Vanilla and the Spiritus Riot 1990
by Jonathan Morrill
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$600
Dimensions
20.000 x 16.000 x 0.500 inches
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Title
Vanilla and the Spiritus Riot 1990
Artist
Jonathan Morrill
Medium
Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
Description
This acrylic painting reflects several different memories,
happening simultaneously,
at Provincetown’s infamous pizzeria, Spiritus Pizza.
Labor Day 1990 had just passed, marking the end of the season.
The Crown & Anchor held their annual “Golden Plunger Awards” out that Tuesday night,
the day after Labor Day.
Winners from various categories in Provincetown ‘s show business realm
would receive a real golden plunger as an award.
Excerpt from: ‘THE SPIRITUS RIOTS’ by Mark Louque
‘Early on the morning of September 5, 1990, shortly after the bars had emptied at 1:00 a.m., 200 or more revelers had congregated outside Spiritus when the police came and arrested Jerry Stuart, a local female impersonator known as Vanilla.
Vanilla's crime was apparently that of sashaying down Commercial Street with a toilet plunger and sucking it onto cars that she passed along the way.
While being thrown into a police cruiser, Vanilla struggled vocally to free herself.
Outside the cruiser the angry crowd, believing that Vanilla had been wrongly arrested, confronted police, throwing food and blocking the police cruiser.
As the crowd became increasingly hostile, police from neighboring towns were hastily called in to assist the local force, and the crowd was cleared without violence.’
One witness, Frank Crivelli, who was working the ice cream bar that evening at Spiritus,
remembers closing down Spiritus before things got out of hand.
After shutting down, Frank went outside and documented the event,
using all 36 exposures in the process.
Michael Lussier and Big Lil were among the friends of Vanilla coming to her defense.
Vanilla kicked out the back driver’s side window of the cruiser while being handcuffed,
saying that she couldn’t breathe.
The incident was videotaped, and excerpts were broadcast on Cape Cod area news reports, with a very dramatic head shot of Vanilla,
crying as her mascara ran down her face, and asking in her unique whine,
“What’s going on?"
Frank recalls Chief Meads showing up in hi-pajamas, eventually uncuffing a Vanilla,
under the condition that she come down to the police station on Shankpainter Road
to be officially released.
The crowd of about 200+ late night revelers, drag queens, and townies, all marched in solidarity from Spiritus to the Police Station.
Vanilla was released, and the crowd was cheering.
It was one of the first times that Provincetown LGBTQ community stood up against PPD insensitivity and exclusion.
Then someone through a brick through the police station window.
“The Last Fagbash and other Stories from Provincetown” by Austin Dal
also mentioned this event.
Uploaded
October 5th, 2022
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