Jean E. Hill, an actress best-remembered as Grizelda, the murderous maid, in John Waters’ comedy Desperate Living, has died after a long illness.
Fans were notified of Hill’s death with a message posted to her Facebook page:
I am very sad to announce that Jean Hill has passed away. She struggled with her health for a long time and put up a good fight. She was the most sincere, bluntly honest, loving and funny person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I will miss her. RIP Miss Jean Hill
With her imposing, reportedly 400-pound figure on a 5’1 frame, Hill made an instant and lasting impression on Waters’ fans in the outrageous 1977 satire, which was the filmmaker’s first feature without his plus-sized muse Divine. Hill later appeared in two other Waters films — 1981’s Polyester and 2004’s A Dirty Shame. Hill’s unforgettable physical attributes also made her a popular — and sometimes nude — model for novelty greeting cards in the 1970s and ’80s.
Hill’s age and cause of death weren’t immediately disclosed.
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Watch a memorable SFW scene from Desperate Living below.
boring
Now this is a post on Queerty I can get behind.
Desperate Living is criminally underrated.
dvlaries
Yes it’s true, if you’ve seen Desperate Living you’ve never forgotten it, as was true of Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble.
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The Dreamlander regulars, of which Hill was eventually a member, were not the insane band of criminal misanthropes they played on screen for Waters, but actually brave and professional performers who trusted Waters’ bizarre imaginings, and in doing so, were rewarded themselves with the loyalest of fan bases, even beyond their lives.
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By the time of Desperate Living, when Waters cast Edith Massey -to name another- as a malevolent character, it was too late. Too many of her fans had met her in person, and while always somewhat goofy, Massey’s warm and engulfing humanity would not be disguised even as evil Queen Carlotta.
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Hill fit in perfectly with this troop and she will be missed. Rest in peace, Jean.
Kangol
That movie Desperate Living shocked me more than any other John Waters film the first time I saw it. It is still an eye-opener. Jean Hill, like Mink Stole, Edith Massey, and all the others in it, was a revelation. RIP.
Polaro
Sisters in crime…