New York City native Joey Preston knew the legendary Jackie Curtis well.  Make that “VERY well”…!  Mr. Preston is both the cousin and godson of the actor, singer, poet, and playwright who was born John Curtis Holder, Jr. in 1947.  (If you want the specifics, Preston’s mother Josephine and Curtis’ mother Jean were sisters.) Starting in childhood, Preston had a front row seat to the Warhol Superstar’s gender-bending, theatrical, over-the-top antics– both on and off the stage and screen. Joey Preston truly witnessed the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Sadly, Preston also had the unenviable task of identifying Jackie Curtis’ body when the downtown NYC scenester died, at age 38, of a drug overdose in 1985. 

Joey Preston’s new memoir, Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis Undressed!, shares assorted anecdotes from Curtis’ life.  It was a life, the reader learns, of many thrilling highs and just as many crippling lows.  Through Preston’s memoir, we gain new insight into Curtis’ unapologetic sense of his own identity and his unique brand of celebrity which followed.  A bona fide icon of the New York City underground arts and theater scenes at the time, Jackie Curtis was photographed by the likes of Richard Avedon, Jack Mitchell, and Francesco Scavullo.  He was immortalized in songs by music legends Lou Reed (Walk on the Wild Side) and Jayne County (Jackie Told Me, When Queens Collide).  He appeared in movies, with Paul Morrissey’s Women in Revolt being one of my own personal favorites.  But it was indisputably through live theater where Jackie Curtis’ talents were best expressed, with his screwball comedy Glamour, Glory, & Gold– The Life and Legend of Nola Noonan, Goddess and Star being one of his most emblematic achievements.  Preston even includes an excerpt from that play in his book to give the reader a taste of Jackie’s writing style.   Many of Jackie Curtis’ shows became the hottest tickets in town, which is especially impressive when we remember that word-of-mouth was often the only way to promote one’s creative endeavors in the pre-digital age. As Preston puts it, “By 1971, Curtis was the toast of the Downtown Underground Theatre Circuit.”

Preston reveals more about his cousin’s/godfather’s unique persona in the book’s first four pages than a day’s worth of internet searches of “Jackie Curtis” could uncover, starting with the oft-discussed (over-discussed?) issue of gender. Let it suffice to say that Jackie lived and performed both as a man and as a woman: In Jackie’s own words, “I’m not a boy, I’m not a girl, I’m just me, Jackie.”  The subsequent chapters are a collection of diverse stories from Preston’s treasure trove of memories.  Those memories started early, with one of them being Joey’s childhood recollection of being awoken by the late-night parade of Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn, and Candy Darling, “dressed head to toe in full theatrical regalia of drag” passing through his bedroom. (To clarify, Joey and his mother lived in a railroad apartment.) Preston also writes about his own involvement with Jackie’s shows, which included becoming a stage manager and even a business manager at times.  He shares his experiences as an associate producer of Craig Highberger’s brilliant 2004 documentary Superstar in a Housedress— which, like this book, is highly recommended for Jackie Curtis fans.  The author does a fine job of spotlighting Curtis’ many career highlights, as well as many crazy (but often hilarious) social interactions both within his own family circle and beyond.  But to his credit, Preston doesn’t shy away from Jackie Curtis’ barely hidden darker side: the performer’s affinity for drugs and alcohol.  This was perhaps best conveyed in Chapter 15, “A Child in Disbelief”, where a young Joey and his mom would do “wellness checks” on Curtis.  Preston described two separate visits– one at the Albert Hotel and another at Curtis’ loft studio apartment above the Phoenix Theatre/Jaffe Arts Center.  Graphically described in the book, let’s just say here that it was NOT a pretty picture for the impressionable child.     

Featuring ten pages of photographs, Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis Undressed is a must-read for anyone interested in both Jackie Curtis as well as the downtown New York City scene at large which Jackie called home.  Many of the venues mentioned in the book, such as The Ninth Circle, no longer exist. Along the way, Preston mentions such well-known figures as Laverne Cox, Liza Minnelli, and Ellen Stewart, the founder of LaMama Experimental Theatre Club– which was Jackie’s creative home and which thankfully IS still in existence today.  But perhaps two of the biggest “stars” in Curtis’ galaxy were his supportive ” Aunt Josie” (Joey’s mother), and Joey and Curtis’ shared grandmother, the legendary Slugger Ann.  Ultimately, Jackie Curtis’ essence may best be summarized in Chapter 27, “Come to the Cabaret”, in which Preston writes: “The infusion of everything Hollywood and the silver screen served as the common denominator of Curtis’ life.  He put his entire heart, soul, and talent into his work ever since that first starstruck entertaining bug that bit him when he was young.  He really created a unique life and stardom for himself out of little to nothing.  A young boy with literary talent and acting ambitions, turns gender-bending into an art form for international notoriety and fame; however, little to no monetary fortune.”  That said, we are still talking about Jackie Curtis as we enter 2025. “Little to no monetary fortune” may have been true, but the legacy is… well, worth more than ‘Gold”!

Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis Undressed! by Joey Preston is now available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats. Visit :Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis Undressed: Preston, Joey: 9798303525153: Amazon.com: Books for more information.

The author will be having a birthday celebration/book release and signing event at Pangea, 178 2nd Avenue near East 11th street, NYC, on Monday, March 10th at 7PM. Please note: Books will not be available at the event; please buy the book prior to event for a personal signing! For more information, visit Pangea’s website at www.pangeanyc.com.