richard hofmann PERFORMS “BRENDA the DAMNED” (1985)

** CLICK HERE TO TAKE ME TO THE FILM! **

In a time when LGBTQ+ visibility—and the visibility of other marginalized communities— now faces extreme threat, we must stand against erasure and affirm our full humanity. With that in mind, I present to you some rare footage, stored away in a 16MM film canister for forty years and now newly digitized, thanks to the tireless team at VisualAIDS.

Richard Hofmann (1954–1994), the prodigious East Village painter and AIDS activist, takes on the role of the buxom giant in Brenda the Damned, primping, plumping, and noshing her way through a dramatic reenactment of her legendary ‘mama Cass chokes on a chicken bone' scene. Get your mind blown!

As a special treat at the end, the artist sheds the makeup, offering a demure glimpse of himself as a strapping young man.

Click here or on one of the stills below to view the film!

Richard Hofmann as BRENDA

Richard Hofmann wigless and shirtless!

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Newly unearthed from storage