Saturday, August 13, 2005

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Monday, may 9, 1983

Karen Burke called and I didn't want to take the call, she was that girl who used to come down with Hoveyda, and she likes older men or something. But then she told Brigid she was almost a doctor and that she was a collagen and hair-transplant expert so I took the call, and she said she wanted to become my personal doctor for all this stuff. She said she'll be getting her license to practice in three months. She came down with about 4,000 free samples. She said she worked with Orentreich. She's the one that Rupert got the human heart from when I was doing the Hearts. She took it from a cadaver, I guess. Those Hearts of mine weren't a hit because I didn't figure out how to do them right. I was beginning to use my abstract look. Worked all afternoon.

Watched cable TV looking for Andy Warhol's TV but it wasn't on, so called Vincent and he was in bed already and didn't know why it hadn't been on.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Tuesday, April 12, 1983

Everyone was calling because the Village Voice ran a three-page putdown of my wig. It was a writeup of the Studio 54 party for our TV show.

I was being picked up at 4:00 by Ron Feldman and his wife in a limo to go up to the Museum of Natural History for my Endangered Species opening. So they picked me up and she was wearing plastic jewelry, the kind I collected years ago.

Rupert is getting tanner and tanner every day. Instead of working, he's going to the tanning places.

There was a crowd in front of the museum when we got there and I thought it was for me, but they were filming a Disney movie. And then later when we were coming out, the movie people were chasing a big rat that had gottn into one of the actors' trailers.

Originally they were going to have my show in the lobby, but then they put it way back, so you had to go through the rooms of dinosaurs and finally get to this little room where I was. But it looked great, really beautiful. White-framed.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Thursday, April 7, 1983

Jed called. It's the first time in two years I've had a regular conversation with him. He said Keith Richards wants to buy Patti Hansen a ruby and wants to know where to get it appraised, but really, any place might switch a stone on you. The only one I was sure wouldn't is John Reinhold. Because it happened to him in San Antonio--somebody switched a stone in what he'd sold them and then said that he'd done it and so there wouldn't be trouble, he paid. Because you can never prove it. And even the reputable places I think do it. Where it really happens is at auctions. You take it over in a corner and look at it and you can switch it.

Benjamin picked me up and we went over to meet Paige Powell at Dino De Laurentiis's big store on Columbus (cab $3). I told the manager I knew dino and he took us to the basement and through the kitchen area which is a block long. I asked them what they do with the leftovers and they said they have poorhouses who come and take them. But I would think the employees take most of it. Do you think at the poorhouses they're eating pate de foie gras? And there was a lady cutting pasta as if it were a dress, really big.

Then we went to Salou florist. Gave an Interview to a cop. Went to Charivari across the street. I was dropped off by Benjamin and Jay ($5).

Met Chris, Peter, and a friend of theirs who raises money for Democratic candidates, he makes a thousand a week doing that. His last candidate lost. He said the wife of the guy would put on her diamonds and her designer dresses to go into the poor neighborhoods because she wanted him to lose--she didn't want to leave town and go to Washington. And she would say, "I know how it must hurt all you poor people to see us come down here in our rich clothes..." He said she was nuts. He told me that they have a machine that puts stamps on letters crooked because then you get a better response--more homey.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Friday, March 25, 1983

Princess Pignatelli came down, her husband has 200 photographs of me that he wants me to sign. And I talked to him on the phone and I was talking to a wall. I said, "But they're your photographs, why do you want me to sign them?" and he'd say, "But they're of you," and I'd say, "But they're your photographs." Two hundred prints. so we left it that way.

And Ina Ginsburg was there and her son Mark, and she wants the portraits red one and one thing she wants me to change is the color of her hair. And Mark took me aside and said, "It's because it reminds her of the concentration camp. She doesn't want to think of herself as that brown-haired person."

Decided to see The Outsiders which was just opening, and I loved it, it was like watching Lonesome Cowboy. You can't believe it--Young boys with dyed hair reading poetry in the sunset. The Sal Mineo type. and then they're in this old church hiding and the boy says, "All I really want you to do is read Gone with the Wind out loud to me." And all the boys are so cute. And this Scmaltzy music playing as if the boys are going to kiss. Things were all cut up so they didn't make sense. It was like seeing Bruce Weber photographs. Everybody was a raving beauty.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Monday, March 14, 1983

I went to 47th Street to see Boris who hasn't had anything new in so long, he was crying poor. Nobody's buying art and nobody's selling for some strange reason. And no auctions, either.

Rupert called and said Ron Feldman wanted me to come right down to the gallery on Greene Street and sign prints. I said to tell him to fuck off, that I'd be down when I felt like it. And then Ron called himself and said that he would give me my check if I came down, and then I felt like it. He said he'd send someone for me, because I said I didn't want to go down alone, so Rupert came up in a cab for me--I'd thought he was going to send a limo. So I went down there and Ron took me into his office and said, "And now we're going to talk about sheets and pillowcases." I said, "No, We're not." I said, "Well, sonny, I've turned down millions of dollars in deals for sheets and pillow cases and I'm not going to it for you."

I left with Robert who works for Rupert (cab $5).

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Monday, march 7, 1983

I went to Dr. Silver the pimple doctor (cab $7) and he said I should drink more water, and I will, but I'm not sure I like peeing a lot, because then I'd have to go home more because I don't like to use public bathrooms at all.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Tuesday, February 15, 1983

Woke up with the same old unhappiness and crud. Oh, but Lucy is making me happy this morning. I Love Lucy. She's so funny. She's at the Brown Derby with Ethel and Fred, and she stared at William Holden so he's staring at her while she eats spaghetti and Ethel has to cut off the strands. Oh it's good. She's disguised and her fake nose catches on fire! It's the funniest one.

Called Catherine about the lunch we were having for her that afternoon at the office. She invited about thirty people.

Was picked up by Benjamin and went to Doc Cox's and saw Rosemary who's back. She says she stays up listening to Mahler and reading icon books and she goes to work at 4:00 in the morning and finishes by 100:00.

Left there and went to Sotheby's but they tried to make me check my bags, and I told them no, and then they wouldn't let me in so I walked out, I told them they were losing my business for good. I mean, it's my "purse." Ladies don't have to check their purses, so why should I?

Forgot to say that Diana Ross sent me a big bowl of candy kisses and she's so sweet, I have to send her something. It looked like she could have wrapped this up herself.

Oh,and Crazy Matty had been up at 860 and left the worst letter, it was crazy like Hinckley or something.

And Bob Colacello was invited to our lunch forr Catherine but he turned it down by saying, "I have to go to a meeting with my agent."