It has been exactly 11 years since Wendy O. Williams went into the woods near her house and shot herself to death. She was just shy of 49. In a genre that is highly polarizing, Wendy O. Williams was phenomenally off the grid in the get-her-or-don't ,love-her-or-hate her department. To call her original, enthralling, frightening, offensive or entertaining is like shooting a spitball at the moon: it doesn't come anywhere near its target.
Part punk-rocker, part performance artist, everything about her was overgrown: her voice, her physicality, her persona, her attitude. As the front woman for the Plasmatics and as a solo artist, she was worshipped and reviled for her semi-naked, suggestive onstage antics, which inspired the moniker "The Queen of Shock Rock."
Like so many artists throughout the existence of punk, she was an outspoken activist. Her passions were animal rights and healthy eating. Yes, the woman behind the sexy, violent facade was a vegetarian, and coupled with the same man for 2 decades. She was passionate and variable, with a mottled and controversial life. The thing she hated above all else was homogeneity; it is fitting that her life is a symbol of daring, controversial originality.
The video for "The Damned" is legendary, and unforgettable. I first saw it as a kid and, while it can be slightly terrifying for one so young, its apocalyptic aura is breathtaking.
The fierceness, the blonde mohawk, the guttural screech of her voice, and the ripe sexual button-pushing are all part of Wendy O. Williams, artist and woman; they are inseparable,one from the other. When she killed herself, she did so on her own terms, as she believed should be everyone's right. Whether one agrees or disagrees with that choice, she died as she lived, with controversy and freedom of action.
Hey, I remember this! -well, specifically, I remember the piece they did on it for Entertainment Tonight or PM Magazine or some such. Great post!
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