He subsequently wrote several plays, including Glamour, Glory and Gold (1967), Amerika Cleopatra (1968), and Vain Victory: Vicissitudes of the Damned (1971).

[2] While performing in drag on stage and screen, Curtis would typically wear lipstick, glitter, bright red hair, ripped dresses, and stockings.

Curtis pioneered this combination of camp trashy glamour as a style that inspired many entertainers, including Jayne County, the New York Dolls, and glam rock performers such as David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Gary Glitter and Mott the Hoople.

[6][7] In 1965, Curtis appeared in Tom Eyen's play Miss Nefertiti Regrets at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club along with fellow newcomer Bette Midler.

[9] Curtis' play Glamour, Glory and Gold, which chronicled the ascent and decline of a female film star, debuted in an East Village basement in 1967.

[10] "This seemed to account for the strangely amorphous portrayal, neither male nor female, but a comedic talent" said Ernest Leogrande of the New York Daily News.

[16] In 1969, Curtis performed with the Playhouse of the Ridiculous in Tom Murrin's Cock-Strong alongside Penny Arcade, Anthony Ingrassia, and others.

The play Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit (1970) with Ruby Lynn Reyner and Holly Woodlawn ran at the Playhouse of the Ridiculous for weeks.

[11] Curtis wrote Vain Victory: The Vicissitudes Of The Damned and co-directed a production of the play at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and the WPA in 1971.

[22][23] Curtis's poem "B-Girls", much of which is based on observations of people who visited grandmother Slugger Ann's bar, was included in the 1979 book The Poets' Encyclopedia.

[23] Curtis's final play Champagne ran at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club January 3–27, 1985 and featured George Abagnalo as the male lead.

[23] New headshots of him were taken by photographer Francesco Scavullo and he began to audition for male parts in soap operas and plays in New York.

[23] Curtis was laid to rest as a man wearing a suit, with a white flower on his lapel and his hair slicked back.

[31] In an article published in The New York Times in November 1969, Curtis was quoted saying, "not a boy, not a girl, not a faggot, not a drag queen, not a transsexual — just me, Jackie ...

Curtis's influence on a number of people, including friends and associates such as Holly Woodlawn, Joe Dallesandro, and Penny Arcade, and observers such as David Bowie, are noted in the film.