Milton Berle, Bugs Bunny, Marcel Marceau, and a dash of Lucille Ball.....
Put them all together and what do you get?
JOSEPH MELLY, who some 35 years ago created the unforgettable character, Scaggnolia The Great. Scaggnolia, a combination of Scag, defined as an unkempt
or despicable person, also slang for Heroin...and Magnolia, the flower, the symbol of the quintessential Southern Belle. Some will call it "Drag," but this is not. This
is Performance Art.
So there you have it. She lives forever in the circus side show of his imagination.
These photos were made all those years ago, and as memorable as they are, they
are a diluted impression of a magnificent creation that really needs to be
experienced in motion... in person.
This is my tribute to the magic and genius of JOSEPH MELLY.
About the Author
david vance
dmvance
Miami, FL. 33169
For more than 30 years, David Vance has enjoyed a successful career photographing advertising and editorial assignments for Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Interview, Men's Health, Rolling Stone, Tennis, Uomo and Harper's Bazaar, Italia.
Among his clients are Revlon, Rolex, Sony, Atlantic and Island Records, Time-Life, Doubleday, Coca-Cola, Panama Jack, Kodak , Lions Gate and Miramax films.
One of his first assignments was photographing the cast of the original Broadway production of "Oh! Calcutta." Celebrity portraits include Bea Arthur, William Baldwin, Steven Bauer, Toni Braxton, Gloria Estefan, Daisey Fuentes, Andy Garcia, Hal Holbrook, Sophia Loren, Ricky Martin, Johnny Mathis, Luciano Pavarotti, Steven Seagal, Eli Wallach and Dionne Warwick. Sports figures include Billy Bean, Chris Evert, Mitch Gaylord, Greg Louganis, Dan Marino, Don Mattingly, Johnny Mitchell and Mary Pierce.
An alumnus of Rochester Institute of Technology, David continues his international work and maintain
Publish Date October 09, 2006
Dimensions Standard Portrait 39 pgs
Premium Paper, matte finish
Tags black and white, 1970's fashion, costumes, styling, drag, comedy, photos, entertainment, mime
iforgotit says
Oh Dave, Joe is smiling in heaven. What a beautiful tribute. Beautiful words...Beautiful pictures....He is smiling for sure.
posted at 02:41pm Aug 04 PST