Saturday, July 16, 2005

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Saturday, June 26, 1982

Went down to Heartbreak, the new discotheque near Vandam near the Paradise Ballroom. It's a cafeteria in the daytime and then a disco at night, and the music is all fifties and some sixties and everybody dresses the way they want and everybody dances the way they want. If you did a movie of it, it would be so underplayed. And all the kids at Heartbreak were coming over and saying that I'd told them at Studio 54 I'd look at their work, and all I could say was, "Well, so when are you coming down? and even the doorman at heartbreak I think is coming to show me his work."

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Tuesday, June 8, 1982--New York--Baltimore--New York

I had to go to Baltimore to see Richard Weisman's father, Fred, present my portraits for Ten Sports Figures to the University of Maryland. By the way, does the Diary know that Fred Weisman got his skull fractured by Frank Sinatra in the sixties? At the Polo Lounge in Los Angeles. They didn't know each other. Sinatra hit him with a phone.

Decided to fly on New York Air because I'd done the commerical for them, and it was a mistake because the plane didn't take off for forty-five minutes, they said they were waiting for parts but I think they were just waiting for the plane to fill up. And nobody mentioned my commercial not even the stewardess when she handed me a bagel.

Arrived at University of Maryland and a girl comes running up and says, "How does it feel to be at the school that graduated Valerie Solanis?" I didn't know that Valerie went there! I'd never heard that, so that was new.

Was photographed and invited to the house of the president. And so we walked over across the campus, to his house, to sit and chat with a select few, which is always so boring. Got the shuttle and was back in New York at 3:45.

Rupert came and we worked onthe poster for the Fassbinder movie till 8:00.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Saturday, June 5, 1982

Up early. Got supplies for the office ($22.73, $33.82). I went into one of those Korean produce stores and there were about fifteen people in there, it was mobbed, and I listened to this guy rave about a pineapple for ten minutes, and by the time he was through, i was dying to get one, too. He was saying, "I want it ripe and ready! Luscious! Ready to eat, right off the bat!" And then I turned around and it was Nixon. And one of the daughters was with him, but looking older--maybe Julie, I think. And he looked pudgy, like a dickens character, fat with a belly. And they had him sign for the bill. There were Secret Service with him. and the girl at the cash register said he was "Number-One Charge."

Went to My Dinner with Andre (cab $4) and there was a line so I told the girl that Andre sent us and would she please let us in and she thought I meant for free, but I said that I'd pay. I fell asleep, it was so boring. Hippie talk. I guess the kids are thinking this is intellectual because it tells about feelings. Home, bed at 1:00 (cab $4).

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Wednesday, May 19, 1982

Went to the Sherry Netherland with Bianca to interview Spielberg and he was really sweet (cab $3). He was on his bed and he invited us to have some dinner. Bianca was hot for him because she wants to be in one of his movies, and he was hot for Bianca because he liked her in her movie. He said that he saw my move Sleep when he was about twelve and that inspired him to make a movie called Snore. He said it was the most fun interview he'd ever done. We were going to invite him down to the office to try to sell him some art but then he suggested it himself. He said he'll be back in town on the twenty-seventh and I said I'd be out of town but we'd arrange something. I dropped Bianca at the Carlyle and I went to Jon's to pick up a script (cab $4). Stayed twenty minutes.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Tuesday, May 11, 1982

Got up early, did the phones. Hd an appointment with Doc Cox, walked up there. The receptionist lit into me about how I didn't pay my bills on time and how Vincent was so awful when she called and I was starting to tell her off but I stopped. And Doc cox could hear everytihng so I guess he was the one who told her to say those things. And Rosemary is still the big cheese over there. I had an 11:00 appointment but I didn't get out until 1:00 or 1:30.

The New York Times had a big article about gay cancer, and how they don't know what to do with it. That it's epidemic proportions and they say that these kids who have sex all the time have it in their semen and they've already had every kind of disease there is--hepatitis one, two and three, and mononucleosis, and I'm worried that I could get it by drinking out of the same glass or just being around these kids who go to the baths.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Wednesday, april 21, 1982

The limousine was picking us up to take me to Butle Aviation where I was shooting an ad for U.S. Air. They had like 100 people for this commercial and the Rockettes were in it, and Dick Cavett who had just left, and I met the director and the assistant director and I hated them, it was just like Hollywood--guys in gold chains and running shoes and bluejeans.

The make up girl covered my pimple, then I was put on the plane next to alady in a grey wig. My line was that I had to pick up a bagel and say, "What is art?" and i couldn't get it right--the first time I said, "What is a bagel?"--and I had to do twenty takes.

Oh and I could just scream at Paul Morrissey because I open the paper and I see that Frankestein is now playing in fifty theaters and during this time when he's quibbling and nitpicking with me about every little dot in this formal contract he wanted mea to spell out what percentages he owns of which movies, and while he's having his lawyer, Chase mellen, write up every little thing--like in twenty years if I'm not around what happens--here Pinti or some Mafia company or somebody is making a fortune off Frankestein, so why wasn't Paul on top of that? I think I'm now going to really read the contract he wants me to sign and then I'll say that I won't sign things until they're even more spelled out--I mean, what happens if he's not around in twenty years? i don't want to have to negotiate with his mother over foreign rights. I think I'll do that. yeah, I think I will.

And have I mentioned that Mrs. Rupert Murdoch wrote me a letter about saving the church? The one on 66th Street that I go to, St. Vincent Ferrer. It's in danger of people not going to it. It used ot be the chic Catholic church, but now it's always empty.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Sunday, April 4, 1982

Chris called and said he wanted to go to the P.S. 1 thing out in Queens. This thing had gotten good writeups. And Henry Post's live-in boyfriend was exhibiting. The place was packed, and it reminded me of years ago, going to places like Settlement House for these types of things. But years ago they did have better people--Oldenburg and Whitman. Brooke Adams was there, she was sweet, she said hi. And Princess Schleswig-Holstein--Pingle--who we sort of let go from working at the office because she was such an egghead, she was there and now she works at this place about one day a week. We had her give us a tour.

And we saw Henry Post and looked at his boyfriend's stuff which was okay but it was just a copy of Jedd Garet. Jon really sees things in paintings that I don't see. Like, there was an abstract painting and he saw all these figures of people painted over it. They were there but I hadn't seen them and paintings do have things to say, but I never looked at them that way.

There was a cocktail party that Henry was having at Anna Wintour's place where she lives with that Michael Stone.

And Henry put down the Rauschenberg party the day before, saying his was going to be so grand, so chic. But I'm beginning to think that maybe Henry doesn't really know what an elegant party is like, that he hasn't been to many. Because this party--I mean, they didn't even really have food. It was 6:30 to 8:30 and it was broken-up crackers. It was on Broadway and 70th and reason I'm putting it down so much is because Henry put down Rauchenberg's so much, saying how much better his was going to be. And Jed was there. I'd asked Henry if he was going to be, and he said yes, that Jed was one of his best friends. And there were no stars.

Steve Rubell was there. But the strangest thing is that he was with the prosecutor who sent him to jail! And I think Henry--who actually wrote the article that started all the trouble--I think Henry got them together. I mean, it's like if somebody got you evicted form your apartment and then you decided the next year to be friends with them. Or is it trying to get involved with the guy who's smart enough to get you, and getting him then involved in what you do.