the farm's septic system, how heavy rains nearly washed away the set, and how "charmed" Waters seemed through it all. The Mortville interiors were filmed in a 5000-sq-ft, second-story loft in a rented warehouse located in Fells Point, Baltimore. The space was unheated, noisy, and poorly suited for film production according to Maier. Desperate Living was edited for 10 weeks in the basement of editor Charles Roggero's home. It was Waters' first film with original music, by Chris Lobingier and Allen Yanus, to provide a "cheesy Doctor Zhivago-type score". Casting Desperate Living is the only feature film Waters made without Divine prior to the actor's death in 1988. Divine had to reluctantly back away from the film because he was committed to appearing in Women Behind Bars. Susan Lowe, who had appeared in small or supporting roles in Waters' previous films, was chosen to take over for the role of Mole McHenry. This was also Waters' first film without David Lochary, because of Lochary's addiction to drugs. Waters said "The reason that David wasn't in Desperate Living is because of PCP. That's all that's to it. I know that's why he wasn't in the film, and he knows it, too." Lochary died a few weeks after the film's release, when he injured himself while under the influence of the drug. Waters had received a copy of Liz Renay's autobiography My Face for the World to See and wanted to offer her a role in the film. He went to see Renay in a burlesque show in Boston, then traveled to Los Angeles to offer her the role of Muffy St. Jacques. He offered her only a brief outline of the story, withholding some of the more graphic details for fear that she might refuse the role. Renay accepted the offer and flew to Baltimore for three weeks of shooting (which was, reportedly, all that the production could afford to pay Renay for her services). Release As with Waters' previous films, the premiere was held in the auditorium of the University of Baltimore. A brief controversy arose when lesbian groups attacked the film for its depiction of lesbianism, and for taking the title of a defunct prolesbian magazine. New Line Cinema blew the film up from 16 to 35 mm and opened it at midnight in Manhattan, though the original poster (featuring a cooked rat on a plate) was rejected by