This Article is From Dec 08, 2015

Holly Woodlawn, '70s Transgender Star, Dies at 69

Holly Woodlawn, '70s Transgender Star, Dies at 69

Holly Woodlawn was a transgender actress who inspired the opening verse of Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side

Los Angeles: Holly Woodlawn, a transgender actress of the Seventies, who was artist Andy Warhol's muse and inspired singer Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side, died on Sunday in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer. She was 69.

American media said Ms Woodlawn, who recently appeared in two episodes of Amazon's dark transgender comedy Transparent, had suffered from alcohol and substance abuse for years.

Born Haroldo Danhakl in Puerto Rico, she changed her name to Holly Woodlawn after meeting Warhol and appeared in two of the artist's films - Trash and Women in Revolt.

Joe Dallesandro, who co-starred with Ms Woodlawn in Trash, said he was with her when she died. He tweeted on Sunday:
 
 

Holly Woodlawn will be remembered for inspiring the lyrics to Lou Reed's 1972 track Walk on the Wild Side. The lyrics were written after she left her home in Miami at the age of 16 and hitchhiked to New York.

"Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.; hitchhiked her way across the USA; plucked her eyebrows on the way; shaved her legs and then he was a she. She says, 'Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side'," the song goes.
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