The Naked Civil Servant (book) The Naked Civil Servant (book) The Naked Civil Servant is the 1968 autobiography of British gay icon Quentin Crisp, adapted into a 1975 film of the same name starring John Hurt. The book began as a 1964 radio interview with Crisp conducted by his friend and fellow eccentric Philip O'Connor. A managing director at Jonathan Cape heard the interview and commissioned the publication. Having sold only 3,500 copies when first released, the book became a success when it was republished following the television movie broadcast. The book contains many anecdotes about Crisp's life from childhood to middle age, including troubles
Gay icon the comment, "I've had a lot of tragic hairdos and outfits. I think that makes up for it!" Tammy Faye Messner (ex-wife of fellow controversial televangelist Jim Bakker and mother of pastor Jay Bakker), who benevolently has been referred to as "the ultimate drag queen," said in her last interview with Larry King that, "When I went—when we lost everything, it was the gay people that came to my rescue, and I will always love them for that." Others have been more ambivalent. Mae West, a gay icon from the early days of her career, supported gay rights but bristled