay in touch with them but to no avail , with the exception of my nephew : Eric , who I am very proud of for many reasons .

Eric is a hard working married , young man and he also in a band that is gaining in momentum and volume . The group is called “SHAME CLUB ” and can be found on “MY SPACE” and “FACE BOOK” . Check them out and adjust the volume to your own level of comfort . Yeah , they are LOUD !!

I , also , have adopted Carolyn and Charlie Wheeler and their sons , as my chosen family . When I do have a chance to visit , they are always the first and last people I see . I love them a lot and we have a long history together .

Last night , I was invited to a club in Brooklyn where Noah Wheeler ( one of Carolyn and Charlies very talented sons ) and his beautiful girlfriend : Amy were playing . Their new group is called “NAKED HEARTS ” and they were spectacular !

If you would like to checkout their music , they can be found on “MY SPACE” and I believe FACEBOOK .

I have found I am a city dweller and have been dubbed : ” an Urbane Provincial ” by Harry M. Koutoukas. I was enrolled in his “School For Gargoyles “and worked with him on several , of his very clever and ingenious plays in the world of OFF OFF Broadway . I was honored to work with him and watch his work take on a Byzantineian life of it’s own .

He employed some of the greatest talents to work with , too . People like : Tom O’ Horgan , Gale Garnett (she had a hit called “WE”LL SING IN THE SUNSHINE ” ) , Mary Boylan ( she was cast in some Woody Allen movies and one of my favorite rolls was , as an older woman , on the bus , in : “NIGHT OF THE IGUANA”) , Angelina Boone ( who was a very well known opera singer and later opened a restaurant called “Penny Feathers ,” through which she employed and fed many of us struggling artists , in the 70’s . )

I won’t bore you with more of that , right now . But I will tell you some of the names of the shows Harry has written . I think , that will give you a clue .

Works like : ” TURTLES DON”T DREAM ,” “STAR FOLLOWERS IN AN ANCIENT LAND,” ” WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE,”"ONLY A COUNTESS MAY DANCE WHEN SHE”S CRAZY,” and more .

I visited him the other day and he was busy with a new work , that he let me get a peek at and it was hilarious .

Harry can be read about in books that are now being written , concerning the earliest of the OFF OFF Broadways’ best , which seems to have come out of a coffee house in the Village called CINOS’ CAFE . Many of his own and personal works remain unpublished . He remains a purest and is all about”art for art’s sake .” He recently told me he prefers to be remembered via :”gossip passed on by hair dressers , to their clients .”

I will reveal more information about myself , later on but I do think much of our personalities are a product of our associates and surroundings . For instance : I’ve hitch hiked across this great country of ours , several times and in my journeys here and across the ocean I’ve encountered a great many people who’ve influenced , inspired , and taught me a great , many things .

When I first tried my wings , it was in the direction of Chicago . That city has a unique combination of sophistication and down home coziness .

The home of “Mother Blues ” who featured great artists like “The Butterfield Blues Band ” and many others.

I moved there during The Democratic Convention and Civil Rights Movement , which I was always right in the middle of .

I also met a great many people there like Cynthia Plaster Caster (or Sinner , as she was dubbed ) , Allen Ginsbeg ( I had met him first in St. Louis but wherever I went , I always seemed to end up smoking with him !? ) Go figure.

Minnie Ripperton of The Rotary Connection was a regular gal and was always up for a party or just hangin’ out with the rest of us in Old Town . Once during their tour and amidst all the racial violence . One of the singers , whom I cannot remember the name of ( please forgive me ) who looked like a big tough red neck were on an airplane . He was seated and then , he told me , they seated Minnie next to him and he started yelling about paying a lot of money , just to sit next to some ( N word ! ) It was just a joke , of course ; just to see everyone on that plane freak out ! LOL !

Years later I was in a N.Y.C. checkered cab and the radio was on and the speaker announced Minnie Rippertons’ death and I just felt my heart sink into my shoes ! She was a really , great woman as well as a friend and amazing singer .

I met Long John Baldry , an early rocker from the U.K. , in Chicago and he insisted I go with him , Fleet Wood Mac and Savoy Brown to Saginaw Michigan with them .

They were on tour but we went to see a new movie called : “A Clockwork Orange ” and spent a lot of time ordering up , from room service , etc. They wanted me to travel on with them but I bowed out . I wasn’t a groupie .

I got several letters and phone calls from Long John and he’d pop up in Chicago , every now and again . He’d say “Awe, you shoulda went to New York with us . I had tea with Lotte Lenya and all the Warhol people asked for you ! ”

I also met my first Lover and perhaps the only real Love , of my life , in Chicago . ( image by Steve Starr ) His name was Patrick Stickney and he looked like the archetype for the blue eyed , red haired , images of Christ that we see so much of , in the west .

Pat and I were very young and we did remain friends over the years and often found ourselves in the same cities , at the same time .

The last time I saw Patrick was in Colorado . He was the first person to tell me about H.I.V. (It was then referred to as a “Gay Cancer .” ) I , of course , pointed out that this was impossible .

Patrick was also , the first person I knew who succumbed to this horrific disease .

Chicago was also , the first time I ever saw Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling . They were both in Warhols’ movie : “FLESH” and until then I had avoided men in dresses but these two were a different story .

And I was as surprised as my friends when I heard myself say : ” Now , those are two people I’d like to meet .”

The people I was with seemed a little puzzled about what Warhol was saying , with this odd film but it was clear to me : he was just saying we’re all just “FLESH” period !

I’ve moved around so much , that it is hard to think of my time here , in a linear way .

I’ve always seemed to be in the right place at the right time , for many of the major events of my era . I didn’t plan it that way , it just seemed to fall into place , naturally

I went to the original WOODSTOCK !

Then I moved to New York with plans for Europe but that didn’t happen till later .

I was traveling with Katie MacCleod or “The Gooch ” as she was known in her circle of Groupies . We stayed with an actress : Sharon Madden , that I’d met , doing theater in St.Louis .

The first time we took the subway down town , we got off at the 4th St. stop , right by The Waverly Theater and there was this guy with a lambskin jacket and a cow boy hat , so I said : ” Excuse me , where is the Village ? ” He smiled at us and just said : ” This is it .” Katie and I turned to each other in shock and both whispered :”John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoon Full !”

Then we found a place on Park Ave . Called Maxs’ Kansas City . We loved the burgers and immense salads they served . We didn’t have a clue that we’d stumbled onto one of the only infamous clubs that was frequented by Warhol , Lou Reed and anybody that was anybody , at that time .

At one of these eating fests . In came this person with a magazine under their arm and I heard myself gush : ” Jackie Curtis !” Which brought Curtis right over to our table . He was very excited about being named in a who’s who in this arts article and we became friends instantly .

Katie became ill and returned to St. Louis .

I stayed on and started making friends .

Marc Stevens , who was just this gorgeous guy , lived in my neck of the woods and we hang out a lot . Marc was paid to hand out joints at the opening of the movie :”WOOD STOCK ,” he then went on to become a huge porno star : Marc Stevens of the 10 & i/2 inch fame !

Curtis would call me and say : “Get dressed up and meet me down town ” and I would . Then we’d go on these wild adventures , in which , Jackie would be the focus .

One night he took me uptown to the swankiest place I’d ever seen. ” Should we really be here ?” I asked him . He went right over to a piano , took a huge Spanish shawl off of it , wrapped it around him and a spot light came on and he started singing the theme from a new movie ” Blood Red Roses !”

I began to notice some of the the others who were there and realized that this was some deep shit ,I’d fallen into ! The place was packed with famous people ! Salvadore Dali was there and wanted to do a painting of Curtis . Jackie told him politely but firmly that I was his personal artist and would not consider anyone else ! Later he whispered to me : “You can just imagine what he’d do to me , in a painting ! ” But it was a great introduction to meeting Mr. Dali .

Later that same night Jackie would point out that I’d just been dancing with Jacqueline Suzanne or some other person , I’d never met but heard of .

I was at the closing of THE FILMORE EAST and THE FILMORE WEST ! Even I don’t remember how I managed that one !

I was in San Francisco when ” The Cockettes ” were a main feature at The Palace Theater and had just split from “The Angels Of Light .” Divine would come infrom Baltimore and do a lion tammer act. He’d actually use The Cockettes as his lions but it worked !

I also , met “The Whiz Kids ” who were playing in Seattle . They were on the same bill with Alice Cooper and of course between shows , I had to sit in his electric chair !

There was a street tough guy in Chicago : Bo Golden during the Convention riots . He had a great voice and would later do the singing/ yodeler for “Bush Bavarian Beer.” He was also cast off the street into the Chicago cast of HAIR .

Years later , I was living with two singers on the Lower East Side : Nancy, who was Caucasian and Angie , who was Afro - American / Indian . Any way , one day Angie , who felt most comfortable singing back up , was scheduled for an audition and asked me to go with her . So , I did and who was casting his own road show of HAIR ? Bo Golden and he remembered me . He insisted that I sing and do a try out ! Yikes , was I unprepared but I struggled through a version of ” People Are Strange ” ala Jim Morrison and I was offered a lead role as Claude . I didn’t know anything about the story line . So , after skimming , through the script , I said I would do the part of Woof . Woof was a bit mad and sort of bisexual . I hated the idea of being choreographed and fogured this character could screw up and still be in character . Everyone seemed puzzled ; it was a smaller part and didn’t pay as much !? But I stuck to my guns and ended up going cross country and eventually Europe as Woof ! Thanks Bo !

At one point in my life , I returned to New York City determined to loose myself in the sub culture and do nothing but Yoga but this was not gonna happen .

I was at a bar on the Lower East Side called The Hippadrome and I was wearing a lace shirt , that’d been designed for me , in a fashion show . It was open past my navel in the front and this guy came running up and bit me on the chest and ran out the door . I ran after him and caught him . I said : ” What the Hell was that all about ?” The guy said :”You shouldn’t go around looking that good ! ” And I laughed in his face !

Well , we got to talking and it turns out : we’d both worked on the hippest street in Chicago , at the same time but he was a bit , “on the lamb ” and was sure the F.B.I. and C.I.A. were after him . He was living under a new name . He’d lost a ton of weight and was in the process of having this older guy adopt him , so he could get a new I.D. ! O.K.? So , the older guy had written a show called “Paranoia Pretty ” and I was recruited to be the token blond . So much for anonymity !

I was cast into a Sadomasochistic Tango with some female , porno , star , at the end of act One . Then the night before the opening, a women who was slated to start Act Two , with a bitch fight , in a club scene announced that : she was getting married and would NOT be in town. Chris Kapp , who was the director turns to me and says : ” Bruce , you’ll be doing that part , as well ! ” I freaked , I mean I knew Jackie Curtis , Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling but I was having a real panic attack ! I also had been around enough to know that you did as directed for the good of the whole show . So, after a few nights of horrible dreams , that included finding myself in the streets , completely naked , in a dress , etc. I decided to take my cue from Jackie Curtis . I’d seen him get ready for a show , so on opening night , I finished this leather dance , ran back stage and changed into a wig , dress and glittered lips came back on and had this bitch fight scene .

Now who do you think I spotted in the audience at that point ? Right : Jackie Curtis !! Later , he said : ” You know , you don’t have to copy me . You have this whole Julie Christie , thing , going on ! ” I had no idea what that meant but at least , I knew , he didn’t hate me . Then he added : ” That’s O.K. , I took a lot of tips from Ultra Violet , when I first put on a dress .” Whew !

Now some of you kiddies out there say :” Who the Hell are these people ,he’s yammering on about ?! ”

Well , a guy named Craig Highberger , who was a film student at N.Y.U. has dedicated himself to doing some documentaries on some of these characters and has taken the time to post snipets of his work on YOUTUBE .

Craig was a friend and fan of Curtis and did a film called : ” SUPER STAR IN A HOUSE DRESS .” It is a great film but in the process of making this film , he sought out most of the people who were jealous of Jackie , when he was alive and so , between the cuts of Jackie , with the exception of Holly Woodlawn , There are a lot of wanna bes , striving for those last “fifteen minutes of fame” , lying through their teeth ! But the sections of Jackie are worth the price of his book and DVD .

Craig has also produced films in a DVD format capturing some of the writing and performances of Jackie and Holly . It will give you an idea of this kind of genius , that was so POP-ular ! But you really had to be there , to know the magic of these works .

I once came across a book at one of Jackies’ apartments or someones’ where Jackie was living and I asked him what is this : “The Naked Civil Servant ” ? Jackie said :” Oh , just my Bible . ” So , of course , I ran right out and got a copy .

This was my first introduction to Quentin Crisp and years later when I managed to set up a meeting with Quentin and my friend Ross B.Lewis , who is one of the finest Black and White photographers , today . I presented Quentin with a picture I’d found of him , when he was a very young man and got him to sign my edition of “THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT .” I then related the tale of Jackie and this book . He said : ” Oh , yes , I met Mr.Curtis at one of his last productions .” I know it didn’t seem to mean , all that much to Quentin but it felt like I’d completed some circular kind of event in my own life .

Well I’ve rattled on for quiet awhile about a few of the people and events I’ve had the pleasure of having come in contact with and there is always more to tell but I’ll save that for later when I’ve learned my way around this website business a little more .

As Twain said : “it’s a terrible death to be talked , to death so every once in awhile I pause , to give those of you who’d like , to escape and this is your chance .”