Mario Montez obit

Mario Montez, a Warhol Glamour Avatar, Dies at 78

 

He was not on the list.

Mario Montez--one of Jack Smith's "Flaming Creatures," Warhol's first "drag superstar," and Charles Ludlam's "ridiculous" muses--has died at the ripe age of 78 in Key West, Fla. The cause was complications of a stroke, said Claire K. Henry, senior curatorial assistant of the Andy Warhol Film Project at the Whitney Museum of American Art, according to the New York Times. Montez is survived by his partner, David Kratzner.

Born Rene Rivera in Puerto Rico, Montez, who had a deep obsession with 1940s film star Maria Montez and old Hollywood glamour, rose to fame in the 1960s due to his involvement in films by avant-garde auteur Jack Smith, appearing as Dolores Flores in the controversial film Flaming Creatures. He's also in the unfinished Smith film, Normal Love. Then Montez was featured in 13 films by Andy Warhol, becoming one of his Superstars, along with Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, and Taylor Mead (who also passed away earlier this year).

Filmmaker John Waters once said that Montez "forever holds the highest position of royalty in the world of underground cinema." Montez was presented with a lifetime achievement award in "queer film" in 2012 by the Berlin International Film Festival, which called him "the great drag superstar."

Filmography

Directed by Jack Smith

Flaming Creatures, 1962-63 (as Dolores Flores)

Normal Love, 1963–65

The Borrowed Tambourine, 1967

Reefers of Technicolor Island/Jungle Island, 1967

No President, 1967-1970s

Directed by Ron Rice

Chumlum, 1963

Directed by Andy Warhol

Mario Banana No. 1, 1964

Mario Banana No. 2, 1964

Batman Dracula, 1964 (unfinished)

Mario Montez Dances, 1964

Harlot, 1964

Screen Test No. 2, 1965

Mario Montez [Screen Tests Portrait], 1965

Camp, 1965

More Milk, Yvette, 1965

Mario Montez and Boy, 1965

Hedy, 1966

Ari and Mario, 1966

Bufferin Commercial, 1966

The Chelsea Girls, 1966

Directed by Piero Heliczer

Dirt, 1965

Satisfaction

Directed by Bill Vehr

Avocada, 1965

Brothel, 1966

Waiting for Sugar

The Mystery of the Spanish Lady

M. M. for M. M., 1967 (unfinished, lost)

Directed by José Rodriguez-Soltero

Life, Death and Assumption of Lupe Vélez, 1966

Directed by Frank Simon

The Queen, 1968 (cameo)

Directed by Avery Willard

Flaming Twenties, 1968

The Gypsy's Ball, 1969

Directed by Takahiko Iimura

Face, 1969

Directed by Roberts Blossom

Movie, 196?

Directed by Alfredo Leonardi

Occhio privato sul nuovo mondo, 1970

Directed by Helio Oiticica

Agripina é Roma-Manhattan, 1972 (unfinished)

Directed by Leandro Katz

Reel Six, Charles Ludlam's Grand Tarot, 1987

Directed by Mary Jordan

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, 2006

Directed by Conrad Ventur

Mario Banana, 2010

Mario Montez [Screen Test Portrait], 2010

Atlantis, 2011

Boca Chica, 2013

Directed by John Edward Heys

A Lazy Summer Afternoon with Mario Montez, 2011

Plays

Conquest of the Universe or When Queens Collide, 1967

Bluebeard, 1970

Vain Victory, 1971