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Fans Of Divine Want To Build Monument Honoring Late Actor

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- He was a Baltimore native and went on to star in movies and TV. Now there's a proposal to build a monument honoring the late actor Divine.

Ron Matz has more on the man who became famous around the world.

Baltimore-born Harris Glenn Milstead was known to his many fans as Divine.

"Who hasn't heard of Divine? If you're from Baltimore or if you have some mild interest in film, you're going to know about Divine," said movie fan Kevin Telford.

Divine was the star of numerous John Waters movies, including the cult classic "Pink Flamingos."

"I liked Divine: the look, the weirdness, the craziness," said Patty Haller. "Everybody loves her. Here, she's like our David Bowie. People just love her."

Now there's talk of a monument to Divine in Mount Vernon, where a famous "Pink Flamingos" scene was filmed. The proposed monument would be made of marble and concrete. It would be built at Tyson and be part of the Mount Vernon Cultural Walk.

"I haven't heard about the monument yet but let's be honest: it's part of the Baltimore City lexicon," Telford said. "Mount Vernon is sort of an eclectic neighborhood. I think it would be a nice draw; I think the residents would like it, and certainly the businesses."

Divine died in 1988 at the age of 42, just before he was scheduled to guest star on the show "Married...With Children."

The monument would first have to be approved by Baltimore's Public Art Commission. Monument supporters are scheduled to appear before the commission next month.

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