Hibiscus (entertainer)

Hibiscus (born George Edgerly Harris III; September 6, 1949 – May 6, 1982) was an American actor and performance artist. Starting his career in New York City, he moved to San Francisco, where in 1969 he founded the psychedelic gay liberation theater collective known as the Cockettes. In 1971, he founded Angels of Light.

Hibiscus
Hibiscus as Madame Butterfly at Sonoma State University in 1970
Born	George Edgerly Harris III (1949-09-06)September 6, 1949 Bronxville, New York, U.S.
Died	May 6, 1982(1982-05-06) (aged 32) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor performance artist

He was widely seen in Flower Power (1967), a photograph taken during a major anti-Vietnam War protest in Washington, DC. He was photographed putting flowers into the gun barrels of the MPs.^[1]

Early life

George Edgerly Harris III was born on September 6, 1949 in Bronxville, New York. His father George Edgerly Harris II (1921–2005) was a WWII veteran and musician, and his mother Anna Marie McCanless (1926–2016) was a songwriter.^[2] The family moved to Clearwater Beach, Florida. The Harris parents became interested in theater and began performing with a local company known as "The Little Theater". George and his siblings started a children's theater troupe, the El Dorado Players.

In 1964, the family returned to New York. Harris appeared in commercials, and started acting in television. In 1966 he performed in an Off Broadway play titled Peace Creeps by John Wolfson, with Al Pacino and James Earl Jones.^[3]

In 1967, Harris and his father appeared in New York in the Off-Off-Broadway play Gorilla Queen by Ronald Tavel.^[4]

War protest

On October 21, 1967, Hibiscus (then George Harris) joined the March on the Pentagon, an anti-war march intended to "levitate" the Pentagon. He appears in Bernie Boston's Pulitzer Prize-nominated photograph, Flower Power; he was the turtleneck sweater-wearing protester photographed putting flowers into the gun barrels of a soldier of the 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne).^[1]

Boston recalled the moment in a 2005 interview in Curio magazine:^[5]

"When I saw the sea of demonstrators, I knew something had to happen. I saw the troops march down into the sea of people, and I was ready for it." One soldier lost his rifle. Another lost his helmet. The rest had their guns pointed out into the crowd, when all of a sudden a young hippie stepped out in front of the action with a bunch of flowers in his left hand. With his right hand he began placing the flowers into the barrels of the soldiers' guns. "He came out of nowhere," says Boston, "and it took me years to find out who he was ... his name was Harris."

1960's counter-culture member Paul Krassner, in a blog entry he did not post until a week after Bernie Boston died in 2008 (and three years after Boston was quoted in Curio), states that the young man in the photo was Joel Tornabene, a leader of the Youth International Party; in addition to Boston, both Harris/Hibiscus and Tornabene were dead before Krassner posted this statement.^[6]

Career

The Cockettes

Main article: The Cockettes

Hibiscus, whose full beard, vintage dresses, make-up and costume jewelry, attracted a group of like-minded activists who "loved show-tunes, dressing up, showing off, and dropping acid."^[7] The group adopted the name The Cockettes after performing a series of midnight musical reviews at the Palace Theater in North Beach, San Francisco. Each review was inspired by, or was a parody of, old films and movie musicals, such as: "Gone with the Showboat to Oklahoma", "Hollywood Babylon", and "Pearls over Shanghai".^[8] The reviews became "must-see" for San Francisco's gay community.^[7] Notable former members included disco singer Sylvester and drag queen Divine.

When the Palace Theater began enforcing admission and limiting the number of free passes given to performers, Hibiscus would open the theater doors to allow spectators in without paying admission. He believed all shows should be free to the public and free of structure. However, The Cockettes' previously spontaneous performances became more structured over time. Later productions, such as "Pearls over Shanghai", were fully scripted with set changes, on-stage effects and lighting, and choreography.

Hibiscus, who disliked the commercial approach to community theater, either dropped out, refused to rehearse, or flubbed his scripted lines. His insouciant behavior frustrated and annoyed other members. Hibiscus was seen by many as the spiritual and moral center of the group. Therefore, challenges to his behavior would escalate into what was described as the Cockettes "flying apart".^[7]

After a dispute over a "free theater manifesto" written by Jilala (James Tressler) members began leaving the group.

The Angels of Light

In 1970, Kreemah Ritz (Daryl Simmonds) registered the business name "The Cockettes", then filed articles of incorporation in 1971. What Kreemah claimed was "registering the copyright".^[7] After failing to negotiate changes to the Cockettes, Hibiscus, Kreemah (who had become de factor manager), and Sebastian (owner of the Palace Theater) chose to part ways.

Hibiscus, Ralif (Ralph Sauer), Jilala, and several others, formed The Angels of Light Free Theater.^[9] The Angels would produce "cosmic theater" revues in San Francisco and New York, often in public spaces to avoid charging admission.^[10] Allen Ginsberg and other Beat Generation poets and artists performed with The Angels.

After returning to New York, Hibiscus produced several Off-off-Broadway drag revues using the name Angels of Light. "Sky High" ran the longest, and included members of his family. Hibiscus and his family also performed as the glitter rock parody band "Hibiscus and the Screaming Violets".

Hibiscus appeared as an extra on daytime soap operas filmed in New York until his death. When he had dialogue he was credited as George E. Harris.

Death

Hibiscus died from pneumonia and complications from AIDS on May 6, 1982.^[11] His death was described as sudden and unexpected by friends and family, since he did not display symptoms of severe illness before being hospitalized. At the time of his death, AIDS was known GRID or "gay cancer", and was highly stigmatized.^[12] Hibiscus was among the first LGBTQ+ artists known to the general public who died from AIDS.

A panel in his name was donated to the AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1987. His block (#0069) includes a panel for theater director Fritz Holt.^[13] His name was among those read out during the Stop the Church protest in 1989. With support from Ralif, Jilala, Kreemah, and other surviving members of The Cockettes and The Angels, Hibiscus was memorialized by ACT UP, GLAAD, and other groups, often as a name read during a vigil or protest.

His life in San Francisco was documented in the 2002 film The Cockettes. His art, scrapbooks, short films, correspondence, and other pieces, are preserved in a number of collections and archives, including the Kreemah Ritz collection at the University of California. The Harris family own "The Angels of Light" scrapbook Hibiscus began when he joined the Kaliflower Commune in 1967. The scrapbook inspired the documentary film's title design.