Divine

The actor known as "Divine" was born Harris Glenn Milstead on October 19, 1945 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was an only child in a fairly well-off family and described himself later as having been spoiled at home. But he was overweight and effeminate, and was teased and sometimes beaten up at school. As a teenager, he began to hang out in underground gay clubs and found kinship with drag queens. Meeting John Waters gave him a sense of having found similar outcasts, though they were not exactly the same:

'When I met Waters and his wild cronies, Divine said, "I thought...God, what a sleazy crew they are. Everyone liked living in poverty and filth. No one I knew lived like that, I was stuck in a middle-class mentality."' San Francisco Chronicle, March 1988

He kept acting in Waters' films, as well as co-writing "The Diane Linkletter Story" with him, but supported himself as a hairdresser and then proprietor of "Divine Trash," a "nostalgia store," and appeared in nightclubs with the Cockettes. After being in Mondo Trasho and Multiple Maniacs, 1972's Pink Flamingos made Divine much more well known because of the scene where his character Babs Johnson, "the filthiest person alive," eats dog feces; the scene was Waters' idea and was meant as a promotion for the film (and it did certainly draw audiences, though Divine was later embarrassed by it). After this, Divine received several stage roles as well as continuing to act in Waters' films. At his manager's urging, he also performed in nightclubs when other work was scarce; his act included a trademark phrase "Fuck you. Fuck you very much."

Starting in 1979, he also became a singer (though he had already sung the title song to 1974's Female Trouble). His first single was "Born to be Cheap" backed with "The Name Game," released on Wax Trax Records, and along with several more singles Divine would release the albums "Jungle Jezebel" (1982), "T-Shirts and Tight Blue Jeans" (1984), "So Far" (1984), and "Maid in England" (1988) on various labels. Overall, he received at least 10 international gold records; the sales were biggest in Europe. However, he had problems with "O" Records, who released "Native Love" single, and had to go to court to get his money. After an appearance on Top of the Pops in 1984 to promote "You Think You're A Man," enough viewers complained that he was banned from BBC TV appearances, though they continued to play his records.

The R-rated Polyester (1981) and PG-rated Hairspray (1988) made him almost mainstream. Rosie Velez in Lust in the Dust (1985) was his first role in a movie not directed by Waters. He also appeared in male roles in the movie Trouble in Mind (1985) and on the TV show "Tales from the Dark Side" in 1986. He was offered the recurring role of Uncle Otto on TV's Married with Children, with shooting to start in March 1988.

Sources:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2171
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.geocities.com/k_n_scott/divine.html
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/9625/
http://www.entertainted.com/scott/Divinity/
http://www.q.co.za/culture/00features/001019-divine.htm
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Divine

In Italian, divino means divine. di vino means "of wine".
So when you ask for "Un bichierre di vino", you are asking for a glass of wine or a divine glass.

Coincidence?

Both these facts make Divine quite a standout in an industry where many if not most cocoa plantations are staffed by child slave labour. Divine is certified by the UK Fairtrade Foundation. Fair trade in this case means that cocoa is purchased at a fair price that allows workers to earn a living wage, in a long-term contract allowing for job security, and that producers must meet minimum health and safety standards, must not exploit their workers, and should actively seek training and education opportunities for their workers. Good stuff.

Currently Divine is available widely only in the UK.

Di*vine" (?), a. [Compar. Diviner (); superl. Divinest.] [F. divin, L. divinus divine, divinely inspired, fr. divus, dius, belonging to a deity; akin to Gr. , and L. deus, God. See Deity.]

1.

Of or belonging to God; as, divine perfections; the divine will.

Paley.

2.

Proceeding from God; as, divine judgments.

Bacon.

3.

Appropriated to God, or celebrating his praise; religious; pious; holy; as, divine service; divine songs; divine worship.

4.

Pertaining to, or proceeding from, a deity; partaking of the nature of a god or the gods.

Shak.

5.

Godlike; heavenly; excellent in the highest degree; supremely admirable; apparently above what is human. In this application, the word admits of comparison; as, the divinest mind. Sir J. Davies.

Shak.

A divine sentence is in the lips of the king. Prov. xvi. 10.

But not to one in this benighted age Is that diviner inspiration given. Gray.

6.

Presageful; foreboding; prescient.

Yet oft his heart, divine of something ill, Misgave him. Milton.

7.

Relating to divinity or theology.

Church history and other divine learning. South.

Syn. -- Supernatural; superhuman; godlike; heavenly; celestial; pious; holy; sacred; preeminent.

© Webster 1913.

Di*vine", n. [L. divinus a soothsayer, LL., a theologian. See Divine, a.]

1.

One skilled in divinity; a theologian.

Denham.

2.

A minister of the gospel; a priest; a clergyman.

The first divines of New England were surpassed by none in extensive erudition. J. Woodbridge.

© Webster 1913.

Di*vine", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Divined (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Divining.] [L. divinare: cf. F. deviner. See Divination.]

1.

To foresee or foreknow; to detect; to anticipate; to conjecture.

A sagacity which divined the evil designs. Bancroft.

2.

To foretell; to predict; to presage.

Darest thou . . . divine his downfall? Shak.

3.

To render divine; to deify.

Living on earth like angel new divined. Spenser.

Syn. -- To foretell; predict; presage; prophesy; prognosticate; forebode; guess; conjecture; surmise.

© Webster 1913.

Di*vine", v. i.

1.

To use or practice divination; to foretell by divination; to utter prognostications.

The prophets thereof divine for money. Micah iii. 11.

2.

To have or feel a presage or foreboding.

Suggest but truth to my divining thoughts. Shak.

3.

To conjecture or guess; as, to divine rightly.

© Webster 1913.