- For the writer of supernatural fiction, see Quentin S. Crisp
Quentin Crisp (December 25, 1908 - November 21, 1999), born Denis Pratt, became a gay icon in the 1970s after becoming famous for his defiant and longstanding refusal to conceal his true sexuality.
Known for his clever and often insightful witticisms, Crisp wrote several books of autobiography and social advice, including The Naked Civil Servant and The Wit and Wisdom of Quentin Crisp. The Naked Civil Servant was later produced as a highly-successful television drama for the ITV network by Thames Television, with John Hurt starring as Crisp, who also put in a cameo appearance himself.
He moved to New York City in the early 1980s when he was in his seventies. He was the subject of Sting's hit song, Englishman in New York . Crisp lived in a small bedsitting apartment in the city's Lower East Side and supported himself by accepting social invitations and writing movie reviews and columns for various magazines and newspapers, particularly those for gays. He famously had his address and phone number listed in the New York City telephone directory and saw it as his duty to meet anyone who called him.
In his later years he appeared as a stage and film actor, notably as Queen Elizabeth I in the film Orlando.
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