David-Elijah Nahmod
I met QC by producing Aunt Fannie.
He and I both lived in New York's East Village, and I used to see him walking around
the neighborhood. Of course I knew who he was~~I LOVE The film of Naked Civil
Servant and had just seen Orlando. He was a folk hero, and every time I saw him I
got a buzz from it.
Quentin as Aunt Fannie in the film Aunt Fannie (1993)
Neil Ira Needleman, who directed both films, was an old high school friend.
We wanted to be filmmakers but had no credits, no money, nothing!
But we had balls, and decided to shoot films with home video equipment.
Aunt Fannie was an unpublished short story I had written years earlier, and Neil
adapted it into a script.
I knew we needed a name to get anyone interested in this epic, which was shot at Neil's suburban house. QC was in the phone book, so I called him, and was stunned at his reply: "I say yes to everything, as long as you're buying lunch!"
Oh, my God! A bona fide celebrity had agreed to appear in our no budget masterpiece! And he did it just for meals!
Quentin and David-Elijah Nahmod (Jeremy). Aunt Fannie (1993)I cast myself as Jeremy, just so I could appear on camera with him. That may have
been a mistake~~he was wonderful, I was not.
I'm no actor, that's for sure!
I think that, as a person, he was such a unique "character", with incredible amounts of star quality. It all came across whether in person, on stage or on screen~~and it was all genuine. I don't think he could have had a Brando type of acting career, but in any role that played into his unique persona, he lit up the screen, like any true star would.
Nothing was ever said about the AIDS themes of Red or the drag in Fannie he just showed up fully prepared & played his role.
Quentin (Horace Nightingale III) and Victor Burgess (Joshua).
Red Ribbons (1994)
I do recall taking him to a few East Village consignment shops to buy his Aunt
Fannie dresses. (and to lunch afterwards, of course!)
He was very casual about it, and the shop owners all knew him and raised nary an
eyebrow as he tried on old lady dresses!
As we walked down the street, people stopped him, shook his hand, asked for
autographs, took pictures, expressed admiration.
It was amazing, I felt like I was with true royalty!
He really had a lasting impact on the world!
We did have on and off contact after the films. I went to see his Evening With Quentin Crisp show, and I'd occasionally call him to see if he needed anything. The last time I did so was 2 days before he died! I asked him if he was OK and if he needed anything~~he was 90! "You're very kind," he said. "But some lesbians brought me some chocolate cake, so all is right with the world!"
David-Elijah Nahmod
Images from Aunt Fannie and Red Ribbons reproduced here with David's permission.
You can follow David-Elijah Nahmod on Facebook
Quentin as Aunt Fannie in the film Aunt Fannie (1993)
I knew we needed a name to get anyone interested in this epic, which was shot at Neil's suburban house. QC was in the phone book, so I called him, and was stunned at his reply: "I say yes to everything, as long as you're buying lunch!"
Oh, my God! A bona fide celebrity had agreed to appear in our no budget masterpiece! And he did it just for meals!
Quentin and David-Elijah Nahmod (Jeremy). Aunt Fannie (1993)
I think that, as a person, he was such a unique "character", with incredible amounts of star quality. It all came across whether in person, on stage or on screen~~and it was all genuine. I don't think he could have had a Brando type of acting career, but in any role that played into his unique persona, he lit up the screen, like any true star would.
Nothing was ever said about the AIDS themes of Red or the drag in Fannie he just showed up fully prepared & played his role.
Quentin (Horace Nightingale III) and Victor Burgess (Joshua).
Red Ribbons (1994)
We did have on and off contact after the films. I went to see his Evening With Quentin Crisp show, and I'd occasionally call him to see if he needed anything. The last time I did so was 2 days before he died! I asked him if he was OK and if he needed anything~~he was 90! "You're very kind," he said. "But some lesbians brought me some chocolate cake, so all is right with the world!"
David-Elijah Nahmod
Images from Aunt Fannie and Red Ribbons reproduced here with David's permission.
You can follow David-Elijah Nahmod on Facebook