Paul Morrissey | |
|---|---|
) Morrissey in 1967 | |
| Born | February 23, 1938 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Known for | Warhol superstar |
)
Paul Morrissey (born February 23, 1938) is an American film director, best known for his association with Andy Warhol.[1] He was also director of the first film in which a transsexual actress, Holly Woodlawn, starred as a girlfriend of the main character played by Joe Dallesandro in Trash (1970).[2]
Life and career
Of Irish extraction, Morrissey attended Ampleforth College and Fordham University, both Catholic schools, and later served in the United States Army.[3] A political conservative and self-described "right-winger",[4] who has publicly protested against immorality and anti-Catholicism, Morrissey's long-term collaboration with the low-keyed, apparently apolitical Warhol was viewed by many as "a successful mismatch", although both men did share some traits, e.g. both were practicing Catholics from ethnic backgrounds (Warhol was of Rusyn descent).[5]
Morrissey's bold, avant-garde direction in film making is often attributed to his relationship with Warhol and The Factory, although Morrissey claimed in his memoir, Factory Days, that this is not the case.[6]
Despite his conservative background, Morrissey was among the first film directors to cast a transsexual from Warhol's inner circle in his films Trash (1970) and Women in Revolt (1971).
For an analysis of each of Morrissey's feature films, see Maurice Yacowar, The Films of Paul Morrissey (Cambridge UP).
Filmography
- All Aboard the Dreamland Choo-Choo (short) (1964)
- About Face (short) (1964)
- Like Sleep (short) (1965)
- Chelsea Girls (1966)
- The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound (1966)
- I, a Man (1967)
- San Diego Surf (1968)
- The Loves of Ondine (1968)
- Flesh (1968)
- Lonesome Cowboys (uncredited) (1968)
- Trash (1970)
- I Miss Sonia Henie (short) (1971)
- Women in Revolt (1971)
- Heat (1972)
- L'Amour (1973)
- Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)
- Blood for Dracula (1974)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)
- Madame Wang's (1981)
- Forty Deuce (1982)
- Mixed Blood (1984)
- Le Neveu de Beethoven (1985)
- Spike of Bensonhurst (1988)
- Veruschka: A Life for the Camera (documentary) (2005)
- A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory (documentary) (2007) by Esther Robinson[7]
- News From Nowhere (2010)
References
- ^ Grimes, William (1995-12-26). "A Warhol Director On What Is Sordid, Then and on MTV (Published 1995)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
- ^ Stevens, Christopher (2010). Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams. John Murray. p. 406. ISBN 1-84854-195-3.
- ^ "Film Reference's in-depth biography of Morrissey". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
- ^ "Cinema is your symptom blogsite" Archived August 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Paul R. Magocsi, Encyclopedia of Rusyn history and culture, University of Toronto Press, 2002, p. 71
- ^ Factory Days: Paul Morrissey Remembers the Sixties (2006), imdb.com; accessed February 23, 2017.
- ^ Scott, A. O. (14 December 2007). "A Walk Into the Sea - Movies - Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2019.