Andy Warhol, that guy in the 60s with the Campbell soup can,was not only famous for his brillo pads or techni-colour prints of Marilyn Monroe; he also dabbled underground, 'directing' what he liked to call 'films' which would allow many New Yorkers an iconic existence and 15 minutes of fame.
Amongst those people was a personal favourite of mine, Edie Sedgwick. After watching the film Factory Girl, I became completely transfixed on Edie and her story. She was her own downfall; naive and vulnerable - a strong scent quickly picked up by Andy and his consorts. Her life became a small tragedy within its self and of which many would blame Warhol, as it is believed by some that he lured Edie into a world of freakish acts and drug abuse. He proclaimed her as a 'superstar', only to exploit Edie for the same reasons. But that was the way. It was the art scene after all; anything goes... right?
Well after Edie's reign was over in 1968, (she was still alive at this time, she died later in the 70s from an overdose) Warhol and fellow Factory worker Paul Morrissey discovered a new superstar. His name was Joe Dallesandro. Approached on the street, Joe was told he was a 'fine specimen of a man' and had the potential to become an underground superstar - not so dissimilar to what Edie Sedgwick was told. And again, Joe was young and eager so he fitted right into the Factory.
Loves of Ondine was the first film that Joe made with Warhol and Morrissey. It was a 23 minute piece of footage where Joe wound up shooting a wrestling scene with another guy clad only in his underwear. He was orginally just invited to come along where Warhol and Morrissey were shooting an impromptu marathon movie in Warhol's building apartment. But Morrissey's camera quickly found its way toward the ambivalent, good-looking Joe and the rest is history. He received a lot of praise and attention for his role which led to his second film being made, Lonesome Cowboys. The papers constantly wrote about how beautiful Joe was and the more movies he made, the more of a frenzy the media found themselves in. He became an improbable pioneer of the male sexual revolution and the first film actor to be glorified as a nude sex symbol. Basically Joe was a hit, and Warhol and Morrissey knew it. Ka-ching.
There was undoubtedly a lot of sex and nudity on screen with his films, and god knows what off screen with more drug abuse and love affairs, but this is where Joe's story differs to Edie's.
While Warhol seemed to admire Joe for his sex appeal and beauty just like he did with Edie, Morrissey saw Joe's potential as a serious actor. Lucky for him, Joe went on to make more movies with Morrissey, including Frankenstein and Dracula, which marked a drastic shift in the types of films Joe was associated with and opened up more opportunity in the future. Joe never collapsed under the weight of taboo, whereas Edie's drug addiction and mental instability made her weak and brought her to her knees. Joe was completely uninhibited, and renowned for his 'walk-on-the-wild-side demeanor'. He couldn't be exploited. Perhaps he was just as bizarre as they were in the Factory but this worked for him; Joe Dallesandro is still around today and is still an reasonably respected actor.
Amongst those people was a personal favourite of mine, Edie Sedgwick. After watching the film Factory Girl, I became completely transfixed on Edie and her story. She was her own downfall; naive and vulnerable - a strong scent quickly picked up by Andy and his consorts. Her life became a small tragedy within its self and of which many would blame Warhol, as it is believed by some that he lured Edie into a world of freakish acts and drug abuse. He proclaimed her as a 'superstar', only to exploit Edie for the same reasons. But that was the way. It was the art scene after all; anything goes... right?
Well after Edie's reign was over in 1968, (she was still alive at this time, she died later in the 70s from an overdose) Warhol and fellow Factory worker Paul Morrissey discovered a new superstar. His name was Joe Dallesandro. Approached on the street, Joe was told he was a 'fine specimen of a man' and had the potential to become an underground superstar - not so dissimilar to what Edie Sedgwick was told. And again, Joe was young and eager so he fitted right into the Factory.
Loves of Ondine was the first film that Joe made with Warhol and Morrissey. It was a 23 minute piece of footage where Joe wound up shooting a wrestling scene with another guy clad only in his underwear. He was orginally just invited to come along where Warhol and Morrissey were shooting an impromptu marathon movie in Warhol's building apartment. But Morrissey's camera quickly found its way toward the ambivalent, good-looking Joe and the rest is history. He received a lot of praise and attention for his role which led to his second film being made, Lonesome Cowboys. The papers constantly wrote about how beautiful Joe was and the more movies he made, the more of a frenzy the media found themselves in. He became an improbable pioneer of the male sexual revolution and the first film actor to be glorified as a nude sex symbol. Basically Joe was a hit, and Warhol and Morrissey knew it. Ka-ching.
There was undoubtedly a lot of sex and nudity on screen with his films, and god knows what off screen with more drug abuse and love affairs, but this is where Joe's story differs to Edie's.
While Warhol seemed to admire Joe for his sex appeal and beauty just like he did with Edie, Morrissey saw Joe's potential as a serious actor. Lucky for him, Joe went on to make more movies with Morrissey, including Frankenstein and Dracula, which marked a drastic shift in the types of films Joe was associated with and opened up more opportunity in the future. Joe never collapsed under the weight of taboo, whereas Edie's drug addiction and mental instability made her weak and brought her to her knees. Joe was completely uninhibited, and renowned for his 'walk-on-the-wild-side demeanor'. He couldn't be exploited. Perhaps he was just as bizarre as they were in the Factory but this worked for him; Joe Dallesandro is still around today and is still an reasonably respected actor.
