The Andy Warhol Diaries

by Andy Warhol

  Only two tickets came for the David Bowie concert and everyone wanted to go.

  Bob spent the whole day on the phone about his birthday party. It’s funny, some people actually want to have big birthday parties. Tauruses always do. Bianca’s the same way. Bianca had called and said that she had two tickets for David Bowie for me, so I gave my two tickets to Catherine who was wanting to go so badly.

  Doc Cox called and said he was giving a party for me June 7. For me, right? He said he has some pills that I should come in and get that’ll dissolve the stones in my gallbladder without an operation.

  Dropped Catherine off ($3.50) and went home to get ready. Jed had Tom Cashin there and we walked over to Halston’s and Halston had a limo and so did Stevie. We waited for Bianca to get dressed and then rode over to Madison Square Garden.

  The music was too loud, and then Dr. Giller screamed in my ear, “DID YOU GET DEAF YET?” and that did it for me, I think that’s what finally made me deaf. We went backstage and had drinks and Bianca was in David Bowie’s dressing room and when she came out she said that we were having lunch with him at 1:00 tomorrow at Quo Vadis. Then he went on stage again.

  Then we went up to 1060 Fifth to the birthday party Diane Von Furstenberg was giving for Bob. Kevin opened the door. It wasn’t too crowded. Bob’s mother and father were there, and I never noticed before that Bob’s father is attractive. I’ve met him before, but he really looked good. Bob kissed me for my gift, and that was embarrassing. Catherine was with Tom Sullivan and somewhere along the line Tom said to Bianca that he’d rented Montauk for the summer, and then Bianca wasn’t talking to me and left without saying anything, so I think my romance with Halston and Bianca and Stevie is over. Stevie said, “Bianca’s upset.” See, Vincent called Mick to see if he’d pay for the place if Bianca took it and Mick said no, so … I don’t know what to do. I wonder if I’m still having lunch with David Bowie. Should I call her up?

  Tuesday, May 9, 1978

  I called Bianca and the guy that answered gave me a funny answer, so I didn’t know if she was standing there. Then she finally called back and said that David Bowie was busy and couldn’t have lunch, but that we should do it tomorrow. So I guess she wasn’t mad.

  And Chris Makos called about the interview with the psychiatrist who’s doing a book on famous people’s IQs and he wants to give me the IQ test but I’ve decided I’m not going to take it. I mean, why should I let anyone know how stupid I am. And the release this guy sent was too much—it practically said he’d own my brain cells. So now Chris is mad at me for backing out.

  And have I said that I met a boy at Studio 54 who told me that he had an affair with Vladimir Horowitz? I said, “How could a seventy-nine-year-old man get it up?” I just don’t believe it.

  And Doc Cox called for me, he’s been calling for a couple of months saying he’s giving a party for me and asking for my list of people, and then suddenly he said, “Do you mind if it’s also a party for Larry Rivers?” Isn’t that odd? Does that mean he’s mad at me? Larry’s out of the hospital, he’d had heart palpitations again.

  And today they found Aldo Moro’s body dead in Italy.

  Wednesday, May 10, 1978

  Fred gave me a letter from Paloma. It said she was sending her article in to Interview. She said her wedding was strange because there was everybody who hadn’t talked to each other for years—Yves and Pierre and Karl at the same table. And André Leon Talley did four pages in Women’s Wear on it and Fred’s picture wasn’t in it.

  I found out Bianca was out with David Bowie the night before.

  I dropped Vincent (cab $4) then had to go up to Hoveyda’s for a party in connection with the Brooklyn Museum for Helen Hayes. Fred and I were the only different kind of people there, the rest were museum types. And Helen Hayes looked beautiful. She’s gotten to be a good-looking old woman. She wears the right shades of blue. This time I didn’t hate her. I used to because in the fifties one time she was going to have a bunch of us Serendipity kids out to her house in Nyack for a swimming pool party and then she got sour and didn’t.

  I told her that I loved her TV movie with Fred Astaire—although I actually hated it—and she told me that it was the best thing to say to her because she loved it so much.

  Thursday, May 11, 1978

  Victor called in the morning from San Francisco and said he hadn’t been able to sleep all night and he was checking into the Baths there. Brigid says she watches him when he’s at the office, spraying chloro-something on his shirt and then sucking on it. The stuff they use to freeze when they operate.

  Catherine and I were going up at 3:15 to Martin Scorsese’s at the Sherry Netherland to interview him and Robbie Robertson from The Last Waltz. And Catherine was so in love with Robbie Robertson and Martin Scorsese that she had Gigi come by and do her makeup—lipstick and blush-on and eye makeup—but actually she looks better without makeup. We were late, so I gave Ronnie money ($5) because he had to get a Checker cab, he was bringing a big painting uptown, and Catherine and I went alone (cab $3.50).

  Marty had a big suite and he’s so adorable. The lady publicist who’s doing The Last Waltz was there. Robbie Robertson didn’t get there until 5:00. A kid named Steven Prince was there, he played a creep selling guns in Taxi Driver, and he’s really like that, so he was real. Marty said that now he’s doing a full-length movie on Steven Prince’s face where he tells stories, he said he got that idea from me. Marty said he and Robbie were looking for a house, so I told them places to go. So that’s his roommate and he’s got a butler, too, and it seems like he’s starting his own Factory. He must be really in the dough, because they’re going to spend about $500,000 for it. Marty was shaking like crazy. I guess from coke. We sat down and had lunch and it was funny because the publicity lady had just come back from lunch so she sat at the other end of the table, watching, so it was like a movie. I couldn’t even look at her, though, I was so starving that I ate. I hadn’t eaten lunch at the office because I was trying to diet. We gossiped a lot, I don’t know how much of it we’ll be able to print. Robbie said he knew me from the Dylan days. I asked him what ever happened to the Elvis painting that I gave Dylan because every time I run into Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman he says he has it, and Robbie said that at some point Dylan traded it to Grossman for a couch! (laughs) He felt he needed a little sofa and he gave him the Elvis for it. It must have been in his drug days. So that was an expensive couch.

  Bob called and said we had to go to Liz Smith’s book party at Doubleday’s, so we left and went over there. We rode up with Géraldine Fitzgerald who was really sweet, she looked like a nice witch. Her hair. And I said hello to Iris Love. Then I dropped Catherine ($2.50) and went home and glued. Jed was going with me to the premiere of The Greek Tycoon. He was a little late and we didn’t get there until 7:45 (cab $2.00). It was so incredible to see a movie where they cast people to look just like the people who they’re not supposed to be. Anthony Quinn really looks like Onassis.

  When we got to 54 Stevie said he’d just driven Bianca to the airport. He said he’s so in love with her, and that if he weren’t gay he’d really fall for her, but he just couldn’t get it up. But (laughs) I think he was glad she was gone. I think Halston’s glad, too. It’s so much. Stevie said they went walking in Central Park at 8:00 in the morning like kids.

  Sunday, May 14, 1978

  Worked all afternoon while it poured outside. I wasn’t supposed to eat anything because I was having a gallbladder test in the morning, but I had a piece of bread.

  Monday, May 15, 1978

  Got up at 8:00 to go over to Doc Cox’s to start the new treatment where I take medicine to get rid of the stones in my gallbladder. It was windy, I was late, walked over fast. Some girl took X-rays and couldn’t find the dye on them, so I have to go back again. And I was screaming about taking X-rays. I don’t like to get them, I think they give you cancer. All the Doc could think about was the party he’s giving for me and Larry Rivers. George Plim
pton was in the waiting room with hay fever when I went out.

  Paul Morrissey came down to the office.

  We slipped out around 10:00 and went over to Reginette’s where Federico De Laurentiis was giving a wrap party for King of the Gypsies and it was the kind of party where it’s all for the television to photograph, thousands of people, such a firetrap, people jammed, bright lights—they shouldn’t give parties like that, it’s too dangerous. And Barry Landau was with me like glue, every step I would take he was right there, and if I’d think of a clever new step to get away from him, he’d still be right there. What makes a person do that? What kind of a person is it? It’s so sick.

  Mr. Universe was there—it looked like Rome. And Eddie Albert, that cute kid. Shelley Winters was drunk on the couch and she said I should buy Neon Woman for her, the play Divine’s in up at Hurrah’s. She could really fit the part. It took half an hour to make it to the door. So dangerous.

  Tuesday, May 16, 1978

  Cab to the Olympic Tower ($3.25). Halston had designed uniforms for the Girl Scout troop leaders. So many ladies pounced on me. I said that Halston must be making a bundle on this, but it turned out he did it all for free. It’s a great way for these ladies to get a Halston for cheap—pants are only $25. He did them in a funny color green—it’s not my favorite green—but then all the ladies wearing it did look pretty.

  Then we had to leave, we were going to the tenth New York magazine anniversary party at Citicorp Center that the editor Joe Armstrong had called and invited us to. It was jammed. Joe Armstrong met us, he said they’d just had a fire in that big furniture store on the ground floor there. Bella Abzug was there, she said she was on a diet, but she was tasting everything that came her way. The owners of Plato’s Retreat came over and invited us both to Plato’s. The man said, “Come and just hang out for an hour or so, have a drink.” And the girl said, “The vibrations are so beautiful, you won’t believe the things you’ll see.” So I said, “Come on, Bella. We’re a couple —what’re we waiting for?” And Bella called her husband over and said, “Martin, Andy just invited me to Plato’s.” And Martin said something like, “Go ahead, Bella. Enjoy!” But Bella said she didn’t think it’d look good in the papers.

  Wednesday, May 17, 1978

  Went to Doc Cox again for some more tests. The Doc had to give his own blood test, the nurse is on vacation. He said he hadn’t done it himself for years.

  I peed in the bathroom, left a little sample in a jar there for my physical. When I was leaving I noticed that the girl at the desk was writing (laughs) the invitations to the garden party the Doc is giving for me.

  Went up to a lunch for São Schlumberger that Mercedes Kellogg was giving at 775 Park Avenue. Then after the lunch Mr. Bulgari—Nicola—wanted to take Bob and me to his place, so we went down (cab $3). He showed us everything, all the vaults, and he said he’d give us advertising. There were separate little rooms where they take customers—I guess people don’t like to be seen buying their jewels, like massage cubicles. He gave me just what I wanted—a little silver letter opener—but he gave Bob three (laughs) soundtracks from Italian movies.

  Ran into Henry Geldzahler who was finally his old sixties self to me—really rotten. Henry’s the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs of New York City now. Mayor Koch appointed him.

  Thursday, May 18, 1978

  Cab to Chemical Bank ($4). Walked to the office and there was a big lunch for Peppo Vanini and his Xenon discotheque electricians and Billy Kluver, the head of—what’s it called? Experiments in Art and Technology—E.A.T.

  I’m surprised that the Star Wars movie company didn’t actually franchise discotheques of Star Wars all over the country, but then, now that I’m thinking about it, things like that never work. It’s usually one person who stands around screaming that makes a success out of a club.

  I worked all afternoon on some pictures. Everyone was talking all afternoon about the big auction coming that night, with the paintings of mine in it that Peter Brant put up for sale. And Bob was upset that he wasn’t invited to Diane Von Furstenberg’s party that she was having for either Sue Mengers or Barry Diller. Fred wasn’t invited either, so I was going to have to go alone.

  I glued myself for Diane’s (cab $3).

  Bob had gone to the auction, and he called me at Diane’s to say that a big Disaster went for $100,000 but a medium-sized Mao only went for $5,000. That sounded okay, so I told him we could still kick up our heels, I was relieved that the paintings sold okay. I guess people don’t want to buy at auction now, because you can’t make a big profit.

  Diane always has the same food. It’s like revisited. The same Chinese guy makes the same egg rolls and the same chocolate cake and the same everything.

  Friday, May 19, 1978

  There was a fifteenth anniversary party for Tom and Bunty Armstrong at the Union League Club and Fred had been invited, but Bob was taking his place.

  Left for 69th and Park, the Union League Club (cab $4). The people were all WASP. The invitation said dancing, and I guess people thought that meant dinner, too, so everyone was starving, but there was no food.

  Leo Castelli was there, he said that the BMW people were coming out with a new car so they wouldn’t be using the design I did because it was done on the old car, but that they want me to go to Paris on June twelfth to paint the new one. Peter Brant was there looking happy, really happy, now that he’s gotten rid of all my paintings. And Leo told me that the de Menils had bought all the paintings at the auction—François bought the Soup Can for 95, Mrs. de Menil bought the Disaster for 100, and Philippa bought the Funeral for 75. So that was good. And Jed was there. The WASP women all looked so badly dressed. The rooms were so beautiful, though, beautiful old paintings in them. I sat with Philip and Dorothy Pearlstein and talked about the old days. The Gilmans were there. Left at 1:00.

  Thursday, May 25, 1978—Zurich

  Up at 7:00 craving soft-boiled eggs, tipped waiter ($2). Got some newspapers ($1). Went to the Kunst Museum for a press conference (cab $4). I didn’t have to talk, they were just taking photos. It was hard to look at a retrospective, I just pretended to look at the walls. I can’t face my old work. It was old. Had to sign a lot of Soup Cans, portfolios, stuff like that. That lasted about two hours. Peter Brant never sent his pictures.

  Friday, May 26, 1978—Zurich

  Paulette called and said she thought the show was so exciting. And then I called Bob at the office and he was in a very bad mood, but he didn’t tell me what was wrong.

  Thomas Ammann took us to a gay bar called Man (cab $3.50). Drag queens singing to American records. “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Fred and I wanted to throw up.

  Stayed a few minutes. Then the mayor had invited me to a big party at an old castle a little out of town, so we went. All Zurich society (cab $4).

  Sunday, May 28, 1978—New York

  Still off-schedule from the time change. Bob called from Nantucket. He apologized for being cranky on the phone and said that he’d gotten robbed and that was why, that after Studio 54 he went down to the Cave and two boys from there robbed him of his jewelry, but then one of them brought it all back the next day. He said that he was through with drugs, and that he was drying out, too.

  Oh, and I guess Marina Schiano’s spread it all over, that Diana Vreeland and Fred had a big fight outside New Jimmy’s in Paris. When he came back in he’d mentioned it to me, but I thought he meant they’d just had an argument. The real story is that Diana actually hit him and YSL tried to help and she said, “No, it’s a fight between Fred and me!” and she was crying and everything. Because she’s jealous of Lacey Neuhaus, she thinks Fred’s making it with Lacey and I think she wants him to make it with her. Can you believe it? It’s so crazy.

  The new Interview looked good. Paloma on the cover, and it has fifteen pages of ads.

  Hoveyda was giving a dinner for Mrs. Saffra at the Pierre (cab $3). We went up to a whole big chic apartment right in the hotel. I
sat next to Mimi Herrera under a Motherwell. She had a forty-carat diamond on. Poor Gina Lollobrigida was the only person there who had fake jewelry, I think. Fake emeralds. She has really big tits. I should interview her. I told her she should hook up with Dino De Laurentiis. She said she didn’t know him, that she was doing photography as a profession now. That guy we knew in the sixties, Carlos, the one who always said Edie stole his leopard-skin rug, gave the toast. I remember he sent a contessa down to the 47th Street Factory to try to get the coat back. But you know, now that I think about it, I guess Edie probably did steal it, but only in fun.

  Monday, May 29, 1978

  Went down to David Bourdon’s to get some art gossip (cab $2). David’s building is on 10th Street, in the middle of the street art fair going on in Greenwich Village, and David was upset by it—too many Howdy Doody men.

  We walked over to have lunch at One Fifth, and on the way we saw Patti Smith in a bowler hat buying food for her cat. I invited her thinking she’d say no, but she said, “Great.” When we walked in, there was the number-one bestseller Fran Lebowitz sitting with Lisa Robinson. One Fifth is pretty—bright and chintzy.

  Patti didn’t want to eat too much, so she ate half my lunch. She said she only loves blonds and that she wanted to have an affair with a blond. All I could think about was her b.o.—she wouldn’t be bad-looking if she would wash up and glue herself together a little better. She’s still skinny. She’s with a gallery now, doing drawings and writing poetry. The Robert Miller Gallery.

  She had a baby, she said—that’s why she originally left New Jersey, and she said that the baby was adopted on Rittenhouse Square. She called it “it” and David asked her what “it” was and she said a girl. She reminds me a lot of Ivy—everything was put on. She said she was in Italy the day Moro was kidnapped and that she and Moro were the big things on Italian TV that day. She said she didn’t take drugs in the sixties, that she’d only started recently, and just for work.