The Andy Warhol Diaries

by Andy Warhol

  And the different twenty men kept changing seats so they could sit next to me because they thought they could get some good conversation, but I was just absolutely drunk.

  Thursday, March 12, 1981—New York

  Vincent told me that Bill Copley’s wife, Marjorie the Czechoslovak madam from Pittsburgh—the one I just did the portrait of—walked out on Bill and went to Tiffany’s and ran up a big bill, cleaned out their bank account. Took the two portraits. She always takes a private plane from Miami to Key West, and Bill was waiting at the airport for her with a bouquet of roses, and instead of her coming off this guy came off with a divorce summons.

  Bill’s body is now covered in third-degree burns. When they were down in Key West he was smoking in bed and she was asleep in another room and the two whores—friends of Marjorie’s —that had flown down to Key West with her went out and when they came home at 5:00 they found the fire. He could have died. And she said she was asleep the whole time and didn’t hear anything or smell anything, but the house was half burned down. The firemen had to come. Bill’s been getting skin grafts and everything, he’s had a few operations. It was really terrible. And he’s always alone because she fired the assistant and the secretary.

  Read my mail then went to the office (cab $5). Brigid was excited about getting an eye lift. She sent the money in already. And Ronnie was happy because he’s got a rich girlfriend.

  Johnny Pigozzi came by and he had a new camera that went in a circle and took a whole panorama, so I sent Ronnie out to get one just like it for me. And he was nice, I think because he saw me painting, and he always suspected someone else did it for me.

  Cabbed at 11:30 to the Ritz ($5.50). They gave us free drink tickets, and Walter Steding went on right at 11:30 and was really good. It’s so strange to see somebody who works for you as a janitor have that performing ability.

  Friday, March 13, 1981

  Brigid was typing up the tape of the day we went to Port Jervis to see Charles Rydell, and she said that after hearing herself she was never going to drink again.

  Ara invited me to a party for Jack Nicholson at 212 East 49th Street at 11:30. It was wall-to-wall models. I told Jack how great he was in Postman and that everybody thinks Jessica Lange is great. I talked to a kid who worked on the crew of Cocaine Cowboys and he told me the real story of Tom Sullivan—how he’d been taking heroin for years, and that his mother drove a bus in Tampa. This kid said Tom’s out of money now, that he’d made all his money flying marijuana —not cocaine—up from Colombia. And Winnie was at this party, she’s getting a divorce from Tom. Stayed there till 3:00. Franco Rossellini was there. Bob Raphaelson was there, he’s really nice. And Ara was really sweet.

  Saturday, March 14, 1981

  I went to the Loyola church for the 11:00 wedding of the Michael Kennedy kid to Vicky Gifford. Fred was there (cab $4). The streets were mobbed with TV crews and police.

  Churches always make me dizzy. They had pretty flowers on all the pews. The bridesmaids came in, and the funny thing with that was that when Bob was in Switzerland they were making up all the bridesmaids’ gowns there and they were saying, “These are for the Kennedy wedding, they’ve ordered all these nightgowns.” So here were all these girls in what I knew were nightgowns that cost probably $75 each. Purple with pink ballet shoes. Kerry Kennedy was a bridesmaid and Mary Richardson’s sister. And then the bride came in and she was the prettiest bride I’ve ever seen in my life. Really the best-looking bride. It made you want to get married, it really did. I’d met her before, in Monte Carlo. She’s Frank Gifford’s daughter.

  Cab to the St. Regis where the reception was on the roof ($4). It was beautiful up there. I had to shake hands again. Robert Kennedy wanted to trade ties with me, and then he was peculiar, he wanted to trade pants. He’s the other good-looking one, he was going with Rebecca Fraser. Really, these kids were all so good-looking, just a roomful of seventy-five of the best-looking boys and seventy-five of the best-looking girls, and then about twenty older people. Caroline Kennedy wouldn’t talk to me, she was giving me the cold shoulder, I don’t know why. But John-John was nice, he said hi and everything.

  I went quickly through the receiving line. Senator Kennedy was so sweet to me and thanked me again for doing the posters for him. He and Joan were together at this thing.

  I was invited to Stephen Graham’s and then Franco Rossellini called and invited me to dinner at Le Cirque and we knew that President Reagan was having dinner there, too.

  Walked over there and we got the worst seats, we couldn’t see anything, so Franco took the best seats and he started describing to us every little thing the presidential party was doing. All of the tables had reporters having dinner to cover the president. The whole place was foreigners, Bob and I were about the only Americans.

  Then we were leaving and didn’t want to go by the president’s table because it was too groupieish—everybody else was stopping at the table—so we went the other way, but then they called us over, Jerry Zipkin was yelling, and I met Mrs. Reagan, and she said, “Oh you’re so good to my kids.”

  Then went to go to Stephen Graham’s, to the Sovereign. A boy asked me to go home with him and I didn’t know what to do because nobody had ever asked me that. I mean, in those words (cab $5). Bed. Then Chris Makos called. I knew he was calling from the Baths, and then he admitted it.

  Sunday, March 15, 1981

  It was a really pretty day. Chris invited me to brunch with him and Jon Gould but I thought the magic would be gone if I saw Jon in the day. But then I decided to invite them up to my house instead. So then I was too nervous to go down to the office—I stayed home and cleaned. Oh, and Jon told me the other night that he liked Popism, but to Chris he said he didn’t think Paramount could do it. But maybe eventually something will happen with it. Maybe it’s too soon. Oh, and Jon said to me that he thought it was “badly edited” so I don’t know if he’s good at reading.

  I got cake and tea together. Jon brought his dirty laundry to wash while they visited because at first Jon said he couldn’t come over, that he had to do his laundry in a laundromat on Columbus Avenue and I told him I had a nice clean machine at my house. I want him to feel at home here.

  Janet Villella called and said she was sending a car to the ballet.

  We arrived at the Met. It was star-studded. It was a benefit for the Joffrey and the ballet was absolutely boring. It was just intricate sexy dances. Got drinks at intermission ($20). Ron Reagan, Jr. was in the first part, but he didn’t have much to do—he was the last boy in the last row with the last girl—but he dances a lot better, he’s improved so much. And then in the second part he was sitting in the presidential box with his mother and father, and he and Doria were waving. They’re going away again this month, so I don’t know how Doria’s going to get her Interview work done.

  Monday, March 16, 1981

  Mrs. Mahoney, who’s the wife of the head of Norton Simon that bought Halston, slipped and told me that Halston was in the hospital and then said oops, and please not to tell, so I ran and called Bianca and she called Halston’s and Mohammed lied and said that Halston was asleep and that Victor would call her later. I called the hospitals and they didn’t have a Frowick or anything there. I wonder what’s wrong with him.

  It was rainy in the morning and not cold, but by the end of the day it was below zero. Mrs. de Menil and Mrs. Pompidou came down to the office, there were about six security people ahead of her and six people with her. She’s tall and beautiful. And Mrs. Malraux was with them. I don’t know if she was the widow or a daughter-in-law or what. I gave everybody Philosophy books. And Mrs. de Menil is so skinny. She’s building a museum in Houston, but she said to keep it a secret. Madame Pompidou only stayed ten minutes and then she went off—I didn’t find out till later in the day that where she went off to was to see Nixon. And she said, “I saw your white hair from the Reagan box last night.” She’s part of the inner circle.

  I waited at the office until it was
time to go to Mrs. de Menil’s (cab $4). Then Arman and his wife Corice were giving a dinner party afterwards for Madame Pompidou.

  Wednesday, March 18, 1981

  Tinkerbelle called to thank me for recommending her to the video people at That’s Entertainment, they’re looking for a different Rona-type. She said she was going to have her agent call them.

  I had a lunch date with Raquel Welch. She’d cancelled a few weeks ago and this was a rescheduling. She was bringing her husband this time. When we were originally having the lunch she requested that absolutely nobody else be there, but this time we already had about twenty people coming.

  It was a strange lunch. Raquel and her husband only wanted to talk intellectually, so I gave them the works of PH and me—the Philosophy book and Popism.

  And Raquel just sort of sat on the couch while everybody pretended not to look at her. She was interested in art so we gave them the tour. Susan Blond asked her if she’d like to go to the New Wave clubs and she said, “No, I’m trying to get the Old Wave back, because the Old Wave represents quality, not these young kids running around doing things.” I mean, can you believe it? She said she gave a lecture at UCLA.

  Bob was frazzled because he said that when you give a lunch that big you don’t really accomplish anything, that nobody knows why they’re there, whereas if you have it a small lunch, they know they’re there to be talked into buying ads. Mary Boone didn’t know why she was there, he said.

  Anna Wintour who used to work on Viva who got Catherine her job there came up to show Bob an idea for an Interview fashion insert that she’d worked on for three months because she thought it was a good idea, and he just looked at if for one second and said it was trash and she started crying. And she’s such a tough cookie that I could never even imagine her crying, but I guess it was her femininity coming out.

  Later we had to go to Bolero, the new club which advertises, so we went and it was so strange. It’s like a brownstone and you go in and they put you in an elevator, and the doors close and it shakes you around and the lights go, and then the doors open and you’re really on the same floor, on the other side! I guess they really wanted you to think you’d gone someplace. It’s like a fake townhouse—paneled walls and a couple of candelabra.

  And the ladies there said, “This area is sealed tight, and I think you know what that means— that means you can do anything in here, anything you want.” It’s such a camp.

  Thursday, March 19, 1981

  I had to decide whether or not to ask Chris Makos to come to Europe with us and help me photograph buildings, and I decided I would.

  Friday, March 20, 1981

  We had to do our Rex Smith interview, Bob and I, so I decided it was easier to stay uptown because it was going to be at Quo Vadis. We fell in love with him. He had the curly Vitas Gerulaitis look but better-looking.

  And then we heard a voice say, “Andy!” and it was Yoko Ono. We were so stunned. She looked so elegant, like the Duchess of Windsor with her hair back and dark wraparound glasses, and beautiful makeup and Fendi furs and jewelry—an emerald ring with a big ruby in it and Elsa Peretti diamond earrings. So I said that I wanted to call her for lunch and so she gave me her phone number. It was really strange, a whole new Yoko.

  Monday, March 23, 1981

  The story about Halston that Victor sort of just whispers in sentences that don’t go together is that he’s still in the hospital—something like that his ceiling is mirrored, and the mirror fell on the bed and cut him, and then the silver from the back of the mirror got into the wound and infected it, but I don’t know if Victor is fantasizing, being creative.

  Chris Makos came at 3:00. We were photographing a madonna named Jackie, with a baby, such a cute little girl, a really pretty baby. The madonna was like a beautiful version of Viva, more like her sisters.

  Tuesday, March 24, 1981

  As Vincent and I were paying bills around 5:30 we heard a couple of bangs but it just sounded like firecrackers but then we looked out at Union Square and there was a dead person on the street, it seemed like the police had shot the person, and then the TV crews were there and the lights were so bright that we could see the red blood around the corpse from the window.

  Wednesday, March 25, 1981

  Brigid weighs less now, you can feel her bones. Today or tomorrow she’s having her eyes done.

  Vincent was looking in the paper to get the story on the murdered person in Union Square, and he finally found it in the Post but there must have been a lot of drugs in the car or something, for the policeman to have fired five times.

  I got dressed really quick to go to the Walter Hoving dinner for John Kluge at 635 Park. Ran over there and Hoveyda was going in at the same time and it was so great to see him, I asked him to be my date. I told him I’ve been meaning to call. Jane Pickens Hoving greeted us and it was a heavy bunch—the Trumps, the Bronfmans. And John Kluge and Patricia Gay are getting married in May.

  Everybody at the party was so old, but I liked it. And everybody was so straight and married and I was the only fairy there. I also talked to a beautiful girl from California who’s dating Andrew Stein who was there talking to somebody about budgets and he’s good-looking and nice and smart. And then everybody was supposed to do some entertainment. Jane Pickens and her sisters were singers, they had a really big career. And they asked me to perform and I said that I just couldn’t, but I took a picture and then I bowed, and they thought I was crazy. Patricia Gay is a raving beauty, 6’ tall.

  Thursday, March 26, 1981

  Joan Lunden called in the morning and said she was expecting me for lunch at Le Cirque with her and Barbi Benton. Barbi was in town to do Joan’s show the next day. But I knew Jed would be there, so I said I couldn’t. Joan was Jed’s girlfriend in high school in Sacramento and Barbi was his brother Jay’s.

  David Hockney came to lunch and Vincent did a video of him. And afterwards he went into the other room and did the interview. David’s cute, he really is magic.

  Julie Sylvester from the Dia Foundation who works for Heiner came by, and she said that Philippa is now trying to help poor people, she’s giving them money, and I hope that doesn’t cut into what she does for art, because she’s really generous.

  Barbi Benton called and invited me to Pirates of Penzance and I told her I had other plans, which I did, but she said, “You’re turning down a Playboy Bunny? Nobody’s ever turned me down! You’re the one who wears the pants—you can do anything you want to do. Just break your plans.” So I said okay, that I would. I mean, she was so aggressive—henpecking me—that I had to. I said I’d pick her up at 7:30 at the St. Moritz, and I asked if a taxi was okay and she said yes.

  Got a cab fast. I discovered that I didn’t have my small bills with me, just a hundred, so I had to borrow $20 from Barbi. She was seeing the play because she’s determined to get the Linda Ronstadt part on the West Coast. She said that (laughs) Sonny Bono is going to play the Kevin Kline part.

  After the show Barbi said that Joe Papp had cleared it for her to see Linda Ronstadt so we went to see her and it was such a camp, listening to these two talk. Linda wants to go into another play that’s opening in the fall, and Barbi told her, “This has led your career into new and wider scopes. Now you’re competing with Barbra Streisand.” And they talked about how painfully shy each of them was. Rex Smith was there in his tight pants with his big cock, and he looked at Barbi and said, “This is my new adventure,” because when we did the interview with him he’d said that he was looking for a “new adventure.”

  I invited Rex to dinner with us at Pearl’s and he glued and rolled up a joint and turned down some phone calls and some other dates. Barbi looked so good, too, she looks really good. So we went over to Pearl’s and didn’t get there till 11:00, they’d already closed the kitchen but they waited for us anyway.

  Rex was heavily going after Barbi and I asked him about his ex-marriage and he said it was to an older woman, that he liked older women, and he asked
Barbi how old she was and she said thirty-one, and it was going happily until it came to “Are you married?” and she said yes, and then Rex was a deflated balloon and the dinner was sort of over.

  I left Rex walking on the street, sort of turning around but then—I don’t know—maybe they had made a date, because he was walking toward the St. Moritz, but I don’t know. Barbi had to get up at like 5:30 to be on Joan Lunden’s Good Morning America show.

  Friday, March 27, 1981

  We had another madonna and child scheduled for 3:00 and I just know this series is going to be a problem. It’s just too strange a thing, mothers and babies and breastfeeding.

  Saturday, March 28, 1981

  I got to Halston’s at 9:45. Steve Rubell was there and Ian. Halston’s fifteen pounds lighter and he was drinking ginger ale. He told me the real story of what happened. He said that he and Martha Graham both shot up B-12, which I knew, but that a syringe he’d been sent was contaminated with lead, and his leg began hurting, and he went to the doctor, and the doctor said he should rush to the hospital but Halston said no, he’d just go home, but then the other leg started hurting and he could hardly walk, and then they rushed him to the hospital, they thought he might lose the leg, and they operated. I think this is all true, because Halston doesn’t make up stories, he really doesn’t. He was happy that it didn’t get in the papers.