Let’s take some time to pause and remember the great, wonderful, strange actress Kim McGuire, who passed away at 60 from cardiac arrest this week. Though her name isn’t exactly household, you might recall her as Mona “Hatchet-Face” Malnorowski in the John Waters movie Cry-Baby, where she mugged and grinned was all-around amazing opposite Johnny Depp.
According to her husband, Kim came down with serious pneumonia a few days ago, and after a brief hospital stay she passed away.
Aside from her memorable role in the John Waters film, Kim was an accomplished attorney. She studied law prior to acting, but when she was cast in Cry-Baby she just had to see where the role would lead. She played, as John Waters put it, a “girl with a good body and an alarming face who is proud of it.”
Following cry-baby, she was cast as the lead in Misery, but the role eventually went to Kathy Bates — who was no slouch herself. She went on to play small roles in Serial Mom and on the show Dream On. She also appeared in the otherworldly David Lynch sitcom On the Air, which is hard to find but worth the watch.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
As roles were hard to find, she switched to practicing law, and met her longtime partner Gene Piotrowsky. The couple was hit hard by financial difficulties after 9/11, and after moving to Mississippi, they were left homeless after Hurricane Katrina. That was followed by a move to Alabama, where she and Gene lived for years.
A GoFundMe has been set up by one of Gene’s coworkers to help the family.
ErikO
Rest in peace.