by Andy Warhol
Maxime de la Falaise was there with her new maybe-boyfriend, Craig Braun. I worked with him on the Rolling Stones album cover.
Barbara Allen was there and she’s moving into Fred’s house on 89th and Lexington for a while, because she rented her apartment on East 63rd Street to Catherine and then Catherine let her stay there but she and Catherine living in the same apartment got to be too much.
Went home and watched the news, it’s all the Gary Gilmore thing, every night they have him on saying he wants to die, he wants to die.
Sunday, December 5, 1976
Went down to the Players Club on Gramercy Park for a dinner for Kitty Carlisle Hart. It looked like a stag party except for Arlene Francis and Peggy Cass and Dena Kaye who came instead of her husband Danny, who had Concorde-lag, and Irene Selznick, who was the chairwoman of the evening, or whatever they call it. Peggy and Arlene are Kitty’s sidekicks from “To Tell the Truth.” The dinner was to honor Kitty for being named the new head of the New York State Council on the Arts by Governor Carey.
My doctor, Doc Cox, was there and he took me upstairs for a tour of Edwin Booth’s bedroom and it was musty and dusty, same as in the old days.
Dinner was served and it was everything creamy I’m not supposed to eat because of my gallbladder, so the Doc was embarrassed that he was seeing me eat it because it was putting a damper on a social occasion, so he told me, “I won’t look.” Met Alfred Drake who was on Broadway, that big handsome star of Carousel.
Everyone made speeches and then Kitty got up and she was the best. She was wearing black and pearls, looked very chic. She says she still wants to work a lot and I remember that Diana Vreeland once told me that Kitty had to “work like a nigger” because she doesn’t have that much money. The Doc dropped me off.
Monday, December 6, 1976
Freddy Eberstadt called and invited me to something at La Grenouille tomorrow night and I said that I had a date with Bianca Jagger and could I bring her and he said sure.
Left the office early to go home and dress for a formal evening. Dropped off Catherine ($4). Walked over to Halston’s. Victor had said there was room for me at Halston’s table at the Metropolitan opening we were all going to, of Diana Vreeland’s Russia show. When we got to Halston’s Mrs. Henry J. Kaiser—Aly—was there, she was in a blue-green Halston with emeralds, and she seemed very interested in me, and when Halston saw us getting along he suggested I take her upstairs to show her the portraits I did of him. After the trip upstairs, though, she dropped me, I guess she saw me in the light.
We were all waiting for Marisa and her new husband and Bianca and her date, Joe Eula. The acupuncture doctor they all use was there, Dr. Giller, so he’s on their party list now. Barbara Allen was there, the only one of the ladies not wearing a Halston. She had on a beautiful off-the-shoulder Christian Dior. It was from her shopping spree in Paris last month when Philip Niarchos was buying.
Marisa came and she had her hair piled all on one side of her head like a beautiful old-time star. Bianca had her purple fox with her, the one she’s had around the past month. When Joe walked in he and Halston “shook hands” and when Halston felt what Joe put in his palm he said, “Oh, you’ve saved my life.”
Victor took me into the garage to show me his latest artwork—he’s (laughs) making Mona Lisas wearing Halstons, and that’s really funny, so I encouraged him. Then we went to the Met in four limos. This was the biggest one of these things the museum has ever had. When Diana walked through we all kissed her. I talked to Mrs. Kaiser and got to know her. She’s about sixty but she looks forty, and she says she’s looking for a fuck. I told her it’s the wrong town, everyone’s gay, and she said she didn’t care—“they tumble well. I’ve had some good luck here.” She lives at U.N. Plaza. It turns out she’s a very good friend of Brigid’s mother, Honey Berlin. She said that when she was at their house old Dick Berlin was so senile he walked in and rushed over to the mirror and tried to shake hands with himself but she saw what he was doing and went over and was the hand for him to shake. I left right after dinner, Mrs. Kaiser dropped me.
Oh, and also at the dinner table Bianca took off her panties and passed them over to me and I faked smelling them and then tucked them in my handkerchief pocket. I still have them.
Tuesday, December 7, 1976
Met Bob Colacello [see Introduction] and Fran Lebowitz, and we went down in the rain to the Biltmore Hotel to the Overseas Press Corps lunch. Bob had told them weeks ago when they invited me that I would come and just be present but that he would give the talk on Interview and they said fine. After Bob’s speech, though, they asked questions all directed at me—and I wasn’t prepared so I just said yes or no. But afterwards I regretted doing my same old shy act, when I should have used the situation for practice—I’d love to be able to talk more and give little speeches. I want to work on that.
They asked Fran only one question, why her column in Interview was called “I Cover the Waterfront,” and she said that it was because Tennessee Williams was on a talk show once and they asked him if he was a homo and he said, “Well, let’s put it this way: I cover the waterfront.” And Fran’s answer was a lead balloon, nobody laughed. In the cab downtown she said she’d rather have her appendix out than go to something like that again.
Bianca called and invited me to a screening of Silver Streak. Didn’t get home until 7:00 which was exactly when I was supposed to be at the Pierre to pick her up—she and Mick just rented a house on 72nd Street but it’s not ready to move into yet. Went over to the Loews Tower East. The movie was kind of funny. Bianca looked beautiful. Afterwards outside the theater when we couldn’t find the limo a black guy with a black scarf was pressing himself up against Bianca and he was crazy, he was saying, “You think you’re the only one with beautiful clothes in the world?”
Finally we found the car and went to La Grenouille. Isabel and Freddy Eberstadt and Mica Ertegun arrived and with them was Isabel and Freddy’s beautiful daughter, Nenna. I kept staring at her and saying how beautiful she was, and Isabel sort of kept us apart. I couldn’t figure out why they had asked me to this dinner because if I hadn’t asked to bring Bianca, there would have been just me. Mica was very sweet. She kept saying that Joe Allen was so attractive, that how could Barbara Allen leave him.
The Eberstadt daughter didn’t say anything during dinner but then she finally blurted out that she used to go to Union Square and stare up at the Factory, so that was thrilling to hear from this beautiful girl. I told her she should come down and do interviews for Interview and she said, “Good! I need the money.” Isn’t that a great line? I mean, here Freddy’s father died and left him a whole stock brokerage company.
We said our good nights and thank-yous and I hope I remember to send flowers.
Friday, December 10, 1976
Sam Bronfman’s kidnappers were found innocent of the kidnapping charge today.
Brigid came to the Factory for the first time since she started her diet in August—she’s down to 190, was last seen at 260. She really looked good and everyone fussed over her, I took pictures. Barbara Allen found herself a new apartment on 77th off Fifth.
Sunday, December 12, 1976
I read the Ruth Kligman book Love Affair about her “love affair” with Jackson Pollock—and that’s in quotes. It’s so bad—how could you ever make a movie of it without making it a whole new story? Ruth told me she wants me to produce it and Jack Nicholson to star.
In the book she says something like, “I had to get away from Jackson and I ran as far as possible.” So do you know where she went? (laughs) Sag Harbor. He lived in Springs. So that’s—what? Six miles? And she was making it like she went to the other side of the world. And then she said, “The phone rang—how oh how did he ever find me?” I’m sure she called hundreds of people to give them the number in case he asked them.
Monday, December 13, 1976
Victor Hugo picked me up and we went to U.N. Plaza for Mrs. Kaiser’s dinner for Halston (ca
b $3). But then we realized we’d forgotten Bianca so we had to go back to pick her up at the Pierre. Victor gave her some coke but she didn’t want it.
The first person we saw at Mrs. Kaiser’s was Martha Graham, and C.Z. Guest was there. Paul Rudolph had done the apartment, and he was there. White on white. She has a bedroom as big as 860 with one bed in it, and a floor-to-ceiling glass window with a view, just what terrifies me, but it was beautiful. Marisol and Larry Rivers and Elsa Peretti and Jane Holzer and Bob Denison were there. Polly Bergen and I talked about the topic on her TV show that morning—androgyny.
Tuesday, December 14, 1976
In the afternoon I got a letter from our editor, Steve Aronson, that said he’s leaving Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, and that he’d asked Mr. Jovanovich himself to take over on Popism.
Walter Stait from Philadelphia took me to La Grenouille for lunch, he told Maxime and Loulou de la Falaise to meet us there. On the other side of the room was the new skinny Truman Capote. He looks now almost like he did when I first knew him. Truman didn’t answer my hello but then halfway through lunch he put on his glasses and waved, and later he gave me his personal phone number. All of the chic girls were in YSL fur hats.
Worked at 860 all afternoon, then Francois de Menil arrived to take me out to Norman Mailer’s in Brooklyn Heights. He used to live in a whole house but now he lives on just the top and rents the bottom out and he’s had the front part made all glass looking out over Manhattan and it’s beautiful.
Wall to wall, it was an intellectual party like from the sixties. Arthur Schlesinger, Mica and Ahmet, the girl who wrote the book on LBJ. Norman looks good now, white hair, looks Irish. His little mother was there. And Jean Kennedy Smith and her husband. Sandra Hochman told me I’m a chapter in her upcoming book, she talked to me about the women’s movement and junk like that. She said, “I have your picture on my mantel,” but I just know she doesn’t.
Isabella Rossellini was at Norman’s, she’s working for Italian television, she’s doing a thing on boxers, that’s probably why she was there, because José Torres was there. She said she ran over to see me when she saw her mother, Ingrid Bergman, talking to me at the Pierre a couple of weeks ago but that I’d gone. She couldn’t find her coat when she was leaving Norman’s and just left without it. Norman was sweet and he and François must be really friends because they hugged and kissed and punched a lot. François drove us back in his grey Mercedes, he’s a good driver.
Saturday, December 18, 1976
Went shopping for office gifts at Bonwit’s and Bendel’s, then went over to Quo Vadis for lunch to introduce Robin West and Delfina Rattazzi to each other. I had thought Catherine liked him from the weekend at the Wyeths’, but she said she didn’t mind, that she wanted to give him up to Delfina or something. And Delfina liked him, she was aggressive—it was the first time I ever heard her say, “My family is in the airplane manufacturing business,” because usually she pretends she’s so poor. Robin’s a flier. Saw Karen Lerner and Sisi Cahan having lunch and I figured out it probably was Karen Lerner who just sold her Flower prints, because David Bourdon just got some cheap at Parke Bernet.
Went home and Bianca called and said she was going to be packing at the Pierre and then taking her stuff over to her and Mick’s new place on 72nd. Went to the Pierre and she packed and packed and around midnight she was done and we went up and she turned off the alarm and we went in. It must be costing them a fortune, this little house. The people had just had it redone and it was all painted and with new furniture and I’d like to see it after the Jaggers have it for a year.
After we were there for a while Bianca turned on the alarm and went out to the airport to get a plane for Montauk, she wanted to get back out there because it was so beautiful. [“Montauk” refers to the oceanfront property in Montauk, New York, at the easternmost tip of Long Island, that Andy bought in partnership with Paul Morrissey in 1971. The property included one main lodge-type house with three smaller ones, plus the home of the caretaker, Mr. Winters. Mick and Bianca Jagger were at this time renting the place from Andy and Paul] Jade was still out there.
Sunday, December 19, 1976
Went to work (magazines and newspapers for week $26). Lou Reed called and that was the drama of the day. He’d come back from a successful tour, he was a big hit in L.A., but he said Rachel had gotten kicked in the balls and was bleeding from the mouth and he wanted the name of a doctor. Lou’s doctor had looked at Rachel and said that it was nothing, that it would stop, but Lou wanted another doctor to check. I said I’d get Bianca’s. But then Lou called back and said he got Keith Richards’s doctor to come over. I told him he should take her to the hospital. I was calling Rachel “she” because she’s always in drag but then Lou calls him “he.”
Monday, December 20, 1976
Jamie Wyeth had invited me to Les Pléiades for lunch. Cabbed to 76th and Madison ($2.25). Jamie was there with Lincoln Kirstein and Jean Kennedy Smith. They asked me to turn off my tape recorder, natch. So Jamie is now the Carter court painter. He’d just been in Plains for a week. Isn’t that interesting? It seemed like Jean Kennedy Smith really has a crush on Jamie because she asked me to go to the coat room with her and when we got there she pulled out an American quilt and asked me if it was real, and I said yes, and then we went back and she gave it to Jamie. I reminded her that I saw her in Bloomingdale’s the other week when we both were in the shirt department, and she said, “Oh yes, those shirts were Christmas presents for my family.” So it was just regular old shirts for her family, but for Jamie it was an American quilt.
She was the first to leave, and then we we relived the faux pas that Lincoln had made in front of her; he forgot she was a sister and when they were talking politics he said that John Kennedy was “corrupt,” and she just said, “No, he wasn’t.”
After lunch we went down to Lincoln’s house on East 19th Street and he showed us his art, it was good paintings—Lincoln’s brother-in-law Paul Cadmus, George Tooker, and Jared French, all Realists who’d done paintings of muscle boys. He didn’t have anything of mine.
Walked over to Union Square. Worked the rest of the afternoon.
Tuesday, December 21, 1976
Met Victor, went over to Halston’s store, it was really un-busy, but then everything is so expensive that if they just sell one little hanky they can have dinner. While I was there, Jackie O. came in and was whisked up to the third floor. Victor told me that she doesn’t buy much, just a few little things.
Went around Fifth Avenue looking for ideas for art projects (cabs $5.75). Went to 860 for lunch with Todd Brassner and Rainer Crone, but I couldn’t spend too much time with them, I was painting in the back. Todd was asking Rainer questions about some paintings of mine he was interested in because Rainer wrote the Praeger art book on me and he knows who owned which canvases.
Catherine called Dustin Hoffman who said that the screening was at 5:45 at 666 Fifth. Dustin had filmed his wife Anne doing a Balanchine dance, his kids were in it, and I think he got a very good guy to cut it because it looks very professional. When it was over, Dustin invited us back to his house on East 61st Street. It’s back to back with Phyllis Cerf’s house. Dustin was nervous, really nervous about his house, and he was taking me around and showing me every little thing. His taste was oak, but not good oak, so it was funny.
Wednesday, December 22, 1976
A car came to take me to be photographed for a Merce Cunningham thing to help it get publicity. Up to 660 Park Avenue. Newsweek and other photographers were there. When I got there they said they’d take me home in the car, but then when I was leaving I realized they’d used me up and sent the car away, so I just walked home.
In the afternoon Jane Holzer stopped by my house to drop off the grey kitten who’s going to be a Christmas present from her son Rusty to Jade Jagger. I’m supposed to keep it until Christmas, it’s really cute.
Changed, and Jed drove us out to Peter and Sandy Brant’s [see Introduction] house in
Greenwich. Philip Johnson and David Whitney were there, they’re leaving tomorrow for San Simeon to see some Hearst and to look at architecture in California. Dinner was Chinese, not that great. Bunty Armstrong started using her society teeth. I gave Sandy a 1904 desk set for Christmas. Jed gave her a Fulper pot and she gave him one back. Actually it was a Van Briggle, and the one she gave Jed was better. Joe Allen didn’t bring his girlfriend Jenny, because he’s still in love with his ex-wife Barbara. Barbara had dislocated her back—“sleeping,” she said, and we were trying to figure out with who. A horse fell on top of Peter and so he was walking around with a cane. Peter just bought ninety acres in back of his house, he’s going to make a racetrack and polo grounds.
Thursday, December 23, 1976
Office Christmas party. Maxime de la Falaise arrived late, to pick up a Mao painting. Mike the super came in off the freight elevator with his wife and son but maybe the son is a stepson, I’m not sure. He’s cute. John Powers came by and wanted me to sign two Flower posters that he had, they weren’t authentic but I was going to just sign but Fred wouldn’t let me and so we gave John two authorized ones from the back. Ronnie and Gigi were there, everyone was really diving into the caviar and champagne. Marc Balet the Interview art director and Fran Lebowitz were there.
Andrea Portago had called that afternoon and said that if we could get her a ticket to the premiere of A Star Is Born she would get the limo, so we did and she did. I couldn’t figure out why she wanted to go so much until we got to the movie and she rushed up to Kris Kristofferson and said, “Oh darling, it’s so good to see you again.” Sue Mengers had tried to fill up the whole place. They’d said it was going to be very hard to get in, but then there were so many empty seats. Sue said everyone had to say they loved it or Barbra would be upset. I didn’t like it. The old Judy Garland one gave you goosebumps but this one was just a nothing rock and roll story. But Jed loved it. Then went over to the party at Tavern on the Green.