Denis Charles Pratt was born in Sutton, Surrey. He was an openly gay man who was very camp. He changed his name to Quentin Crisp after leaving home to move to London when he was 21. He was a male prostitute for about six months. In 1942, he started doing life modelling for art students. He wrote about his life, including The Naked Civil Servant. In 1981 he moved to Manhattan. Crisp died of a heart attack in Manchester, where he was due to give a speech.