John Edward Heys (born April 24, 1954) is an American independent filmmaker, actor and writer who lives and works in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Life and career

John Edward Heys was born and raised in New Jersey. Upon his father's death two days after Heys' 12th birthday, he was enrolled and educated (grades 7 thru 12) at a private boarding school in northern New Jersey. After graduating from secondary school, Heys moved to Miami Shores, Florida, to the home of his maternal aunts. After two semesters of college majoring in

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

, Heys moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1968 and became part of the East Village and West Village alternative life and

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

culture. In August 1969, he founded America's first bi-monthly newspaper for the LGBTQ community, ''Gay Power'', the official title totaling 24 issues, and was editor until August 1970. One of its covers was created by Robert Mapplethorpe. The newspaper also contained illustrations by Touko Laaksonen, better known as

Tom of Finland Touko Valio Laaksonen (8 May 1920 – 7 November 1991), pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a Finnish artist who made stylized highly masculinized homoerotic art, and influenced late 20th-century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential ...

, and featured contributors such as Arthur Bell, Taylor Mead, Charles Ludlam, Pudgy Roberts, Bill Vehr, Pat Maxwell, Clayton Cole, as well as columns from all of the active LGBSTG groups, from the most conservative Mattachine Society to the most radical The

Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...

, and all the other groups in between. Heys created several one-man performance pieces and acted with Cookie Mueller, H.M. Koutoukas, Charles Ludlam, Ethyl Eichelberger and as part of the Angels of Light NYC Group, which Hibiscus founded after moving to NYC. Heys was a subject for artists

Peter Hujar Peter Hujar (October 11, 1934 – November 26, 1987) was an American photographer best known for his black and white portraits. He has been recognized posthumously as a major American photographer of the late-twentieth century. Yet Hujar's work r ...

, Francesco Clemente, Charles Ludlam, Richard Banks, Frank Moore and numerous other photographers. Heys was a close friend and muse of photographer Peter Hujar and the subject of many portraits. Hujar once remarked upon Heys' resemblance to Diana Vreeland, "I can take a picture of her and another of you and there is a resemblance".Frame, Allen http://bombsite.com/issues/29/articles/1261 Fall 1989, Retrieved May 20, 2013. In Berlin he was a friend of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, the ''

Neue Deutsche Welle Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW, , "New German Wave") is a genre of West German rock music originally derived from post-punk and new wave music with electronic influences. The term was first coined by Dutch radio DJ Frits Spits on the popular nationwid ...

'' (New Wave) band '' Die Tödliche Doris'', and radical gay activist Napoleon Seyfarth. Heys made two films of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf and one of Napoleon Seyfarth and was the subject of an 8mm short film that Wolfgang Mueller made in 1984 in the legendary 1930s

bordello A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub pa ...

, Pensione Florian. Heys' films have been screened at many worldwide film festivals.

Theater ''(actor)''

* ''Le Bourgeois Avant Garde'', 1982 * ''Galas'', 1983 * ''Sounds in The Distance'', 1984, by

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorp ...

The Berlin Debut in 1984, and a second production in Brooklyn, New York, late 1980s * ''Salammbo'', 1985, by Charles Ludlam * ''The Roman Polanski Story'', by Gary Indiana, Heys portraying Polanski. * ''Homage to Diana Vreeland'' Heys portrayed Diana Vreeland in several solo performances at LaMama ETC * ''The Woman with Pearls'', 1980's * ''Nose to Nose'', with Suzanne Fletcher NYC, 1980's * ''Poverty in the Penthouse'' - La Mamounia, Berlin 1984- NYC, late 1980s * ''Nerris the Nurse'', to Ethyl Eichelberger's Medea. (Premier) Club 57 NYC, approximately performances, at Snafu, Paradise Garage, other venues. 1980's * ''Cookie Mueller & John Heys Together at Last'', Cafe Schmidt, NYC, March 1981Mallory Curley, ''A Cookie Mueller Encyclopedia'' (2010), pp. 487-488.

Film actor

* ''John Heys Singt'', directed by Wolfgang Müller * ''Final Reward'', directed by Rachid Kerdouche, 1978 * '' Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole'', directed by

Amos Poe Amos Poe is an American New York City-based director and screenwriter, described by ''The New York Times'' as a "pioneering indie filmmaker." Career Amos Poe is one of the first punk filmmakers and his film '' The Blank Generation'' (1976)—c ...

* ''Agnes und Sein Bruder'', Oscar Rolle-Berlin early 2000s

Theatre (director)

* ''The Human Voice'', starring Alba Clemente, NYC Early 1990s

Filmmaker

* ''The Moroccan Bride'', 1987 Premiere, Millennium, NYC * ''Charlotte in Sweden'', 1998 Premiere Berlinale -Panorama * ''Golden Earrings'', 2000 Premiere at original Arsenal -Berlin * ''Alarm'', 2001 Festival circuit * ''Cooch Dance'', 2008 Berlinale * ''The La Ronde Superclub'', 2008 Berlinale * ''Das Ende des Schweins ist der Anfang der Wurst'' ("End of the Pig and Start of the Sausage"), 2009, Napoleon Seyfarth, Documentary, Premiere Berlinale-Panorama * ''Charlotte'', 2009 Festival circuit * ''Warum Madam Warum'', 2011, with Zazie De Paris, Premiere Berlinale -Panorama * ''A Lazy Summer Afternoon with Mario Montez'', 2011 Premiere Berlinale-Panorama * "The Actress" with Zazie De Paris, 2013 *

Madame Arthur Madame Arthur is a drag cabaret venue in the Rue des Martyrs, 18th arrondissement of Paris. It is named after the synonymous song. History Madame Arthur opened in 1946 as the first transvestite cabaret, which took its name from the famous song ...

, 2015, Shortfilm with Zazie de Paris * "The Lift" 2018 * "STROLL." 2021

Film festivals

* Berlinale Panorama, Berlin 2009 * 56. Internationale Kurzfilmtage, Oberhausen 2010 * Oslo Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Oslo 2011, * LLAMALEH - Uruguay International Film Festival of Sexual and Gender Diversity, Montevideo 2011 * Paris Gay, Lesbian, Trans Film Festival -

Chéries-Chéris Chéries-Chéris (Festival du Film Lesbien, Gay, Bi, Trans & ++++ de Paris) is an annual international LGBT film festival held in Paris in October or November. Original titled "Festival of Gays and Lesbians of Paris", it was founded in 1994 by Ya ...

, Paris 2011 * The Barcelona International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Barcelona 2011 * Annual Pink Screens, Brussels 2011 * Berlinale Panorama, Berlin 2012 * Rio Festival Gay de Cinema, Rio de Janeiro 2012 * OutView Film Festival, Athens 2012 * Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt am Main 2012

References

External links

http://www.johnedwardheys.net
Personal website
John Edward Heys papers, circa 1962-2001 (bulk 1969-2000)
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

John Edward Heys papers, additions, 1930s-2011
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heys, John Edward American film directors American theatre directors American male stage actors Living people 1948 births