Edith Massey May 28, 1918 - Oct 24, 1984

Sweet as could be.  Edith Massey was a sweet bartender in a dive bar in Baltimore.  John Waters discovered her in that role.  He turned her into the perfect actress for several different roles in his films.  Her stardom in no way diminished her sweetness, and she was funny.  I once was chatting with her at a party when John Waters walked by.  "There's the boss," Edith said, indicating him with a hitchhiking thumb gesture.  "If he tells me to comb my hair I have to comb my hair."

I've loved John Mellencamp's music from his early days, but I realized how seriously cool my fellow Hoosier was when he chose Edith Massey to play his "true" lover in the video of his song "This Time" and also pictured her on the cover of his 1980 album "Nothing Matters and What if it Did" on which "This Time" was one of the tracks.