November 2008
5 posts
Leave It at That
Brigid called yesterday, says she’s down to 161 pounds. She’s coming by tomorrow to pick up her Christmas present and her birthday present from last September which she said she didn’t want to pick up at the time. The reviews came from England and they were bad for Bad. Stupid people like Frank Rich can write four pages on some nothing movie, but about Bad they just describe...
Everybody is Boring
Fred says I should stop telling people the TV dinner show was our idea because the show they came out with is really awful. He thought Halston and everybody made fools of themselves. He said Mick actually had hated Bianca in it.
It was raining hard all day long. Went to church. Paulette called and we talked about Dinner with Halston and I told her it was ripped off from me and she also said...
Say Hello to Andy
Up early, beautiful day. Went down to Subkoff’s Antiques to see ideas. Walked over to the office. Bob was there, looking through pictures for the photo book Bob and I are doing. Vincent went out and got the paper, and that’s where the headline was: “MOVIE DIRECTOR CHARGED WITH RAPE.” Roman Polanski. With a thirteen-year-old girl he took to a party at Jack...
“People look the most kissable when they’re not wearing makeup. ...”
Playing Around
I had a talk with Rick Li Brizzi at the office, told him he was selling my Maos and Soup Cans too cheap. Went home to change, picked up by Catherine, went to Nima Isham’s for a birthday party for Firooz and her husband Chris Isham.
The apartment was decorated with streamers and balloons. I was playing around, attaching some of the helium balloons to people who didn’t know it. Bob...
October 2008
21 posts
She Blew It
Barbara Allen was bringing Princess Firyal of Jordan, who’s dating Stavros Niarchos, down to the Factory.
The big drama was the Ronnie-Gigi-Spyro triangle. Ronnie called the Waldorf Towers late last night looking for Gigi and the desk wouldn’t put the call through to the Niarchos apartment so first he left a message saying that “Gigi’s husband called” and later he...
More Champagne and Caviar
Read an item in the newspaper that Liz Taylor was selling her diamonds on Madison Avenue secretly to help her husband’s campaign with money, so I kept an eye out. Walked over to office. Ronnie wasn’t at work for two reasons - first because Gigi had run off with Spyro Niarchos the night before at the party, and second because Wim Wenders was shooting a movie down at his loft - Dennis...
Great Party
It was a pretty day, walked around uptown, then went to the office. Jamie and Arnold were there. I thanked them for a good time the night before. Jamie said that Nureyev had fallen in love with Erskine, and that Erskine had almost given in, but didn’t, and that Nureyev’s last words were, “We can just watch TV.” He gave autographs to Erskine and Catherine.
Was picked up...
You Can Do Anything
Cabbed to Elaine’s to meet Jamie and Arnold and Rudolf Nureyev. Jamie was having a meeting of their minds. On the way in the friend of Lester Persky’s who always feels me up and grabbed me and introduced me to Neile McQueen, and she was actually pretty. He whispered “Ex-wife, Steve McQueen” in my ear.
Arnold walked in with three little girls, one of them was a...
Book Party
Woke up very cranky, left the house early, around 9:30, cabbed to Chembank. Got a letter at the office from the White House from Jimmy Carter. I wish I’d talked more last month when I met him, but I was so nervous. He’s really nice, though, a really nice man.
Jamie Wyeth still was painting Arnold Schwarzenegger who was still posing. Lunch for Jamie and Arnold. Alex Heinrici came...
Boring and Corny
Jamie Wyeth had invited me to lunch for Ted Kennedy’s birthday party, but in the morning he called and said that Rose Kennedy was only having a small one and he didn’t realize that, so I couldn’t go after all, but I think it was just maybe Jamie changing his mind. Went home at 8:30.
Saw on Metromedia that they took the idea from our proposal that they turned down and then went...
It Was Night in a Minute
Took five hours to get to Miami. Paid for Catherine’s ticket. It was night in a minute, a long flight. Charlie Cowles met us in a great car, warm and wonderful, but it was 11:00. Time changes. Past the Fontainebleau, things like that. Took us to his mother’s place on Indian Creek Island on the grounds of a private club, had a lot of waterfront property. Met the mother and...
On the Beach
Doug Christmas’s P.R. woman, Esther, arrived from church with an autograph from Jane Wyman, she’d asked for it while Jane Wyman was kneeling.
First supposed to have lunch with Bianca Jagger, but Wendy Stark said we could all have lunch at Coco Brown’s and I didn’t want to but Fred thought it was a good idea. The first car left, we were in the second, and we had a house...
Everyone Was Drunk
Suzie Frankfurt arrived with Marcia Weisman. They had a Rolls Royce so we Rollsed over to the hospital, Cedars-Sinai. Lots of people waiting, I sold $1,500 worth of stuff for a benefit. Marcia was very pushy. If anyone took a picture they had to pay $10. If I signed a can they paid $5. She told them that my prices would go up in the afternoon to $100 a poster, when actually they were going...
“After you PAY SOMEBODY BACK you never run into them any more. But before that,...”
Andy Warhol Day
Rode out to the Ace Gallery in Venice to do a press conference. Called the office in New York in the morning and Ronnie told me it was Andy Warhol Day on The Gong Show. Back at the hotel I had lots of messages. Dinner at Marcia Weisman’s. Ryan O’Neal was there and Sue Mengers. Ryan was leaning against the Morris Louis and put a big dent in it. He was sour. I had all the Guinness...
Jackson Browne
I went to tour the Gemini Gallery with Sidney Felsen and his partner. At Gemini I got an idea. They can now print 10’ x 10’ and I’m going to think about it. Done an hour earlier than supposed to, decided to walk around, the shops just so exciting.
A person ran after me and it turned out to be Jackson Browne. He invited me to come to the recording studio across the street to...
Sunny California
Arrived in sunny California. Dropped Suzie Frankfurt off at the Simon’s on Sunset Boulevard in glamorous Beverly Hills. Called the Beverly Hills Hotel but they were out of rooms so we had to stay at the Beverly Wilshire. Catherine called her half-uncle Erskine who was in town, he’s just a little bit younger than she is. He’s been traveling around the world all year with his...
A Funny Idea
Cabbed up to Suzie Frankfurt’s and there was a lot of traffic. Suzie is designing clothes for women who’re over the hill, and it’s a funny idea, they’re the wrong colors and they emphasize the wrong places, she’s going to try to get into that business on Seventh Avenue and she’s also trying to go into antiques as a business. She’s going to go with us to...
Vogue
Leo Lerman called in the afternoon and commissioned a portrait for Vogue’s one-time-use only of Queen Elizabeth.
Hi, Andy
Woke up at the crack of dawn, went to the airport. There was a guy cleaning the windows of the plane as I was going on, and some people can just look up and say, “Hi, Andy” so casually, and he was great, he did that. Later he came to find us and asked for an autograph for his high school teacher.
Cab in from the airport. Dropped off the bags and Fred. Sent Ronnie for supplies....
Scary
Went with John and Kimiko Powers to the forty acres I bought out near Aspen. Ran into two girls on the property riding horses. They said it was the most wonderful country they’d ever spent time in.
Caught a flight to Denver. Took forty minutes. Checked into the Stouffer Hotel near the airport.
At 3:00 in the morning thought I heard the doorknob being turned - it was the little brats in...
Rolls Royce, Dreadful Dinner, Cute Boys
Weather beautiful, fifty or fifty-five, blue skies. Tried to walk as much as possible. Walked to museum at 2:00, had to do some press interviews. They were boring.
The opening was at 7:00 but we decided to go at 8:00. We were getting the Rolls Royce again. At 7:30 Father Paul arrived and my niece Eva. Ordered double drinks and Father Paul got a little high and they wanted to ride with me so...
All the Women Too Ugly For Portraits
At the airport in the morning I ran into Jean Smith, who was on the same flight. She was with her son, who was sort of big and heavy. She asked about Jamie Wyeth. In Denver there was a blonde girl driving a Rolls Royce, she had on a chauffeur’s cap and gave a tour of the city. Dropped us at the Brown Palace Hotel, an old hotel with a new annex but I decided to stay in the old part. The...
I Never Know What I Want Until I See What I Don't...
Ronnie and I had a flight. He was upset when I said I didn’t want the Hammers & Sickles cut and stretched the way he’d done them while I was away, and he said that he’d done all the work for nothing. I asked him what he would have been doing if he hadn’t been doing that, anyway, so what did it matter if it wasn’t necessary. I said I never know what I want until...
The Cold Wave is the Big News
Joe Dallesandro came by 860 for lunch. I asked him how his brother Bobby had really died, and he finally changed it from the “accident” he said it was originally to what really happened. Bobby hung himself. Joe was quiet at lunch.
Finally got to bed early for a night. The cold wave is the big news. And the gas shortage they’re playing up.
September 2008
46 posts
Worked until 7:30. Went to Regine's.
Vincent heard that Joe Dallesandro’s foster mother died on Long Island last week. This is two weeks after his brother Bobby died, and Joe’s still here in this country - he hasn’t gone back to Europe yet.
Worked until 7:30. Went to Regine’s. Warren Beatty was there looking a little older and heavier. Jack Nicholson was there looking a little older and heavier. Anjelica...
Popcorn, Don Johnson and Social-Climbing
The museum opening of the portraits by Jamie and me was at 6:00. The tour organizer took Catherine and me around the Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood. We tried to grab hot dogs, we were so hungry, but he whisked us away. There was a staircase there brought from England. The popcorn machine was at the top of it and Catherine and I went to get some, we were eating and talking and we noticed that...
Cheerleaders
Catherine off the plane first, given a bouquet, and then everyone was. About eight cheerleaders were there to greet us in blue outfits with “W” on them, pom-pom girls, doing Warhol-Wyeth cheers.
Staying with a guy named Martin and his wife Peggy who are the Jack Daniel’s people.
Went backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, went into the dressing room. Marty Robbins was practicing.
People kept coming in and out of the apartment all day starting at 5:00. Mick arrived so drunk from an afternoon with Peter Beard and Francis Bacon that he fell asleep on my bed. At 11:00 we tried to wake him up but he was too asleep. Club Sept with Peter and Mona Christiansen and Jed.
Lots of Attention
Up at 10:00. Staying at Fred’s apartment. Made a lunch date with Peter Beard. Went out shopping and ran into Mick Jagger.
Went to Schiaparelli’s show. They gave us a good seat and lots of attention. The show was awful, based on “The Three Graces” by Botticelli. One dress was worth $2 million or something and the best thing was the armed guards around it.
Sobered Up
Alitalia flight. Five and a half hours. Read the Rome Daily American, Carter inaugurated. Disgusting drinks on the plane. Airport empty, disorganized. While standing there ran into Marina Cicogna and Florinda Bolkan coming from St. Moritz. Hotel suite wasn’t ready so we had to have lunch in the dining room. While we were there we ran into Helmut Newton and Patrick the makeup artist. And...
Learn the Customs
Went to the exhibition for a tea party and had to drink more tea and then we were invited by the English ambassador to drop by. His daughter was there, she was seventeen and drew cartoons about fags. She was cute and funny. Had her father’s chin, which was no chin. There were a lot of English people there who’d been living and working in Kuwait for years. Left. Big rainstorm.
...
Not One Original Style
Up after restless night at 9:00. James Mayor urgently calling - we were always late because it was always so boring we weren’t in a hurry. Visited a Kuwaiti artist atelier. Three artists in each room. This time tea or orange pop. Visited each stall, had to. One guy painted in Picasso-Chagall style. Not one original style. They sit on the floor and paint on rugs and pillows, it looked...
Only the Rich
Carred over to see a rich collector named Fahad al Dabbous. Chubby and cute. He had a lot of paintings around on the wall, some Dalis, one sort of big one, lots of male friends there, most in costume, a couple of wives. They had drinks there, also - only the rich, remember? A big spread on table, nothing compared to Iran’s big spreads. The men looked fat, but usually in costume you...
When Am I Leaving?
Visit to the National Museum, there’s no history to this place, it goes back twenty-five years. There were like eight rooms, one had three coins in the whole room. Think there was one room that Alexander left some pots in. Alexander the Great - three pots and four coins. A room with yesterday’s dresses. More tea and coffee with the director. Just sat there, there was nothing to do....
“So I guess everybody has their own time and place when they turn themselves on....”
Sex and Girls
Went to Nadja’s gallery. Had some more of the sweet funny coffee they offer you all the time, you go crazy. We didn’t know that if you don’t shake your cup they keep pouring it in.
Bought five more copies of the Kuwait Times. Calligraphy beautiful, no Pop there. Went to different drugstores looking for A-200. To hotel. Ordered dinner before dinner. The people we were having...
Some Dump
Up at 9:30. Breakfast toast and tea. James called, meeting downstairs at 12:00. We were taken to a place that looked like some dump, but then everything here does, and it wasn’t until days later that we realized it had been a chic place. Outside the sun was warm with a lot of cars going by - big Rolls Royces, big American cars. They gave us two cars but we only used one. Went back to the...
Strange Coffee
Woke up when the plane landed. Arrived at 11:00 late at night. Met at the airport by some Arabs. There was a girl Nadja, from the Council of Culture, who’d arranged the show. They made us drink some strange coffee at the airport.
To Kuwait
Up at 7:00 for the flight to Kuwait. Tired. Packed, showered. Looked for crabs, still. Sent the hotel bill to the Mayor Gallery. Picked up James Mayor at his place. He’d gotten us second-class seats, I was really mad, but there was one first-class one and I got it. Kuwait Air. The plane had to stop at Frankfurt and lots of people got on there. Read The Users by Joyce Haber, very boring,...
Found a Crab
Arrived in London and didn’t expect anyone to meet us, but Lady Ann Lambton was standing there with a chauffer and we were really happy to see her. She had a broken neck, it was in a brace.
Stayed at the Ritz.
Ann called her sister Rose and Oliver Musker and we decided to meet them at Morton’s. Had orange and champagne to drink, and a steak sandwich which was horrible. Left for the...
A Great Dinner
Dropped Jamie at the art store. The office was jumping, Vincent was going crazy. Bianca called and said she was having a birthday dinner that night for Joel LeBon who works for Pierre Berge. Potassa the drag queen was at the office in a homemade black and gold fantasy dress and Jamie got fascinated and painted her in the dress with her cock showing. He’ll be painting at 860 for about two...
Elaine's
When I got to 860 a big CBS crew was filming Jamie Wyeth with Arnold Schwarzenegger posing for him for a show called Who’s Who. Cabbed up with Jamie and Arnold to a lunch at Elaine’s for Arnold’s movie Pumping Iron. Stopped at the Ritz Towers, had to wait five minutes for Paulette Goddard to come downstairs. She was wearing all her jewelry and was funny. She said, “If...
Gallery Opening (Continued)
Bianca and Tony Portago look really in love. This started over the holidays. C.Z.’s son, Alexander Guest was there. Giorgio Sant’Angelo, Sylvia Miles, Ronee Blakley, Francesco Scavullo and Sean Byrnes, Irving Blum and Charles Cowles. Moet Chandon champagne. The Soho News guy Michael Goldstein was there, being awful. I gave Jed money to entertain at dinner afterwards because I had to...
Gallery Opening
At six o’clock everyone was still at the office waiting around to go to my opening down at Castelli, so we went and at first it was empty, but we grouped around the bar setup drinking champagne and then it started getting jammed. There was the big “Hammer & Sickle,” and eight small ones. David Whitney, Philip Johnson, David White were there. Paulette Goddard arrived, she said...
Poppers
Victor gave out fake poppers. Regine said they smelled like feet and I told her they were called “Locker Room” and she liked that. Bianca started to giggle and she was carrying on over a popper with Tony Portago, and they were sort of making out, but she pulled herself together, she realized that she couldn’t do that in public, but she’s the most beautiful when she giggles,...
The Food Was Awful
Bianca was wearing a strapless Halston dress. There were South Americans at a lot of tables. The dinner hadn’t started yet, and while they were still in pre-dinner, at the bar, Catherine and Victor walked in for “coffee.” When dinner started they were put at a separate little table, and when Victor pointed at my table and said he wanted the same thing, they said,...
Come For Coffee
Fred had to go to a meeting at our lawyer Bob Montgomery’s about the New World distributing deal for Bad. Roger Corman himself hasn’t seen Bad but Fred says that doesn’t matter because Corman doesn’t pick the movies, that this other guy Bob Rehme does. They’ll try different ways of opening it around the country to see what works best before bringing it into New York.
...
Happy New Year, darling
Diane de Beauvau took my hand and we ran into the next room right as midnight was coming on. I sort of wanted to stay and kiss the old bags like I did the year before because actually it was so much fun to do - to kiss ninety-year-old Elsie Woodward and say, “Happy New Year, darling.” Then Minnie de Beauvau came in and got Diane and told her she had to go back in and say Happy New Year...
