by Andy Warhol
Thursday, July 10, 1986-London
Took pictures of Big Ben and things. All the funny English spots. Bought some magazines ($20). Went to dinner and then had to go to Heaven and met Gloria Thurn und Taxis and her husband Johannes. She was sort of cruising for him. Billy Boy and Chris were there.
Fred and I snuck out. Billy Boy had a fight with the paparazzi (laughs) because he wanted to be in the pictures (cab $10). I asked him to come to the room to chit-chat and he said no, that he just wanted to “go home and go to bed.”
Friday, July 11, 1986-London
I found out Billy Boy ran right back to the disco and was up all night social climbing.
A society lunch at Marguerite Littman’s on Chester Square (waiter $5, cab $8). It was really fun. She’s so together. Her husband’s the lawyer for the queen. Dagny Corcoran was there and some other glamorous ladies. So after that we went off to the King’s Road with Chris. We didn’t invite Billy Boy.
Saturday, July 12, 1986-London
Our outing to Catherine’s. Had breakfast, got in a car and drove for two and a half hours to Gloucestershire. Catherine was fun. She’s now Lady Neidpath. She took us around and gave us a tour. She dropped a whole bowl of spaghetti at lunch and just picked it up and put it back in another bowl with the glass in it and everything, and then served it to the people who came later like Kenny Lane. They barbecued beef but it started raining. They dropped a bowl of raspberries and picked them up, too. Pretty table setting and grand. So dirty in the kitchen with children and dogs and maids. People with babies serving. Catherine really did a lot of the work herself.
Sunday, July 13, 1986—London—New York
Got up at 7:30, I don’t know how I did it. I’d been reading the biography of Cecil Beaton. I’m in it a lot when I knew him. And Sam Green was in everybody’s life, such a big part—he’s had Yoko Ono and John Lennon and Cecil Beaton and Greta Garbo and me.
We got lots of work, sold a lot of paintings in London—one to Carnegie-Mellon—and Anthony d’Offay even said he’d pay for Chris’s hotel bill, which he’ll die over when he sees that Chris made eighteen phone calls a day to New York. And Chris got five jobs over there—one from Polaroid—and he actually thanked me for the trip. I only wish I could think of a more deserving person to give these opportunities to. But in his own way Chris does take care of me.
The show. The show. I mean, walking into a room full of the worst pictures you’ve ever seen of yourself, what can you say, what can you do? But they’re not the ones I picked. D’Offay “art-directed” the whole show—he’d tell me he wanted a certain picture, and then I’d think he’d never remember, so I’d do the one I liked instead, and when he’d come back to New York he’d say that that wasn’t the one he’d picked. And he didn’t want the big camouflage, he wanted the little ones. But he had class, he arrived at the hotel with his wife at 7:30 in the morning to say goodbye. I thought they were going to ride with us to the airport, but they didn’t, so that was good. His hotel bill for us will be about $10,000, I think. Yeah, he was nice.
Oh, and God, Billy Boy turned out to be a nightmare! By the end of the trip everybody hated him. It was worse social climbing than anything Suzie Frankfurt ever did and as Fred said, at least Suzie was always an old friend. Everyone we’d introduce him to he’d have their phone number in a minute and be inviting them to lunch and giving them his earrings and everything! I mean, he was on my TV show for hours! One they did on me. And he was popping into every picture and one photographer told him to get out of it and Billy actually hit the guy (laughs) with his own camera. And I’d be up so late reading, like to 5 A.M., and then I’d get calls early in the morning—“Is Billy Boy there?” He’d tell people he could be reached in my room for breakfast! He did bring me flowers one morning, though. He’s like a more together Jackie Curtis. And Chris really hates him now, too. They had a big fight because when we ran into Gloria Thurn und Taxis and her husband at Heaven, Billy was so sweet to them but after they left he said, “I hate those fascists,” and Chris got mad at him. I guess Billy Boy felt he should’ve been invited to their party or something.
Tried to make phone calls but my hands could hardly move. Fred said that all the chic people were in Europe, that they’d skipped the Statue of Liberty thing. Like Jerry Zipkin and Ahmet. How would that happen? Do they call up Nancy Reagan and ask her, “Will the Statue thing be any good?” and she says, “No"?
Monday, July 14, 1986
It was good to see the good old New York papers again (newspapers $4). I read in “Suzy’s” column about the party Tina Chow had for us in London and it sounded so great.
Paige still seems to be mad at me. I guess she’s just living her own life now. It’s better that way.
Gael said that Albert Watson got the job as the queen’s photographer. And after I just am reading Cecil Beaton and how much that meant to him.
Tuesday, July 15, 1986
Wilfredo styled Milton Berle for Interview and got his autograph for me, which I hadn’t gotten when I did Love Boat. He was just on one of the morning shows and he walks on TV like he owns it, it’s so great to be that confident. He asked Wilfredo, “Should I sign it with my dick?” He looks like an old tailor.
Victor came by and he said that Halston wants to meet with me without Paul about Montauk. But we’re not making any money off renting it to Halston, it just pays the mortgage.
Wednesday, July 16, 1986
Cabbed to the Palladium ($6). John Sykes was up on stage. And they were showing the TV show that this MTV kid had gotten together in five hours and it was great. It was everybody saying things, putting down John, like a roast.
And Steve Rubell was there, he bought the Diamond Horseshoe that used to belong to Billy Rose. Which is I guess in the West 40s near Eighth Avenue. I took Dolly Fox to this and got gossip out of her. She’s still living with Charlie Sheen, he gave her some pearls which were beautiful—I think they’re dyed black, though, but they’re beautiful—and he gave her a diamond ring.
Oh and yesterday Gael told me to check into whether Ron and Doria Reagan were breaking up. I told her that if she had a scoop she should call People magazine and make $150. (laughs)
Brigid was just on the other line, and she said that her mother doesn’t have much more time. She doesn’t seem sad at all, just like she wasn’t really when her father died. She seems sort of thrilled.(laughs) I don’t know why I say that, but I do. She’s going to be getting millions.
How do these doctors really feel about sick people? Do they care about you and really want you to get better or is it just a business? I mean, I think about doing portraits and do I really care if they look good or is it just a job? And that’s just a superficial thing—it’s not life and death.
In the morning I’d gotten Stuart to go to the crystal doctor with me. He said how could I be going to these people when I’m supposed to be smart. So we went to Bernsohn’s and there was a visiting doctor there, American, but he lives in Japan. And he has a new crystal that’s for rolfing, a big round one. It does what rolfing does when they knead every muscle, but without doing that. And the doctor tried it on me and told me to think of white light and white arrows, and Bernsohn and the doctor were in a circle holding their hands up around me and Stuart’s eyes were just rolling up, he couldn’t believe it.
I always wear two crystals—a ‘ vitalizer” and another one. They look like diaphragms. Dr. Reese’s son manufactures the crystals. They’re called Harmonics.
Thursday, July 17, 1986
Worked till 7:00. And then Ric Ocasek was picking us up to take us over to Madison Square Garden. Ric has a girlfriend, Paulina, who’s a big model and Czechoslovakian and her mother was with them, and she looks even younger than the daughter. And I guess maybe I’m not really Czech, because I didn’t understand it when they were talking.
And we went to the Garden and I didn’t know this could be done but the limo drove right into the Garden. You drive right (laughs) onto the stage. Yes
, you really do. Ric and Dylan have the same manager. And he kept saying to me, “You have total freedom, total freedom. Go anywhere, take pictures anywhere—in the bathrooms, on the stage, anyplace.” And they took us into the room and Dylan was there and Tom Petty and Ron Wood. And Tom Petty’s daughter was around, or maybe it was his wife. She looked just like him.
And Dylan looks good, he had silver-tipped cowboy boots on and he was drinking Jim Beam. And even though they’d told me I had “total freedom,” I’m glad I asked before I took a picture of the three of them there, because Dylan said no. And then later Ric found out that Dylan was in a bad mood because he had just had a big fight with his girlfriend who’s forty or fifty who I think works for the record company and at the end of the fight she’d said something to him like, “Oh go out and play your ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ or whatever.” And that would kill your mood—when your lover calls all your work you’ve done in your life (laughs) “whatever.” So I guess he was left without an ego with a show to do.
And the Pressman kid who owns Barneys was there, he’d been at the MTV party the night before, he goes to all these music things, I don’t know why. I lied and told him that I’d seen the Statue of Liberty windows at Barneys.
I didn’t get any good pictures, really, so I just took four rolls of atmosphere. And Ron Delsener was running, he went crazy at the end because if you go past 11:00 then it costs $1,000 extra a minute for the unions.
Afterwards, at that new restaurant on 81st and Columbus, Metropolis, Dylan came in with his whole family—all his kids and his mother, who was nice-looking with white hair. She didn’t look Jewish, but everybody else did. I asked Dylan’s manager if Dylan was Christian now or Jewish again, and he said Dylan’s Orthodox and that’s why he wasn’t doing a show the next night—that he didn’t work Friday nights unless the money was really good.
Keith Richards was supposed to come to the concert, but Patti Hansen was having their baby. Oh, also, the road manager liked Ric Ocasek’s girlfriend Paulina’s mother and so she was giving him her address. He was Indian. Paulina said, “We’ve got to get my mother laid before she has to leave New York.”
Friday, July 18, 1986
Grace was so good on the Today Show that I should call and tell her.
This is the day I lost my camera somewhere. And the roll that was in the camera was the magic roll—the one of Dylan with his whole family, the kids and the mother. All the other rolls were just at the concert and things.
Vincent had set up dinner with Ric Ocasek and his girlfriend Paulina, and his manager who’s Dylan’s manager, Elliot Roberts, and his wife or girlfriend, Sylvia, a blonde who represents a Japanese designer. After work Rupert drove me uptown.
Called PH, picked her up at 8:30, went over to Caffe Roma. And Paulina’s mother didn’t come because she went out with the Indian road manager. Ric won’t be in the same picture with Paulina because he’s still married.
Ric asked if we wanted to go down to Electric Lady, the recording studio on 8th Street. And we walked down Fifth Avenue, and it started to rain and everybody was first recognizing Ric- he’s 6’4”—and then me, so their minds were blown, and we did autographs and this is when I realized that my camera was gone. Listened to Ric’s album and now I finally understand how they just make your voice up. It’s twenty-four tracks.
He played the album and you could hear every little thing, and you really hear what lots of studio time and work can do for a record although I don’t know what it all means—you’re not making it a better song, just more commercial, I guess, or … But every little thing is so clear. Ric said he’s been renting the basement there for two years and you know how much it costs to rent studio time! He said he’s spent millions. Called the Caffe Roma to see if my camera was there, I was in that lost-something mood (phone $.50).
Saturday, July 19, 1986
Went to Dr. Burke’s (cab $5) and the chubby little girl, Diana Balton, who used to work at Interview was there having a facial, and she now works for Elle, she had on pink shoes and a tight-fitting dress and she’s turning attractive. She said that after she gave Interview her notice Time cancelled the job they’d offered her and she was too embarrassed to tell us, so she just left anyway and then she got a job at Elle. So had those collagen treatments and then my face was bleeding and red.
Sunday, July 20, 1986
I had to take the dogs out and they pooped on the sidewalk at the corner, and then I picked it up but on my way back a few minutes later, the people inside the store had already washed down the sidewalk, I guess they saw from inside. So I was embarrassed. Ran into the doctor and his family who live next door. And they had a wheelchair with a cake in it and they said that the daughter was getting married at 4:00. And the cake looked beautiful. It’d been made three days before out of marzipan so it was turning yellow, but it was great. I got a picture for the Party book.
Tuesday, July 22, 1986
I’ve been watching this stuff on Fergie and I wonder why doesn’t the Queen Mother get married again. This English journalist was so mean to Fred. We read her article and she used four words I’d never seen before in my life to describe him and Sam had to get a dictionary and they all came out to mean “slave.” One was “a beautiful amanuensis.” But she was nice to me, she didn’t put any of the dumb things I said in.
Paige came in and talked to me, so I guess she’s finally not mad at me. You know all these Wall Street businessmen types are always crazy about Paige because they think she can make their lives more glamorous, which they’re right about—she could. But she’s never interested in them —she only likes the young artist types. The drug addicts.
And I want to put (laughs) Ann Lambton on the cover of Interview. Everyone just screams at me when I say so, but I really do. I think she’s going to be a big star and she’s really interesting, so we’d have the first big interview with her.
Went to the premiere of Heartburn and when we got there the lady said, “Will you step over to the right for photos?” And I did and not one person (laughs) took a picture. Except Ron Galella, because it was too odd not to so he was being nice.
The good scene in the movie was Jack singing “My Boy Bill.” He’s just magic, you really want to fall in love with him, even though he’s old. He’s just got it. And the other night when I saw Carl Bernstein I asked him about the movie and he said, “I made them change it all.” But he still comes out a stinker.
Then we went to Metropolis to the party. Mike Nichols introduced me to Nora Ephron and she did the early article on Edie for—what would it have been for? The Herald Tribune, maybe? She was looking off into the clouds, she didn’t want to talk. She looks the same, I was surprised at how good she looks. I had three desserts. Wilfredo dropped me (cab $6).
Wednesday, July 23, 1986
Oh, and it seems like Paige is her same old self because she just got the new Polaroid camera with all the different lenses and she’s excited again. I never did really know what was wrong.
Our phone lights were broken so I picked up a line by mistake and Brigid was talking to her mother on it and it was so sad. I just had to listen. Her mother was talking about pulling her wig off her head and the bumps on her head. Here she took care of this man all her life and the second he dies, she gets cancer. She never had a chance to then go out and have fun.
Then Rupert drove us over to 14th and Eighth where the Odeon guy, Keith McNally, is opening Nell’s with Nell Campbell from The Rocky Horror Picture Show as the hostess. And he wanted our opinions on the food, and if he should charge $15 or $5 to get in. It’s a disco downstairs and upstairs quiet and no noise. I said the downtown people would resent the charge and that it’d just turn into a disco, not anything higher, it wouldn’t be a private club or anything. The downstairs looked like a real firetrap.
Thursday, July 24, 1986
The Robert Miller Gallery and the Pace-MacGill both want to do a show of my stitched-together photographs in October. I think Fred wants Miller. But
I’m having a Piss painting show in October at Larry Gagosian’s great new gallery in the Sandro Chia building on 23rd Street, and there’s also a Dia show in October and I think having so much going on at once is too put-downable, so maybe the photography show should be later.
Anthony d’Offay came by with his wife and if they’re so rich, I don’t know why she’s missing a tooth. Their seventeen-year-old son sent me a letter that was simple and so adoring and it shows what you can say with a letter, it was so effective. He mentions Billy Boy, though, so I don’t know if he has a problem.
I was supposed to be picked up by limo for Elliott Erwitt’s photo for Travel and Leisure. They decided they wanted Grace, too, so then it became Waiting for Grace.
The kids got me a cab and we went up to Erwitt’s apartment on Central Park West because he had called and said the light was going, not to wait for Grace. Grace lives down by the Anvil. She arrived and even if she is the latest person in the world, she’s sweet, and she was fun. She thinks we should become a couple and that she could make me happy. Can you imagine her cocaine friends running through my house? She still can’t get over Dolph dumping her and she said he’s not going to make it without her, and I think she’s right, he should’ve gotten more out of her before dumping her. She says he goes around the swimming pools in his little shorts and the girls go crazy. And she was complaining because Jean-Paul Goude doesn’t even see their kid who’s five or six now. Grace felt he needed a father figure, though, so she (laughs) found a fairy to live in.