Andy Warhol’s right-hand man: US director Paul Morrissey has died

The US film director Paul Morrissey is dead. He died on Monday (October 28) after suffering from pneumonia at the age of 86 in a hospital in Manhattan. The director, born in New York City in 1938, became best known for his collaboration with artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol (1928-1987).

Paul Morrissey met the pop art star in 1965. He became one of Warhol’s most important collaborators and his right-hand man when it came to his public image. Morrissey is also considered the discoverer and temporary manager of the rock band The Velvet Underground, founded in New York City in 1964. Their first album was again produced by Andy Warhol.

The two also worked on films together, including the underground trilogy consisting of “Flesh” (1968), “Trash” (1970) and “Heat” (1972), all of which were made on a budget of less than $10,000. Paul Morrissey directed and wrote the film and Warhol produced it. The topic was outsiders who find themselves in difficult living conditions due to drugs and prostitution. The two often relied on amateur and young actors and helped lead actor Joe Dallesandro (75) achieve success. In “Women in Revolt” (1971) they focused on three trans women.

Morrissey also directed the horror films “Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein” (1973) with Udo Kier (80) as Baron Frankenstein and “Andy Warhol’s Dracula” (1974) with Kier as Count Dracula. A little later, the collaboration between the two ended and Morrissey made films such as “The Hound of the Baskervilles” (1978), which were less than convincing to critics and audiences.

His last film, the drama “News From Nowhere”, was released in 2010. Regarding Warhol, he is said to have made critical comments after the collaboration ended, claiming, among other things, that Warhol’s alleged works were produced by partners who simply used his name to increase prices.

According to The New York Times, Paul Morrissey is survived by his brother Kenneth Morrissey and eight nieces and nephews.