Ed Wood, Jr.
Death of a Transvestite

The lights go up to reveal a bleak prison cell. The condemned Glen Marker sits on Death Row smoking and swearing his way through his last hours on earth, facing that last, lonely walk to the electric chair. In the dark hours before dawn, he makes his final request. Once a ruthless assassin for the Syndicate, Glen offers his uncensored life story — a story never before told — in exchange for the thing he wants most: to die in drag.

His wish granted by the curious warden, the sordid tale of bloody violence and sleaze, organized crime and innocent victims takes off. His life swarms with roach motels and false promises of flickering Hollywood lights, lousy lounge acts and murder for money. His sex is dressed-up, tied-up, and tickled with feather boas. Once Glen is on the lam from his life of crime, the Syndicate calls in another lethally luscious customer, Paul/Pauline, to stop gorgeous Glenda in her pumps. The ploy fails and Pauline becomes just another pretty corpse, but Glen is hogtied on a one-way trip to the big house.

As the lights go down, we see the lacquer and waves of Glenda's wig, illuminated by a single bulb hanging in the hall. Head held high, her body tightly wrapped in a soft angora sweater, she saunters with pride as the click of her stilettos echoes throughout the fated corridor. Glen's ultimate desire is satisfied — he will die as he lived most of his life and committed most of his killing — as a lady.

Ed Wood was an infamous director, producer, screenwriter, actor, novelist and subject of the 1994 Tim Burton film Ed Wood. His films include Plan 9 from Outer Space, Glen or Glenda, Orgy of the Dead, and Necromania. Some of the twenty-two novels published in his lifetime include Devil Girls, Sex, Shrouds and Caskets, Security Risk, as well as the two Four Walls reissues: Death of a transvestite and Killer in Drag. Wood died in Hollywood in 1978 at the age of 54.

Order this featured book online at a discount from

---

© 2004 Four Walls Eight Windows
Home | Catalog | Subjects | Contact/Ordering | Internships | Submissions | Related | Search

Website design by JERRY ENGELBACH