Quentin Crisp interview | Naked Civil Servant | Mavis Catches up with...| 1989

Respected Journalist Mavis Nicholson flies to New York City to speak to Raconteur, Writer and self proclaimed eccentric Quentin Crisp. This is the first time Mavis has spoken to Quentin since she interviewed him in London in 1975
First shown: 20/12/1989
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Quote: VT50756

[@champakalimajumder4985]

What a self contained, articulate, perspicacious, reflective human being. Only very few of us have the ability to know ourselves so well. Who am I, where am I going, what is my life for? I think he had all the answers. I hope he is in a place now where he will be loved eternally.

[@ashkevielashtreathi4669]

Quite a beautiful person and remarkably intelligent. Pity we have now lost him💝

[@mernaloy2269]

I just discovered this man and he's fascinating to me. I've always loved eccentric people. They are a balm and a comfort to depressed people like me. How wonderful he is !

[@Chillmax]

Mavis Nicholson, one of the best, most understated interviewers ever, a masterclass in what to do & not to do! xx Hope Quent is looking down ;-) xx

[@eunicelynch3511]

At the grand age of 86 I remember riding the same bus with Quentwhen I was all of 17 ..it was fasinating everything about his presentation was sooo elegant.his make up hair nails and his sandeld feet ..but best of all was his perfume...no not after shave but PERFUME..if I hadnt been 17 and shy I would loved to have asked him for the name.what an elegant man..yes yes I know he was gay but for me at 17 .........

[@Chillmax]

@@eunicelynch3511 Lovely memories, I definitely would've asked ;-).

[@fionntainmacb]

yes, so beautiful to listen to her openly flow and joyfully connect with Quentin and vice versa :-)

[@BlytheWorld1972]

this man was very very special

[@PibrochPonder]

Why?

[@BlytheWorld1972]

@@PibrochPonder unique a great story teller a survivor a legend to many he even had his one man show were 1000s of people went to see him talk .. that enough for you prick ?

[@redbike6340]

@@PibrochPonder unsure, could be his unpretentious honesty combined with 60 plus years of being shunned by all. Perhaps you then choose either death or acceptance of your lot??

[@sarahjones-jf4pr]

@@PibrochPonder OH Please......really??/

[@PibrochPonder]

@@BlytheWorld1972 let’s be clear he was special and popular because he was a contemporary version of the Victorian freak show.

[@mr.y.mysterious.video1]

Having just watched an earlier interview with him in london im now watching this and he seems so much happier, the world finally fell in love with him

[@shaunwild8797]

Such an interesting and honest soul. I could listen to him for hours.

[@beppiek]

Ditto

[@shandalear3252]

Just adore him. I used to pass him on the street in NY C. I regret I never spoke to him.

[@scarfhs1]

It is such a joy to see him being happy.

[@alex2980]

I could listen to Quentin for hours.

[@michaelexactly5741]

What a amazing Enlightened soul...

[@Saraaa2538]

In English we say: what An amazing enlightened (NOT Enlightened) soul!

[@michaelexactly5741]

@@Saraaa2538 thank you for Enlightening me 😱

[@robertlittlebury1316]

For me, Quentin's kindness, humanity, and dignity was far more persuasive than the rather more forceful approach we often see today.

[@MissPerriwinkle]

we had lunch once, he was mesmerizing...

[@adrienne5080]

Cool x

[@sjwillis1137]

Wow. You know like you have your fantasy dinner guests ? Quentin would definately be one of mine .

[@krishnamurtiism]

How I’d loved to sat with him and listened

[@Valkonnen]

@Grey _ Often, when things are beyond what your limited experiences have been, you deny them out ignorance. Someday you'll find out that the very reason why you have lead a limited existence is the attitude that you just displayed. It will probably be much too late when you DO find out. I have worked and lived in NYC for over 35 years of my life and worked in the film industry. The most famous people that I have met and talked to have been outside of the Movie business on the streets of NYC, just by chance. Whether it's Liv Tyler buying a magazine at a newsstand or Dustin Hoffman eating a bagel in front of the shop with his son. But see, a limited brain like yours will never know something like that and you'll live your whole life in a stagnant bubble. I'm sorry for you.

[@bonnie3447]

Wow lucky you. That's awesome.

[@adamday2067]

Quentin is a very clever person if one listens to his many interviews. Very sad he is no longer with us. God bless and RIP.

[@tristanuaceithearnaigh7660]

The type of courage very few possess, very hard to attain and very hard to express. The courage to be yourself.

[@ransomcoates546]

His attitudes would be anathema to the contemporary gay community. But he was extremely intelligent, and spoke a lot of truth people today don’t want to hear.

[@_Sakidora_]

He was always something of an outsider and contrarian and rarely chimed in with the general consensus. There's always been prejudice against effeminate men in the gay community and this is probably even stronger now than before.

[@knockshinnoch1950]

He relished being an outsider. Quentin was shaped by his Edwardian upbringing. He railed against that staid conformity yet as time passed he remained tethered to that view of society and became trapped in that past- never truly belonging to any age- a curiosity

[@someonesomeone25]

@@_Sakidora_ Sadly true. My limited experience of the lgbt community is that they're just as filled with bigotry and prejudice as everyone else. There's even hierarchies within them, with groups looking down on other groups. Very disappointing.

[@Poetic_Justice1962]

There is no defined "gay community" identity. There is just the gay part of humanity.

[@thekajalflaneur]

He is a lighthouse in the sewer of contemporary queer life. Of life period. He is a practical philosopher, not some academic clap-trap post-structualist psychobabble. He is the real deal ~ dandy, bohemian, effete looking but otherwise quite masculine, aesthete, and true blue. His bravery and wisdom inspires anyone who reads or watches him. Thankyou Mr. Crisp, you have given a blueprint of elegance and stamina for desperate and lonely queers. Rest in glory, darling 💕

[@andynixon2820]

I like him and I like her . They're both excellent .

[@That_Random_Bloke]

Andy Nixon Mavis Nicholson was a brilliant interviewer

[@natgarrison2300]

a very endearing, clever man!

[@Itbmurr1]

What a delightful man! His view on America was interesting!

[@garyfenlon5769]

He's 81 in this clip, still as sharp as a tack.

[@foodbank2391]

He talks very good he looks his age but I did not notice it cuz he's cognitive abilities seem very good

[@danielwhittaker695]

I HATE TO ARGUE BUT HE WAS 77 OR 78 THIS WAS 1986 AND HE WAS BORN IN 1908 SORRY TO BE AN ANAL RETENTIVE BUT HEY............. ;)

[@535657]

@@danielwhittaker695 This interview is from 1989, the year in the title is wrong, but the description says it's from 1989 and Mavis says 1989 at 0:33. She also says it has been 14 years since their first interview, which was in 1975.

[@andydixon2980]

@@535657 Well spotted. I like attention to detail.

[@jhb61249]

And lived to past 90

[@josephlloyd9636]

Thank you for sharing this. It's a part of our history that's sadly forgotten. 🥴💯 It's amazing how groundbreaking he actually was. He's truly missed. 💕🏆🚀✨

[@67psych]

I’m so glad he was happy in his later life.! All the stuff he had been through. ❤❤

[@trevorrandom]

What a legend ☺

[@Polemicist0]

I understand that Sting (Gordon Summers) actually wrote his 1987 track hit, An Englishman in New York, having first been inspired by watching this television interview, between the journalist, Mavis Nicholson and the gay English writer, raconteur and actor, Quentin Crisp.

[@_Sakidora_]

I think their friendship predated that.

[@ABC_DEF]

All the talking about dying, being ready for death, his will, and so on -- and yet he lived for another ten years after this interview!

[@jimbuxton2187]

So sweet, so deeply intellectual, witty, innocent and self knowing....

[@maha77]

*_'When I was a child, at a time when my brothers wanted to be wonderful things like engine-drivers and the captains of iron ships, I wanted to be a chronic invalid'_* - Quentin Crisp

[@petemc5070]

He set the bar high for Morrissey.

[@MaximilianvonPinneberg]

She is such a great interviewer, a perfect complement to Quentin.

[@Jantonov1]

Now this guy had balls!

[@ronrendon]

They were ovaries actually, that accidentally dropped.

[@tula1433]

@@ronrendon lol that was kinda funny handsome

[@taniaearle4457]

By god yes, he took the Bull by the Horns, and stood firm! Im listening to everything I csn find, he's highly intelligent and honest. I guess him having it so tough he had to learn.

[@nataliep.9047]

Rockfish; And his balls had guys!

[@Valkonnen]

The thing that he said about Manhattan is really true. You pay the extra expense to live there "In order to be ready to rule the world, should the opportunity arise.".

[@fionntainmacb]

watching these 2 people recalls the suggestion that all people are beautiful, exquisite, endlessly powerful and rich and vibrant and all the opposites too, how wonderful :-)

[@misspurrr-fect3684]

Mavis is an outstanding at interviews ...wonderful TV .

[@TarotKiller-z7h]

Mavis Nicholson (born 19 October 1930) is a Welsh writer and radio and television broadcaster.

[@mariridout2124]

Wunderbar! Vielen dank für teilen sie uns. Vielen dank nochmal. Viele grüße

[@londondaze]

I just tonight came upon Mr. Crisp in a movie. I had no idea who he was or that he was. Absolutely brilliant! And I must say that Ms. Nicholson did a magnificent job asking questions that most interviewers would never think of. There rapport was genuine and he seemed to really enjoy the conversation. Thank you Thames TV.

[@novo611]

Lovley man. Kind

[@Edward1312]

A witty intelligent raconteur and great British eccentric. Interesting that he said England i.e London was cheap compared to Manhattan (and it was still possible to live cheaply in London in 1989 when this interview was shot) and he was talking about the 1970's, anyway it is no longer the case that you can live cheaply in London

[@dardude1139]

OMG I love him so much.

[@LaPtiteAnglaise]

This gentleman is mesmerising. As a child I was scared of him - I saw him as weird or odd. Androgynous and old. Having lived a life where I did well at school, sport, university and had an interesting career in a very ‘masculine’ profession - I wish I’d found half of his courage and ease with his own identity. Listening to him talk there is insight and intelligence in every sentence. Utterly different from the screaming activists we see these days. He uses logic, reason and wit - and is clear headed. Fascinating and charming.

[@Globe14]

Are you subtly saying you loved him because you were too afraid to be like him and followed the establizhment to the letter? Or did I misread?

[@Stormgryph]

Not living in the real world and being raised around women more, doesn't make one homosexual. How far we've come from beliefs like that. Thank you for being yourself Mr. Crisp.

[@ellioshiem7892]

Yes that is true. In his last book He admitted learning He was actually transgender.

[@pennyc7064]

@@ellioshiem7892 what is the title of his last book?

[@ellioshiem7892]

@@pennyc7064 THE LAST WORD

[@thejamunit2835]

What a cool guy. Wish I could have met him!

[@rosemarie999]

Brilliant interview

[@MarkEliasGrant]

The interviewer, Mavis Nicholson, died in 2022. She was 91 years old.

[@michaelamist8703]

Quentin I love your truthfulness

[@andysandel9325]

I have always Loved Highly Honoured Kindly To Quentin Crisp which i can honestly say that i can honestly relate to Quentin Crisp in every way being gay for the past 56 years my early childhood was quite very feminine in all my inmost ways in every way. Thank you for sharing this Wonderful Remarkable Interview ☕💝💖🌠🌟

[@tula1433]

Sending you good vibes boo. ❤️

[@antoniofrazaomendes4817]

Wonderful both

[@jakecavendish3470]

He lived next door to me and was always really helpful. He once carried my new washing machine up three flights of stairs by himself and installed it for me, and he was amazingly skilled at welding and angle-grinding

[@richardsmegma5081]

That one slipped through 🤣

[@bristolgareth1]

Lol sure

[@jakecavendish3470]

@@bristolgareth1 He also lagged my boiler. I didn't ask him to but he did it as a surprise Christmas present and said "you'd be amazed at the amount it will reduce your fuel bills."

[@champakalimajumder4985]

He comes across as extremely caring, and sensitive to the needs of others

[@andysandel9325]

Absolutely Outstanding Very Interesting Throughout As Always Every Interview Is Absolutely Amazing Wonderful Perfectly More So While It's A Lovely Interview Of Quentin Crisp Geniuses Of Life's Masterpiece 💝💖🌠🌟

[@moonstar4121]

He reminds me of an elderly woman very flamboyant.

[@ivst3655]

I would imagine a conversation between Quentin Crisp and Gore Vidal.... Would've been the most delightful....

[@briandelaney9710]

Gore Vidal hated effeminate gay men

[@ivst3655]

@@briandelaney9710 Then I can imagine it being even better....

[@huub1989]

As a child I shared with Quentin the wish to be a chronic invalid. I’m not sure it’s that unusual. I adore Quentin even though he spoke lots of nonsense!

[@karenschmocker8711]

Strange to hear the question of why when it is now known there is no why....it is perfectly natural to nature. It is not a CHOICE.

[@christopherdale7017]

He had an amazing life,but at least it made him happy.just a shame he pass away the way he did on a couch in a guest's house while on tour in Manchester but that's what he would of wanted but in New York instead of Manchester.

[@neilfranklin5644]

Looks like he could be miss Marple

[@davesmith2413]

Quentin was unique, a true gentleman and very intelligent and articulate, but a very damaged man, he wore this with dignity .

[@Kevvywevvy]

I pray he came back as a butterfly ❤

[@mikehudson8884]

So very wise.

[@davemattia]

"Why are you a homosexual?" 2020 she gets cancelled.

[@itsjustme4848]

Appropriately so. Such a stupid question. Has anyone ever been asked “Why are you heterosexual?”

[@davemattia]

@@itsjustme4848

[@tula1433]

Lol very true! But in the other commenters defense people make such a huge deal over sexuality it’s ridiculous. People have been sleeping with both sexes since the beginning of time. Also let’s all have a 3 some 🤫😘

[@ScoundrelDaysSon]

@@itsjustme4848 Twaddle. It's a question appropriate to the time. In part to help those that aren't LGBTQ+ to understand, also for us all to understand a thing which shaped his life greatly. She prefaced it marvelously, explaining that when it would've been viewed a prejudiced question - in his eyes - she avoided it, allowing him to state happily 'I've no idea'. She's a bloody marvellous interviewer and I'm surprised you don't see that and see their easy companionship - she had interviewed him in the '70's, she'd visited him at home in the UK and the US. Stop and consider that she already knows him, and that he stated she was his favourite interviewer. Clearly that question didn't bother him showing him to answer in a way that suggests there's no way to have influenced it (rightly), she challenged him when he tried to suggest that all 'men' desired similar things, and she questions him to refute the idea it was just a desire for fatherly love (all common beliefs about sexuality/gender stereotypes knocked down in a 1980's interview). Incidentally neither has it bothered me when folks I am close with ask about my bisexuality (I had to clearly explain to my one friend, who didn't know, that in our relationship I wasn't then going out having sex with the other half I'd, in his words, 'given up'). It is only a problem when someone, as some folk of both sexualities have, said 'you're pretending/ lying to yourself/ going through a phase/greedy' those sorts of statements are the type to reject out of hand - self-evidently bigoted statements/questions that override one's self, or one's agency.

[@itsjustme4848]

@@ScoundrelDaysSon Has anyone ever asked you “Why are you bisexual?” If so, what did you say?

[@annielightfoot2752]

Just watched both movies. I love him x

[@JayneSimonds]

I would have loved to have met him…

[@justme-hh4vp]

i've seen a few of his interviews and he doesn't half repeat himself. Nonetheless an amazing character

[@mmarshall8259]

That is because he gets asked the same or similar questions.

[@gaycha6589]

Don’t we all?

[@ktkee7161]

Quentin Crisp: I have come to the end of my personality. And: "You've told that joke before." You should always repeat a good joke, it's bad ones you shouldn't repeat.

[@raymondkymsuttle]

Heterosexuals asking “why are you a homosexual” never think to ask themselves “why are you heterosexual?”

[@rafiqadarr6217]

He was born in the wrong time, in the Edwardian era, but when has there ever been a “right” time? people always dislike/hate other people who are different. His eloquence and his colossal intellect were astounding, he always spoke so beautifully and was a fascinating individual. I wish I could have met you, Quentin. What an incredible person, I never get tired of listening to him speak.

[@normamimosa5991]

What a delightful man.

[@rosalindmartin4469]

He was well-born. Privileged.

[@mariakyriakou1593]

Knows what he's doing...crafty...

[@vertugallery7099]

A great person

[@elissasangi-hd9om]

Growing up in NYC from the 1960s through the 1990s, the Lower East side was not unfashionable. Be there or be 🔳

[@Moluccan56]

So true about the British shop girls (Manchester), at least in 1981 it was. Same for British Airways female flight attendants, same year. Magazine, not looking at me, passes me a glass of water while flipping a page. Resented performing customer service. 🇨🇦

[@lidijabasanovic9779]

At the end he looked like his mother whom he loved.. And he is 80 here, he said it himself

[@adrienne5080]

"Why do you think you're a homosexusl?" OMG.... 1981 indeed... Seriously Mavis...??? "Why do you think your straight"🤣🤣

[@nativevirginian8344]

He later came to believe he was a woman in a man’s body. He would have it made today.

[@kriskabin]

Yeah, this is really dated & and unfortunately, Quentin's answer was inaccurate. Homosexuality isn't "caused" by anything, just like being left-handed isn't caused by some family trauma. It just is. We're born this way. Heterosexuals are never asked, "What tragedy caused you to be straight.?" It's ridiculous, rude & ignorant.

[@ktkee7161]

@@kriskabin Not for its time, when people still thought homosexuality could be learnt. Be a bit more tolerant, Mavis was brilliant. (And btw, towards the end of his life, he came to believe he was transgender)

[@sarahjones-jf4pr]

"Your world is your friend in America..." until you get shot ,robbed , or knifed..So lucky nothing really happened to Quentin the old charmer."Dark romantic strangers" Do exist I had one once upon a time!.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

frightened little creature ... how often in your life have you been shot, robbed or knifed, dearie?

[@Madmen604]

The ideal man is your father when you are a child. Later on you learn that your parents are human and not superheroes at all. As an adult, you may search for that ideal male in your life again as a partner, but yes you will always be dissapointed. Long adult marriages accept imperfection and equity as long as you each compensate for the other's failings. But there other marriage patterns beside that.

[@Madmen604]

He's like Oscar Wilde

[@marklola12]

I love how Mavis says ...SOME MEN when he goes on trying to say all men are a certain way or all like the same thing haha. He is fab but he does overly generalize alot of stuff

[@TheHandsomeman]

Genuine.

[@PhoenixAndersontaylor-n3s]

Just love him would love the world full of him ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@salfordguy69]

the young old and ill equipped will always be looked after by Mrs Thatcher!!! Tell that to the Tories in 2018 with Universal Credit food banks and the Suicide Minister!

[@welshhibby]

Delightful man.

[@ransomcoates546]

There seems to me a big unexplained gap in his life. He created himself in England in the 30’s and acted out his style through the 40’s. Then he talks about becoming a life model at an art school. I don’ think you can manage that career through to your late 70’s, when he became famous with the book and movie. What exactly was he doing during those missing 25 years?

[@_Sakidora_]

I think he was a model for the best part of 30 years so there isn't really much of a gap between that and publishing the Naked Civil Servant and the eventual film.

[@FriendofDorothy]

I don't know but he was doing performance art because I saw him live on stage once here in L.A. Same crowd as one saw at all the gay bars; it was as if the beer bust was over so they decided to take in some theater before going home. The rest room was like a bath-house. LOL! I loved his "performance"; all he did was sit with regal aplomb in a chair on stage and answer questions from the audience but it was fun.

[@ransomcoates546]

@@FriendofDorothy Yes, but it was after the book that he did the stage shows. I’m talking about the time before. Someone said he did in fact make a living as an art school model into his seventies.

[@ABC_DEF]

Models at art schools didn't have to be young. They could be any age.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

artists models are all ages, shapes and sizes ... I'm sure he had some other meaningless, dreary jobs, too, to make ends meet, but he bore his audience with those pages of his life - do you?? 😬

[@petemc5070]

One of the great philosophers.

[@yakacm]

I think Quentin and Donald Trump would vie for the title of best combover.

[@Myplop]

He’s just genius 😊

[@danielwhittaker695]

THIS INTERVIEW ISNT FROM 1986 HE MENTIONS BEING ABOUT TO TURN 81 AND BETTIE DAVIS,S DEATH WHICH HAPPENED IN OCTOBER 1989!!!!! not to split but hairs but you know.......... lol

[@23Dawnay]

You claimed in your previous comment that Quentin was 77 or 78 , giving it large that you were right. You didn’t reply to the comments yet here you are making out that your the one who copped the mistake with the dates 😂

[@paulwalker1793]

A wonderful man 🌹

[@zdog1490]

He seems pretty normal to me

[@ABC_DEF]

But as a young man in the 1930s he was not.

[@martha-anastasia]

17$ a week for his room. Now probably renting for 2500$ a month.

[@davidmatthews9088]

What a shining contrast to the ghastly types who go to gay pride events now.

[@hunterluxton5976]

His characterisation of England is quite wrong. His description is of London not England. The northern English are different from the southern English. I speak as a Welshman who has lived all over England including various parts of London.

[@noladesiree4800]

I would have liked to have met him.

[@andysmith8890]

This is in 1989...title needs changing

[@raymondkymsuttle]

$17 a week in Manhattan! OMFG! His best quality is his brutal honesty about his failings.

[@broncotrolly]

Thats 42 dollars today. What the hell lol

[@stephenvanwoert2447]

I wonder if QC could cope in New York in 2024 and how would he survive? Would he even be noticed or relevant? Are there any successors?

[@clipstone]

1989 not '86

[@hallerd]

He lived another decade.

[@marinapollock]

Such a fascinating and brave person . Not really interested in the political world or it's egos. More the personal world and the freedoms it offers inwardly. Penny arcade always credits him as being a very engaging and intelligent man. Discounted or overlooked because of the Quentin persona he became known for. He could talk knowledgeably and intelligently on a range of subjects with the best minds of his generation. Dick caveat should've had him on as a guest, done a 45 minute interview examining his formative years and early adulthood in 1930s England. Penny arcade chided the producers of an 'English man in New York'. during a bfi interview for suggesting Quentin hated England. She said it was not true and much more complicated. He loved England. He could never really get over some of the traumas he experienced there. He'd attract hundreds of people in a street at a time , they'd follow him, encircle him. , not out of malice necessarily. He was just so different and they had no context to frame him in.. To attract that level of attention and still attempt to function as a human being..

[@davidsimpson9647]

Quentin would have ridiculed 'gay rights' even more now than before, he would have been appalled by the vulgarity of it all. He wasn't interested in narrow interest groups. He stood up for the joys of individuality. Homosexuality was merely incidental.

[@tula1433]

Absolutely agree. Like myself he was able to separate his sexuality from his political beliefs.

[@SuperAXER]

"La popularidad engendra desprecio"... ¿Realmente quieres lastimarme?

[@afritimm]

I dont think there is serious evidence for the distant father hypothesis. There are legions of gay men who had happy relations with their father and/or poor relations with their mother. The same family may have had a gay son and a gay daughter (no one ever speaks of a distant mother theory for lesbians). Or one gay son and one straight son. No, I think it is mostly genetic. Keeping in mind many people are also somewhat bisexual to one degree or another. It is a continuum.

[@randolphpinkle4482]

Ah, the romance of the Englishman in America. That seems like such a long time ago.