Tuesday, January 31, 1984 Dr. Karen Burke arrived, she thinks she knows what"s making Brigid scratch, she thinks it"s the cats. So she waited until Brigid went home at 5:00 and went with her. And I said to Brigid what if it turned out the cats had something and she said, "Oh, I"ll just get rid of them, then." I don"t know, she has no feelings.
Sat.u.r.day, February 4, 1984 Did a personal errand with Jon, but he made me promise not to put anything personal about him in the Diary. [Jon Gould was admitted to New York Hospital with pneumonia on February 4 [Jon Gould was admitted to New York Hospital with pneumonia on February 4, 1984, and released on February 22. He was readmitted the next day, however, and released again on March and released on February 22. He was readmitted the next day, however, and released again on March 7. 7. On that day Andy instructed his housekeepers Nena and Aurora: "From now on, wash Jon"s dishes and clothes separate from mine."] On that day Andy instructed his housekeepers Nena and Aurora: "From now on, wash Jon"s dishes and clothes separate from mine."]
Monday, February 6, 1984 Was picked up by Benjamin and it was a beautiful day. This was the first of me taking photographs for my a.s.signment from French Vogue Vogue. I"m being paid $250 a day.
Got to our new building, 33rd and Madison (cab $4.50), and Andre Leon Talley was styling the shoots and had told the Guardian Angels to meet us there and the only room that looked sort of like a subway to photograph them in was the bas.e.m.e.nt.
They were all nice kids. The leader, Curtis, and his wife were there and they"re good-looking. And I guess they"re still in trouble because they"re accused of staging an incident and I wouldn"t be surprised if they did because they are are theatrical. I mean everything about them is so beautiful. theatrical. I mean everything about them is so beautiful.
I went home and watched TV. Barbara Walters is just too goo-goo with that searching look and asking the same old questions: "How old were you when you realized you had s.e.x?"
Tuesday, February 7, 1984 It was so exciting being at the new building with George the super and going to the rooms that don"t have furniture, like the big ballroom. The kitchen"s being put in and it looks so pretty. Stayed there about an hour.
Jean Michel called from Hawaii and talked a long time. Paige is back here now and she"s in seventh heaven, overf.u.c.ked, I guess. And now he"s flying this other girl out there. Paige was stupid and paid her own way-she insisted because that"s the way she is-and now he"s paying for this other girl. He"s paying $1,000 a week for this house. He owes us three months" rent and he"s trying to get Bruno to pay.
Talked to Paul Morrissey a few times and we"re sort of becoming friendly again, he was sort of normal.
Then cabbed uptown to change into a tuxedo and invited Benjamin to the Michael Jackson party (cab $7). Glued myself together and then cabbed to Halston"s ($3) because he"d invited me to go in his limousine.
So we took the limo to the Museum of Natural History and we got there right as Michael Jackson was getting an award in the center hallway. And he talked and talked, it was a new personality.
The crowds of kids were kept on the opposite side of the street when we came in, that"s how it was set up. And there was n.o.body really there. Just everybody you already knew, but n.o.body. Just all the record-business people but in black tie. Oh, and Bob Colacello was there and we finally made up. Because I was drunk. I"d had one drink at Halston"s, and I told Bob how great his Larry Flynt article in Vanity Fair Vanity Fair was and he was thrilled I liked it. was and he was thrilled I liked it.
Oh and the best person at the party who I just love is Truman"s niece who now works for Interview Interview as the stylist, Kate Harrington, isn"t that the greatest name? Kate Harrington. She"s very pretty. Like what Holly Golightly should have looked like. And I just loved her because whatever man she wanted she just went right after them, she"d give them her card. And she"s good-she styled the Goldie Hawn cover. as the stylist, Kate Harrington, isn"t that the greatest name? Kate Harrington. She"s very pretty. Like what Holly Golightly should have looked like. And I just loved her because whatever man she wanted she just went right after them, she"d give them her card. And she"s good-she styled the Goldie Hawn cover.
Monday, February 13, 1984 Got up in the morning knowing that I had another day of French Vogue Vogue ahead of me. Had to ahead of me. Had to go go downtown early to meet Andre Leon Talley. I was photographing Benjamin in his drag outfit. It was warm out, like fifty degrees. downtown early to meet Andre Leon Talley. I was photographing Benjamin in his drag outfit. It was warm out, like fifty degrees.
Got there (cab $5) and Benjamin looked great, very fashionable, and I can really see why he gets so much drag work. Oh, and we got Lidija in the pictures, too, so it"s all n.o.bodies and the French will think they"re somebodies. Which is a new thing because the somebodies are everywhere, you"re sick of them.
Wednesday, February 15, 1984 Maura came by and said that she takes home $1,300 a week at her new job writing for The New Show The New Show at NBC, and that she"s saving her money because she thinks that at NBC, and that she"s saving her money because she thinks that The New Show The New Show is going to fold fast. Her brother was with her and he"s a sculptor who does things with ping-pong b.a.l.l.s for eyes, so you can imagine. He went to Harvard. He doesn"t use the name Moynihan. is going to fold fast. Her brother was with her and he"s a sculptor who does things with ping-pong b.a.l.l.s for eyes, so you can imagine. He went to Harvard. He doesn"t use the name Moynihan.
Friday, February 17, 1984 The W W expose on me came out. Fred said it wasn"t so bad, though. All the old ladies will be after me, it made me seem so rich. And I read expose on me came out. Fred said it wasn"t so bad, though. All the old ladies will be after me, it made me seem so rich. And I read GQ GQ and Calvin with these new ads, the perfume, the girl in the jockstrap with-oh, he"s going to be in the billions. and Calvin with these new ads, the perfume, the girl in the jockstrap with-oh, he"s going to be in the billions.
And Brigid, she was knitting. Just Madame Defarge. And if you ever want to know what"s wrong with you, don"t look in a mirror, just give Brigid a gla.s.s of wine and she"ll tell you: "Your wig"s on crooked."
Thursday, February 23, 1984 I was picked up by Benjamin and we went out with Interviews Interviews, but I really don"t like pa.s.sing out this Jane Fonda issue because I just don"t like the cover, it doesn"t look like her and there"s no black in it. The one that"s coming next with Goldie Hawn looks good, though.
Oh, and I ran into Bob Colacello. And he asked me for an Interview Interview. I asked if his building had gone co-op and he said no, that it went condo.
Well Jean Michel is coming back from Hawaii on the first and going to Sweden on the second. Just for a few days. Our old friend from Stockholm, Stellan, says he has Swedish girls lined up waiting for him over there.
Sat.u.r.day, February 15, 1984 Bianca told me she"d just been in j.a.pan doing an interview with Robert Wilson for Vanity Fair Vanity Fair and I said how could she do that and not for and I said how could she do that and not for Interview Interview, and she said well would Interview Interview have sent her for three weeks to j.a.pan and paid her hotel bill. That must have been expensive. She said, "He"s a genius." I did used to think he was good, too, but then that last time at Lincoln Center it was so boring. It"s like artists who have sent her for three weeks to j.a.pan and paid her hotel bill. That must have been expensive. She said, "He"s a genius." I did used to think he was good, too, but then that last time at Lincoln Center it was so boring. It"s like artists who do do things-well I don"t know, maybe things-well I don"t know, maybe I I fit into that category-but they"re showing the mechanicals of something instead of entertaining you. Rauschenberg"s good, though. He"ll put on his ice skates in a new way. fit into that category-but they"re showing the mechanicals of something instead of entertaining you. Rauschenberg"s good, though. He"ll put on his ice skates in a new way.
Monday, February 27, 1984 I was looking at the Christie"s stuff, the jewelry. In every auction they have some stuff of Gloria Vanderbilt"s. I guess she gave them lots of stuff and it"s just little junk. I guess they like to have a name in every auction and anyway, if they"d put it all together in one auction it would have just been embarra.s.sing.
And John Reinhold called and said he got another letter from the government about permission to drill holes in pennies. They"d told him on the phone it was okay, but he said, "I want it in writing." So the government sent him this abstract letter saying you could drill holes in them but you couldn"t deface them. This is so I can make more of the penny belts like the one I made for Cornelia.
Was picked up by John and Kimiko and went to the Met and the opera was Tannhauser Tannhauser by Wagner. Boring. There are no great singers. I guess all the strong singers go into rock and roll now. The opera audience is still filled with boys with older men, learning about the finer things in life. by Wagner. Boring. There are no great singers. I guess all the strong singers go into rock and roll now. The opera audience is still filled with boys with older men, learning about the finer things in life.
I was looking at some magazine and there was an interview with Joe Dallesandro, done right before he did The Cotton Club The Cotton Club-the Lucky Luciano role that PH actually got him because she knew the producer-and there was Joe saying, "Oh, I never never hung around with those Factory people, they weren"t my hung around with those Factory people, they weren"t my friends." friends."
Wednesday, February 29, 1984 Time sent down the picture of Michael Jackson and I was set to do the cover, but then stupid Hart upset Mondale in the New Hampshire primary, so they dropped the Michael cover. They said maybe they"d do it another week, but I doubt it. Maybe that was just a way of getting out of my price. Oh, but they sent down the picture of Michael Jackson and I was set to do the cover, but then stupid Hart upset Mondale in the New Hampshire primary, so they dropped the Michael cover. They said maybe they"d do it another week, but I doubt it. Maybe that was just a way of getting out of my price. Oh, but they are are a news magazine, I guess. a news magazine, I guess.
Then Liza had invited me to come over to her theater and see the changes they"d made in The Rink The Rink and then watch the performance of this eight- or nine-year-old girl who"d been hanging around the stage door for weeks with her father trying to get Liza to watch her perform. and then watch the performance of this eight- or nine-year-old girl who"d been hanging around the stage door for weeks with her father trying to get Liza to watch her perform.
So cabbed with Benjamin ($5). And this little girl, after weeks of pleading, was late. And that made it sort of weird, because everybody thought she"d be right there. Then she came and she had a perfect little Barbie doll figure and long hair and this beautiful face. It was the Debra Winger look. She was Jewish. And she put on the Liza music to "New York, New York" and she sang that and we sort of sat there. Her father was in the background. The director was really sweet. And then after she did that, Liza talked to them and said, after saying how good she was and everything, "What do you want from me?" And the little girl was cute and nervous and everything, and she said, "I want to be Liza Minnelli." And "I want to further my career." Things like that. And Liza asked her what she"d done, and she said that she"d done a TV commercial. Then Liza started giving her pointers and I got gooseb.u.mps. It was memorable. One of those real scenes, it was show business but real. And it was like All About Eve All About Eve or something. or something.
Then we left there and Liza"s new bodyguard is the h.e.l.l"s Angel I met once at the Cafe Central. He has a hook hand.
Thursday, March 1, 1984 Jay called in the morning and said the Michael Jackson Time Time cover was back on. cover was back on.
Friday, March 2, 1984 Mick and Jerry had their baby. A girl. A girl named Elizabeth Scarlett.
And you know, it"s so funny with all these protests now about Jane Fonda at the stores where she"s trying to sell her exercise clothes. I don"t understand why it would start now. I mean, all these years her movies have been doing big business and her exercise video is number one- Vietnam veterans complained but n.o.body listened. But now with the clothes it"s all these protests and they"re effective because Saks cancelled. But why haven"t they been calling theaters all these years and saying, "We"ll bomb the theater if you show her movie"? So it makes me think it"s like one person in the garment business that"s gone after her. You know? Because it"s all of a sudden and just focused on this one area. And I mean, what category do we fall into, having her on the Interview Interview cover? Will that be an area that"s just fine, like her videotapes where she"s the "most respected woman in America"? Or will they be writing us threatening letters? cover? Will that be an area that"s just fine, like her videotapes where she"s the "most respected woman in America"? Or will they be writing us threatening letters?
Monday, March 5, 1984 I read the book about Mrs. Chairman Mao called White Boned Demon White Boned Demon and I decided to do paintings of her. It was great, about how she went from prost.i.tute to Chairman Mao"s wife. But I mean, how this guy wrote this stuff I don"t know. I mean, going back to individual days in her childhood and remembering if she was happy or sad, I mean, they don"t even know what happened to her mother, let alone if she was unhappy on Tuesday in May 1937! The Mrs. Mao book didn"t have any pictures in it so now I have to find some. and I decided to do paintings of her. It was great, about how she went from prost.i.tute to Chairman Mao"s wife. But I mean, how this guy wrote this stuff I don"t know. I mean, going back to individual days in her childhood and remembering if she was happy or sad, I mean, they don"t even know what happened to her mother, let alone if she was unhappy on Tuesday in May 1937! The Mrs. Mao book didn"t have any pictures in it so now I have to find some.
Tuesday, March 6, 1984 Worked on the Michael Jackson Time Time cover until 8:00. Then watched some terrible TV. I saw Joan Collins in some old movie like cover until 8:00. Then watched some terrible TV. I saw Joan Collins in some old movie like Caesar Caesar and she was so bad, and now she"s got the right part and she"s so good. It was all just finding the right part. and she was so bad, and now she"s got the right part and she"s so good. It was all just finding the right part.
Wednesday, March 7, 1984 Ran into the lady whose portrait I just did, Mrs. Tisch, and I was wondering why she looked so familiar. She said she loves the portraits but doesn"t know how many she"s going to take. Fred"s going to call her.
I finished the Michael Jackson cover. I didn"t like it but the office kids did. Then the Time Time people came down to see it, about forty of them. And they stood around saying that it should increase newsstand sales "by 400," so I guess they do think about this. Then later the people came down to see it, about forty of them. And they stood around saying that it should increase newsstand sales "by 400," so I guess they do think about this. Then later the Time Time guy called me-Rudy-and said they were going to use it. I think the yellow one. And I told him to cross his fingers that it wouldn"t get b.u.mped on Sat.u.r.day and he said he would. guy called me-Rudy-and said they were going to use it. I think the yellow one. And I told him to cross his fingers that it wouldn"t get b.u.mped on Sat.u.r.day and he said he would.
Friday, March 9, 1984 Ran into Adolfo. Benjamin said it was him, but I didn"t recognize him. And Adolfo said that he sees me in church every Sunday, that he sits right next to me, so I was embarra.s.sed that I"ve never recognized him.
Vic Ramos called and said he wanted to talk about something, so he"s bringing Matt Dillon over for lunch on Tuesday. So that"s something to look forward to, that"ll be fun, seeing Matt again. I"m sure he wants us to produce a movie, that"s got to be it. Because it wouldn"t be (laughs) (laughs)to direct. That would be too easy, too good to be true. He asked if Paul was around and I said yes, he"s around, and he said that we"d just have this meeting this way and then we could talk to Paul later about this project.
Sunday, March 11, 1984 I went to church and did see Adolfo next to me, just like he"d told me.
Monday, March 12, 1984 Time came out and the Jackson cover made it, it didn"t get b.u.mped. And the article inside was crazy. It had them asking if he was going to get a s.e.x-change operation and he said no. The cover should have had more blue. I gave them some in the style of the Fonda cover I did for came out and the Jackson cover made it, it didn"t get b.u.mped. And the article inside was crazy. It had them asking if he was going to get a s.e.x-change operation and he said no. The cover should have had more blue. I gave them some in the style of the Fonda cover I did for Time Time once, but they wanted once, but they wanted this this style. style.
Jean Michel came by, he"s back from Hawaii, and he brought a rent check which was a good surprise. Vincent came down. Everybody was trying to get tickets to the Hard Rock Cafe, that place that Dan Aykroyd has something to do with. Rock Brynner is running it. Eddie Murphy was supposed to be there.
And I didn"t tell the Diary that Michael Sklar died, did I? When I stopped in at Jean"s to look at a brooch this guy there who follows my career showed me the obituary. About two days ago he died. It said he starred in Andy Warhol"s Trash Trash and and L"Amour L"Amour. It said he died of lymphoma. So is that AIDS? But gee, Michael didn"t carry on. He was a hard worker.
Tuesday, March 13, 1984 Matt Dillon and Vic Ramos were coming to lunch. Jean Michel came by-he wanted to meet Matt because Matt had mentioned Jean Michel"s art in the interview he did with us.
Matt arrived first. And then Vic came and he didn"t like the idea of Jean Michel because in the seventies-I remember reading this in the papers-his apartment had been broken into and vandalized by a graffiti artist. Vic said he still hasn"t gotten the paint off everything yet.
And after two hours we still didn"t know why Vic had wanted to set up this lunch. Then finally Matt started to say something about wanting to do a movie about a sixties underground filmmaker.
Matt was wearing pink shoes that he said he got on St. Mark"s Place. And he was talking about Midnight Cowboy Midnight Cowboy and imitating the f.a.g in it, putting on sort of an affected accent, like British or a little like Fred when he"s Mrs. Vreeland. And Matt has the ear to be a very good actor. Vic Ramos was the casting person for and imitating the f.a.g in it, putting on sort of an affected accent, like British or a little like Fred when he"s Mrs. Vreeland. And Matt has the ear to be a very good actor. Vic Ramos was the casting person for Midnight Cowboy Midnight Cowboy who put Paul and Jed and Ultra and everybody in the party scene. I wasn"t in it because I was in the hospital, it was in the summer of "68 right after I got shot. who put Paul and Jed and Ultra and everybody in the party scene. I wasn"t in it because I was in the hospital, it was in the summer of "68 right after I got shot.
When I left work it was snowing and raining out. The dog had peed on my bed and I beat him up. Amos.
Wednesday, March 14, 1984 Ron Feldman came up to talk about the new project, the portfolio of old magazine ads. But he wants me to do corny ones-like the Judy Garland Blackglama ads. He doesn"t want the c.o.ke one, he says who would buy it.
Thursday, March 15, 1984 I was violently ill. I had carrot juice and some beans at lunch and by the time I got home yesterday I felt funny. And then there was a dinner at Shezan for Egon Von Furstenberg and Mrs. Egon, and so I had to decide whether I felt well enough to go go,and I went-an hour late-and I was seated next to Mrs. Egon, but the second I smelled the food I started to get violently ill and had to leave. But I kept it down. And then I got home and the dogs sat on top of me all night, so I hoped they would pick it up and take it away from me. It was so weird to get sick like that. Vincent had caught the flu from his kids so I think I picked up this thing from him.
Friday, March 16, 1984 A sick day. I woke up, still sick, and decided to stay at home. The phone rang a lot. People kept checking in.
Sat.u.r.day, March 17, 1984 Dolly Parton was coming to the office to be interviewed. She arrived and she was great. She had two people with her. She said she has a place in New York and goes out and around, but I don"t know how she can unless she puts another kind of wig on. She talked nonstop for four hours. She"s a walking monologue.
Jean Michel came by and he misunderstood something she said about "plantations" so he didn"t like her but then I got him to come back in and she charmed him. She repeated herself a lot, called herself "trash" a lot. She said most of her groupies were lesbians and f.a.gs. She has a group of d.y.k.es that follows her around. She had her hairdresser and her girlfriend Shirley pick her up. They just came in a cab, not a limousine. I worked late.
Sunday, March 18, 1984 The phone didn"t ring once. Oh wait, yes it did. Jane Holzer called and she"s flying us to Palm Beach on Friday to help open her ice cream shop, "Sweet Baby Jane"s." She called People People magazine about it, so I guess they"ll do a "Whatever happened to Baby Jane" about her. magazine about it, so I guess they"ll do a "Whatever happened to Baby Jane" about her.
Monday, March 19, 1984 Paloma called and we were invited that night to her dinner for her perfume. They didn"t send perfume to men, but the bottle is kind of nice. She was having the dinner at the old Burden mansion on 91st Street that"s now a Catholic school and they rent out the old ballroom for parties.
Dropped Benjamin. Glued and then was late. Cabbed uptown ($3.50). And because I was late I"d been b.u.mped from the main table. So I wound up at the same table as Rosemary Kent! She"s back around and working for the Post! Post! I"ve been forgetting to tell the Diary. And Fred was at this table, too, so he was going nuts trying to look away from her. She"s still with the same husband, Henry. And instead of running up to Paloma I ran up to horrible Rosemary Kent, who"s still writing her stupid "What"s In/What"s Out" articles, you know-"Handbags! Shoes! Andy Warhol"s wigs!"-and tried in my heart not to think she was awful, because G.o.d forgives so so should I. See, I"m sure I got sick the other day as punishment because I yelled at that lady. Didn"t I tell the Diary? A real estate lady called the office and said she wanted to show our floor to some people and I screamed that she couldn"t, that our lease wasn"t up and that she better not set one foot on the premises until it was, and she said she couldn"t believe that a nice person and an artist like me would be yelling at her. And then I got sick. I"ve been forgetting to tell the Diary. And Fred was at this table, too, so he was going nuts trying to look away from her. She"s still with the same husband, Henry. And instead of running up to Paloma I ran up to horrible Rosemary Kent, who"s still writing her stupid "What"s In/What"s Out" articles, you know-"Handbags! Shoes! Andy Warhol"s wigs!"-and tried in my heart not to think she was awful, because G.o.d forgives so so should I. See, I"m sure I got sick the other day as punishment because I yelled at that lady. Didn"t I tell the Diary? A real estate lady called the office and said she wanted to show our floor to some people and I screamed that she couldn"t, that our lease wasn"t up and that she better not set one foot on the premises until it was, and she said she couldn"t believe that a nice person and an artist like me would be yelling at her. And then I got sick.
Paloma"s party just missed. The people were too old or something. I"ve decided I"m just going to go to openings of stores and galleries, that"s my new philosophy.
And the big news of the day was that Rupert"s house in New Hope, Pennsylvania, burned down, so he didn"t come in. A coal got caught in the chimney. I never had a priest exorcise my room that had the spontaneous fire. I blessed it myself-I got holy water. But I still think there"s something funny about that room. I had the Picabia painting of the devil that fell down in there and also the ceiling fell down.
Tuesday, March 20, 1984 Went home and glued and then walked over to Jill Fuller"s house, she was having a dinner for Henry Mcllhenny who just sold a $3.9 million Cezanne. The auction house probably did a deal and settled for 2 percent or 1 percent or 5 percent or maybe even no percent just for the prestige of getting the painting. And it was an old evening, just old people, n.o.body young. Jill"s ex-husband Gino Piserchio, one of our sixties superstars, was in the kitchen cooking. He"s a caterer now. A chef. And Henry"s got three stomachs now.
Friday, March 23, 1984-New York-Palm Beach, Florida It rained all day, but by 6:00 when Jane Holzer picked us up it had stopped for a little bit. So we went over to the street where Sweet Baby Jane"s ice cream parlor was, in the block Jane owns, I think-the one that has Van Cleef & Arpel.
I did interviews with the newspapers and People People. Jane didn"t even give me a full dish of ice cream, just a little spoon. The place has the usual stuff you sell with ice cream. Oreos and things. Boring.
Monday, March 26, 1984-New York New York Central sent the wrong paint over three times. And then Jay had a dislocated shoulder. He dislocated it playing basketball when somebody fell on him and his bone was sticking the wrong way and he"d spent the weekend at St. Vincent"s and he"d just gotten out. And he was supposed to take a vacation starting at the end of this week, so I told him to take it starting immediately, but he refused. He doesn"t want to waste vacation time being disabled, he wants to work disabled. So now we"ve got to be moving some things up to the new building and he won"t even be able to help.
Tuesday, March 27, 1984 Benjamin didn"t pick me up because he went directly to the office to help with moving. Jean Michel came by and Paige came in at the same time and they had a fight. And Paige has now been kicked out of the apartment she was staying in on West 81st Street, the board of the building wanted her out probably because they"d see dreadlocked blacks coming in there all the time and they were scared, they wouldn"t know they were artists. Paige is so charming, though, I"m surprised she couldn"t change their mind.
Somebody from the New York Post New York Post called, asking what was chic and what was un-chic. I guess they wanted someone else to write their article for them. called, asking what was chic and what was un-chic. I guess they wanted someone else to write their article for them.
Wednesday, March 28, 1984 I"d forgotten that David Whitney was coming down with Jasper Johns to get a painting for Jasper"s benefit, he"s got a Jasper Johns Foundation for needy artists. I don"t know who picks who"s needy. Probably some idiot like Barbara Rose, right? Or Robert Hughes. Oh, I bet that"s who it is. I just bet. I"m going to ask David. So they came and they wanted the biggest one. The Ink Spot painting. The Rorschach Blot. Jasper liked it.
Thursday, March 29, 1984 It was raining and snowing out and this was the day we had to film all day doing the Cars video for their song "h.e.l.lo Again" at the Be-Bop Cafe on 8th Street. Benjamin came in drag to pick me up for the shooting. He was going to be in it, too.
I had to be a bartender and wear a tux. The crowd of extras looked like the old Factory days-Benjamin in drag, and a bald-headed mime in a Pierrot outfit, and John s.e.x with his snake. And then there was Dianne Brill with her big t.i.ts and hourgla.s.s figure. The Cars were cute.
They finally got to my part at 8.00 8.00 and I had to sing a song but I couldn"t remember the words. And I had to mix a drink while I was doing it, and with my contacts on I couldn"t see the c.o.ke b.u.t.ton on the soda dispenser. and I had to sing a song but I couldn"t remember the words. And I had to mix a drink while I was doing it, and with my contacts on I couldn"t see the c.o.ke b.u.t.ton on the soda dispenser.
And that meant being face to face with the Cars for a while, and it was hard to talk to them, I didn"t know what to say. I finished at 9:15. One of the kids gave me a ride home.
Sunday, April 1, 1984 It was such a beautiful day. The whole town came out of the woodwork. Walked toward the park and a woman lunged at me and said, "I"m Mary Rosenberg, you gave me my best advice, you told me, "Hang in there," " but I didn"t know who she was. I just closed my eyes and headed through the park with people pointing at me all the way-"That"s that famous artist."
So then at the other end of the park I met Jon and we walked. And I had with me all the corn flakes that were stale to give to the birds, but I found a spot without birds, so I guess I actually fed the rats.
Bought New York New York ($1.50). Looked at the movies, decided to see ($1.50). Looked at the movies, decided to see The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (cab $4, tickets $10, popcorn $10). And let me (cab $4, tickets $10, popcorn $10). And let me go go on record: Cecil B. DeMille is the worst director ever. We"d missed an hour but it was still three hours to go and a half-hour intermission. And all those actors were terrible. I mean, Edward G. Robinson, forget it. And forget Yvonne DeCarlo and Ann Baxter, too. Charlton Heston was okay, he was good-looking. The orgy scene was on record: Cecil B. DeMille is the worst director ever. We"d missed an hour but it was still three hours to go and a half-hour intermission. And all those actors were terrible. I mean, Edward G. Robinson, forget it. And forget Yvonne DeCarlo and Ann Baxter, too. Charlton Heston was okay, he was good-looking. The orgy scene was (laughs) (laughs) people dropping grapes on each other-it sounds like an old Andy Warhol movie, right? And then they would lift their skirt two inches off the floor. That was people dropping grapes on each other-it sounds like an old Andy Warhol movie, right? And then they would lift their skirt two inches off the floor. That was it it. That was the orgy orgy. Edward G. Robinson-you couldn"t believe it. And Dustin Hoffman is going to wind up in his shoes, I just know it.
The movie finished. Benjamin had called in the afternoon and said that Victor was coming in from L.A. for a birthday party for him at Halston"s. And that made me nervous, after hearing about Marvin Gaye"s father shooting him. I could just picture Victor going nuts and jumping out a window or something dramatic. And by the way, last week when I was trying to clean up, I picked up a box and out fell the picture of Marvin and me that PH took in like 1976.
Went home, glued, then I went over to Halston"s. Wait a minute, somebody"s ringing my doorbell ... it"s those stupid Polacks again. They"re still coming over and ringing my my bell! So okay, at Halston"s, at midnight, Victor arrived. I gave him a framed Keith Haring T-shirt and he hated it and threw it away, but then he said he wanted it back for the frame. He"s staying at the Barbizon, I think. bell! So okay, at Halston"s, at midnight, Victor arrived. I gave him a framed Keith Haring T-shirt and he hated it and threw it away, but then he said he wanted it back for the frame. He"s staying at the Barbizon, I think.
And then Alana Stewart arrived and Bianca and Alana wrestled on the floor for fun and I would have gotten the best pictures but I"d forgotten my camera. Alana"s in town for the opening of Where the Boys Are Where the Boys Are.
Monday, April 2, 1984 That Girl Mario Thomas called me up and was like a bulldozer-"We want you to do Gloria Steinem"s portrait and we want it right away." So I had her talk to Fred and I guess it"s arranged. It"s a benefit for battered wives or battered mothers. So I think it"s going to be auctioned off and we split the money. Mario Thomas called me up and was like a bulldozer-"We want you to do Gloria Steinem"s portrait and we want it right away." So I had her talk to Fred and I guess it"s arranged. It"s a benefit for battered wives or battered mothers. So I think it"s going to be auctioned off and we split the money.
Tuesday, April 3, 1984 Got the new French Vogue Vogue with my stuff in it and the Polaroids looked okay. Ming Vauze had a full page. These magazines are like books now, they"re so thick, so expensive. Then cabbed downtown with Ming himself to meet Lidija ($6). Worked out a few minutes, but I was an hour late for a portrait. with my stuff in it and the Polaroids looked okay. Ming Vauze had a full page. These magazines are like books now, they"re so thick, so expensive. Then cabbed downtown with Ming himself to meet Lidija ($6). Worked out a few minutes, but I was an hour late for a portrait.
Did I tell the Diary Brigid gave Freddy the cat to Rupert, and so Freddy was caught in the fire when Rupert"s house burned down in Pennsylvania, but he hid in the stove so he was safe.
Thursday, April 5, 1984 Fred got me so mad in the morning being so grand when I asked him what was happening with the Michael Jackson portraits. He was giving me these very calm, low-key stock answers, repeating them to me, like "I"ve got a grip on it," and "It"s under control," and things like that, and I told him, "Oh don"t give me that." So then when he started asking me me questions, I decided to just give him his own medicine, and that"s what I started telling him, "It"s in my control...." questions, I decided to just give him his own medicine, and that"s what I started telling him, "It"s in my control...."
And Gael Love said that Doria and Ron have gotten an apartment in L.A. and that Ron"s going to be getting $6,000 for articles he writes, so they wouldn"t be doing anything more for us.
Maura came by and made 14,000 calls to L.A., The New Show The New Show folded and she"s going out there and wants to get to Barry Diller"s party. And she was saying, "If you have any stocks sell them all, because with this national deficit, I mean ..." And she just says what her father tells her. So I guess Senator Moynihan wants everybody to panic. folded and she"s going out there and wants to get to Barry Diller"s party. And she was saying, "If you have any stocks sell them all, because with this national deficit, I mean ..." And she just says what her father tells her. So I guess Senator Moynihan wants everybody to panic.
The press had called a while ago and asked what did I think about Campbell"s soup having new plastic cans, the crushable kind, and I said, "Oh yeah, sure, great idea, great, great!" So now I just got the cutest letter from a person at Campbell"s soup saying, "I"m so glad that you agree with us that we needed a new look." I should have said, "And I"m going to get a new wig."
Sat.u.r.day, April 7, 1984 Benjamin and his roommate Rags heard that there was a birthday party for Julian Lennon at the Be-Bop Cafe so we decided to crash that. Got a limo that was $3 per person ($20). Got there and pretended we thought it was open for regular business. And somebody tried to introduce me to Julian Lennon but he just looked at me and didn"t have much reaction, and so we left, and then on the street we ran into a kid who asked us if we were going to Area and we said yes and took him with us. And at Area I held up the walls for a few hours.
Tuesday, April 10, 1984 Benjamin picked me up and we went over to Sotheby"s. And there was only one thing I wanted. Anything with any style will end up at Fred Leighton"s. There was a Verdura pin of a big black Negro"s face with cabochon ruby eyes and lots of stones.
Jean Michel called me twice this morning from L.A. and wouldn"t speak when I answered because he didn"t think it was me. Then on the third time he did and he told me that he"d been at the Roxy, Lou Adler"s place, "with Jack and Shirley and Debra and Warren and Richard Pryor and Timothy Hutton." Just about thirty people. And then there were parties at Morton"s and Spago, and he got home at 5:00, so he felt like a movie star.
Dr. Karen came to the office and she decided to set up an office at the office, so that was fun.
I made an appointment to see a nutritionist. Dr. Linda Li on the West Side.
Gael Love called a few times. Robert Hayes has been out with a cold for three weeks, and somebody put a bug in my head, like "What"s wrong with Robert?" But Gael said, "No, no, it"s nothing like that."
Went to pick up John Reinhold to take him to Yoko"s black-tie birthday dinner for Vasarely"s (cab $4). So we went to the Dakota and had to leave our shoes in the hallway. She had lots of pretty boys as waiters. I couldn"t tell which one was Sam Havadtoy. Her live-in love. He"s a decorator. And it was very chic. We ate in the kitchen, it was fresh vegetables and pasta and maybe something like veal. I couldn"t recognize anybody but everybody was somebody. John Cage was there and Merce Cunningham.
And little Sean Lennon fell in love with me, just madly. He said, "Why is your hair like that?" I said, "Punk." He said, "What"s your name?" I said, "Adam." Then I asked him to get me a double champagne and when he came back with it he said somebody had told him I was Andy Warhol, and then he went around to everyone telling them, "Do you know who that is? That"s Andy Warhol." And I did my old trick, I tore a dollar bill in half for him. And he said, "You have to give me an autograph," and so I signed, "To Sean, Andy." And he said, "I"m not interested in your first name, I want your last one." And I told him that I wasn"t so famous at all, that the other people were there really really famous, like John Cage, and that he should get famous, like John Cage, and that he should get his his autograph. So he did, and John signed the most beautiful signature. And then Sean had him sign a "J" and then he came over and ripped the "J" in half and gave me half. But John had done it on the back of the really beautiful signature so that was ruined-Sean could have had a beautiful John Cage autograph. autograph. So he did, and John signed the most beautiful signature. And then Sean had him sign a "J" and then he came over and ripped the "J" in half and gave me half. But John had done it on the back of the really beautiful signature so that was ruined-Sean could have had a beautiful John Cage autograph.
Oh, and when I was cleaning at home just the other week, out of a drawer fell pictures of John and Yoko that I"d taken in the sixties or early seventies, and two of the photographs were double exposures of their faces, and it killed me to give one of those up, but I did. The one where you could tell them apart I gave to her, and the one where the features were all together I kept. When could I have taken those photos? Let"s see... I was going around town with John and Yoko when I was looking to buy a building downtown, so it was before I got the Bowery place, which was around "69, and there were three buildings on Greene Street, each for $200,000, that were all being sold together and Yoko was going to buy one and John was going to buy one and I was going to buy one. But then Yoko got greedy and wanted all three. And then they wound up not buying any of them. But by then I"d been pushed out of the picture. And that building would be worth millions today. I think think that was the year she had that show in upstate New York where she flew everybody up there on one of those creaky airlines, like One-Way Air or something. She spent $25,000 to fly everybody up there but then she didn"t have any other freebie for them-no food or anything. Just up there. And there was an "in" party and an "out" party, that kind of stuff. What year was that in? I can"t remember if it was before I was shot or after. It could have been "67 or "68 or "69 or "71. I just don"t know. What makes me think it was before I got shot was that it was just me who went up there and I think if it was after I was shot then Jed would have come, too. that was the year she had that show in upstate New York where she flew everybody up there on one of those creaky airlines, like One-Way Air or something. She spent $25,000 to fly everybody up there but then she didn"t have any other freebie for them-no food or anything. Just up there. And there was an "in" party and an "out" party, that kind of stuff. What year was that in? I can"t remember if it was before I was shot or after. It could have been "67 or "68 or "69 or "71. I just don"t know. What makes me think it was before I got shot was that it was just me who went up there and I think if it was after I was shot then Jed would have come, too.
Dinner was served and I sat next to Walter Cronkite and Sean, and I told Sean that if he wanted to be a host he should get us food. And I had him take pictures for me of all the shoes lined up in the hallway. And Sean had the flu and the girl next to Walter Cronkite had the flu and so I was being coughed on, so I just know I"ll get it.
I talked to Walter Cronkite and that was interesting. I told him I"d just read the Jody Powell thing in Rolling Stone Rolling Stone. He said he thought Carter was the most intelligent president. And he said that years ago when he went to interview Nixon one of those times he was running for president, they sat him outside the door and he heard Nixon on the phone saying "p.i.s.s" and "c.o.c.ksucker" and "f.u.c.k," and Walter Cronkite thought it was a setup to have him hear all this so he would think Nixon was really macho, but then years later when the Watergate tapes came out he was surprised to hear Nixon talking like that all the time.
And then I heard Sean talking to this guy and asking what his name was and he said, "Coppola," so then I told him how much I loved The Outsiders The Outsiders and and Rumble Fish Rumble Fish. And we talked about how he had so many great kids in those two movies, that it was like American Graffiti American Graffiti-all the kids would become the next generation of big stars.
And I didn"t know Coppola was from New York. He said he went to Hofstra and I said that we"d done a lecture there once with Viva. And he said that his little girls miss me, I met them in Colorado skiing. He was with his wife who didn"t say anything. And then Sean saw that I had bluejeans on and he started saying, "You"re the only real person here, you"re so cool, you"re so cool." He"s so cute.
And one of the waiters was somebody I"d discovered for Interview Interview and he"d had a whole page as a bright young new star, he was in Jack Hofsiss"s play, and he went to L.A. for a year and now he"s back and being a waiter-it was really sad. I forget his name, although he told me again last night. From Georgia. Something like Bruce, maybe. I dropped John Reinhold (cab $6). Got home at 12:30. Decided to read the and he"d had a whole page as a bright young new star, he was in Jack Hofsiss"s play, and he went to L.A. for a year and now he"s back and being a waiter-it was really sad. I forget his name, although he told me again last night. From Georgia. Something like Bruce, maybe. I dropped John Reinhold (cab $6). Got home at 12:30. Decided to read the Daily News Daily News and got to bed at 2:00. and got to bed at 2:00.
And Yoko looks really good.
Wednesday, April 11, 1984 I think Jean Michel called a couple of times before 8:00 but hung up. Then at 8:00 he called and we talked. He said he was coming to the office that afternoon but he never made it. I had a 10:30 appointment with Dr. Linda Li, who was recommended to me by Timothy Dunn, a model who came by, and by Joey the hairdresser (cab $4.50). She"s a pretty Chinese lady, and she told me to hold out my arm and push and then she"d knock it away like karate, and she said I was fine, but I don"t know what that meant. The Patty Cisneros lady, Bob"s friend who"s so grand, was waiting there and she looked fat. Then cabbed over to 720 Park Avenue to Emily Landau"s lunch($5).
Thomas Ammann was there and Fred arrived drunk, talking like Mrs. Vreeland and being grand, but he did talk about interesting things. Furniture and everything. She had beautiful black guys serving. She"s the one who owned the apartment at Imperial House that Liza bought. I did her portrait but it never really looked good, and the reason I wanted to do it again was because she has all these great paintings like Rauschenbergs and Pica.s.sos and I didn"t want to have mine looking bad there.
Thursday, April 12, 1984 Jean Michel came by. He"d been out all night. Got him to work on one of our joint paintings. He wanted spaghetti so we got some from La Colonna ($71.45). He fell asleep and then he got up and he was up front by the phones with a big hard-on, like a baseball bat in his pants. I guess that"s being young, I forget about those things.