Editing Paul Morrissey

{{Short description|American film director (1938–2024)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Paul Morrissey
| image              = Paul Morrissey photobooth self portrait 1967.jpg
| caption            = Morrissey in 1967
| birth_name         = Paul Joseph Morrissey
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1938|02|23}}
| birth_place        = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2024|10|28|1938|2|23}}
| death_place        = New York City, U.S.
| known_for          = [[Warhol superstar]]
| occupation         = Filmmaker
| alma_mater         = [[Fordham University]]
| years_active       = 1961–2010
}}

'''Paul Joseph Morrissey''' (February 23, 1938 – October 28, 2024) was an American film director, known for his early association with [[Andy Warhol]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Grimes|first=William|date=December 26, 1995|title=A Warhol Director On What Is Sordid, Then and on MTV (Published 1995)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/26/movies/a-warhol-director-on-what-is-sordid-then-and-on-mtv.html|access-date=December 2, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His most famous films include ''[[Flesh (1968 film)|Flesh]]'' (1968), ''[[Trash (1970 film)|Trash]]'' (1970), ''[[Heat (1972 film)|Heat]]'' (1972), ''[[Flesh for Frankenstein]]'' (1973), and ''[[Blood for Dracula]]'' (1974), all starring [[Joe Dallesandro]], 1971's ''[[Women in Revolt]]'' and the 1980s New York trilogy ''[[Forty Deuce]]'' (1982), ''[[Mixed Blood (1984 film)|Mixed Blood]]'' (1984), and ''[[Spike of Bensonhurst]]'' (1988).<ref>{{Cite web |last=King-Clements |first=Eloise |date=February 22, 2024 |title=Brontez Purnell on Paul Morrissey, the OG Edgelord |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/brontez-purnell-on-paul-morrissey-the-og-edgelord |access-date=May 18, 2024 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

From 1965 to 1973, Morrissey ran the publicity and filmmaking activity for Warhol at [[The Factory]] (first at 231 E. 47th St. and then at 33 [[Union Square (Manhattan)|Union Square]] West in New York City).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://denniscooperblog.com/paul-morrissey-day/ | title=Paul Morrissey Day – DC's | date=April 3, 2021 }}</ref> Additionally, between 1966 and 1967, he managed the [[Velvet Underground and Nico]] and co-conceived and named Warhol's traveling multi-media [[Happening]] the [[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]].<ref>Bockris, Victor and Gerard Malanga. ''Up-Tight: The Velvet Underground Story''. Omnibus Press. 1983. pp 30</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://warholstars.org/velvet_underground_cafe_bizarre.html | title=Velvet Underground, Expanded Cinema and Cafe Bizarre }}</ref> In 1969, alongside Warhol and publisher [[John Wilcock]], Morrissey launched the print magazine ''[[Interview (magazine)|Interview]]'' hiring its longtime editor [[Bob Colacello]] in autumn 1970.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://warholstars.org/warhol/warhol1/warhol1c/warhol1cl/interview.html | title=Andy Warhol's Interview magazine }}</ref>

In 1971, Warhol and Morrissey purchased Eothen in [[Montauk, New York]], a 12-hectare oceanfront estate on the Long Island shore for $225,000.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.anothermanmag.com/life-culture/10203/the-humble-fishing-town-that-became-a-hideaway-for-warhols-gang | title=The Humble Fishing Town that Became a Hideaway for Warhol's Gang | date=February 27, 2018 }}</ref> Morrissey would sell the estate in 2006 to J. Crew CEO [[Millard Drexler]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.corcoran.com/nyc/press-mention/display/4847 | title="Bonuses bump up eastern Long Island sales" - by: Rachel Deahl, the Real Deal &#124; the Corcoran Group }}</ref>

In 1998, Morrissey was given the [[Jack Smith (film director)|Jack Smith]] Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chicago Underground Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=August 7, 1998 |title=UNDERGROUND FILM FEST A MIX OF THE TASTELESS AND THE ARTFUL |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/08/07/underground-film-fest-a-mix-of-the-tasteless-and-the-artful/ |access-date=May 18, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life and career ==
Born in [[Manhattan]], New York, on February 23, 1938, to [[Irish Catholic]] parents Joseph and Eleanor Morrissey, Paul Joseph Morrissey grew up in [[Yonkers, New York]].<ref name = Grimes>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/movies/paul-morrissey-dead.html|title = Paul Morrissey, Andy Warhol's Cinematic Collaborator, Dies at 86|last = Grimes|first = William|date = October 28, 2024|accessdate = October 28, 2024|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|url-access = limited}}</ref><ref>Yacowar, Maurice. ''The Films of Paul Morrissey''. Cambridge University Press, 1993. pp 13</ref> The fourth of five children, Morrissey attended [[Fordham Prep]] and [[Fordham University]], both Catholic schools. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]],<ref name = Grimes/> going through basic training at [[Fort Benning]] and [[Fort Dix]], achieving the rank of [[First lieutenant|First Lieutenant]]. While in the [[United States Army Reserve|reserves]] following active duty, he moved to the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]] in late 1960 and opened the Exit Gallery, a small cinematheque at 36 E. 4th St., where he programmed a mix of underground films and documentaries, including ''Icarus'' (1960), [[Brian De Palma]]'s first film.<ref name="The Films of Paul Morrissey">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5RfCEnrMhwC | title=The Films of Paul Morrissey | isbn=978-0-521-38993-8 | last1=Yacowar | first1=Maurice | date=May 28, 1993 | publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> Simultaneously, Morrissey began making his own short, silent 16mm comedies, including ''Mary Martin Does It'' (1962), ''Taylor Mead Dances'' (1963), and ''Like Sleep'' (1964).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://brooklynrail.org/2005/12/film/the-wild-wild-east | title=The Wild, Wild East | date=December 10, 2005 }}</ref><ref name="The Films of Paul Morrissey"/> 
[[File:Village Voice ad for the Film-makers' Cinematheque. June 17, 1965. p. 15.png|thumb|''Village Voice'' ad for the Film-makers' Cinematheque. June 17, 1965]]

Introduced by poet and filmmaker [[Gerard Malanga]], he first met Andy Warhol in June 1965 at the Astor Place Playhouse, where Morrissey was having a retrospective of his work. Taken by Morrissey's resourcefulness and filmmaking expertise, Warhol invited him to the Factory to assist him with his next project, ''[[Space (1965 film)|Space]]'', filmed at the E. 47th St. Factory in July 1965 and featuring [[Edie Sedgwick]], [[Danny Fields]], Donald Lyons (a friend of Morrissey's from his Fordham University days), and folk singer [[Eric Andersen]]. Several more Warhol-Morrissey collaborations followed, including ''[[My Hustler]]'' (1965), ''[[The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound]]'' (1966), ''[[More Milk, Yvette]]'' (1966), ''[[Chelsea Girls]]'' (1966), ''[[Imitation of Christ (film)|Imitation of Christ]]'' (1967), ''[[Tub Girls]]'' (1967), ''[[Bike Boy]]'' (1967), ''[[I, a Man]]'' (1967), ''[[San Diego Surf (film)|San Diego Surf]]'' (1968), and ''[[Lonesome Cowboys]]'' (1968).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paul Morrissey meets Andy Warhol |url=https://warholstars.org/chron/paul65n14.html |access-date=May 18, 2024 |website=warholstars.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://warholstars.org/warhol/warhol1/andy/warhol/can/paul12.html | title=Warholstars Condensed 12 }}</ref>
[[File:Warhol and Morrissey filming Lonesome Cowboys in Arizona. January 1968..png|thumb|Warhol and Morrissey filming Viva and Taylor Mead in ''Lonesome Cowboys''. Oracle, Arizona. January 1968]]

While filming a scene in [[John Wilcock]]'s Manhattan apartment for Warhol's 25-hour movie ''[[Four Stars (1967 film)|Four Stars]]'', Morrissey first met [[Joe Dallesandro]], who had friends who lived in the same building.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://warholstars.org/warhol/warhol1/andy/warhol/can/joe13.html | title=Warholstars Condensed 13 }}</ref> Morrissey immediately cast him in a scene in ''Loves of Ondine'' (1967), Dallesandro's first appearance in a Factory film.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sandstrom |first=Emily |date=February 5, 2024 |title=Joe Dallesandro Tells Bruce LaBruce About Life as a Warhol Superstar |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/joe-dallesandro-tells-bruce-labruce-about-life-as-a-warhol-superstar |access-date=May 18, 2024 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

After [[Valerie Solanas]]'s attempt on Warhol's life in June 1968, Morrissey directed his first solo feature, ''[[Flesh (1968 film)|Flesh]]''. Produced for $4,000 by Warhol and starring Dallesandro, [[Maurice Braddell]], [[Geri Miller]], [[Geraldine Smith (actress)|Geraldine Smith]], [[Patti D'Arbanville]], [[Louis Waldon]], [[Jackie Curtis]], and [[Candy Darling]], the film was a box-office hit in [[West Germany]], with over 3 million tickets sold.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flesh |url=https://warholstars.org/flesh.html |access-date=May 18, 2024 |website=warholstars.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/the-bitchy-humor-feels-fresh-in-conversation-with-paul-morrissey-archivist-michael-chaiken | title="The Bitchy Humor Feels Fresh": Interview Presents, "The Gospel According to Paul Morrissey" | date=April 2024 }}</ref>
[[File:Flesh (1968) Joe Dallesandro and Louis Waldon (1200 dpi).jpg|thumb|''Flesh'' (1968)]]

The commercial and popular success of ''Flesh'' continued into the 1970s with two more films Morrissey directed, produced by Warhol and starring Dallesandro: ''[[Trash (1970 film)|Trash]]'', featuring [[Jane Forth]] and [[Holly Woodlawn]], the first transgender actress ever cast as the girlfriend of a lead character,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Linda |date=March 5, 2000 |title=A NIGHT OUT WITH: Holly Woodlawn; Talking 'Trash' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/05/style/a-night-out-with-holly-woodlawn-talking-trash.html |access-date=May 18, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and ''[[Heat (1972 film)|Heat]]'', a satire about Hollywood based on ''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' starring Dallesandro and [[Sylvia Miles]].

In 1971, Morrissey executive produced and directed ''[[Women in Revolt]]'', a send-up of the [[Women's liberation movement]] starring trans [[Warhol superstars]] [[Jackie Curtis]], [[Holly Woodlawn]], and [[Candy Darling]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://warholstars.org/women-in-revolt.html | title=Women in Revolt }}</ref> A film still of Darling from ''Women in Revolt'' appears on the cover of [[The Smiths]]' single "[[Sheila Take a Bow]]", the second time a Morrissey film appeared on the cover of a Smiths record.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/the-smiths/who-were-the-smiths-album-cover-stars/ | title=Who are the Smiths' album and single cover stars? | date=September 18, 2019 }}</ref>

Reflecting on this period in an interview with [[Lucy Hughes-Hallett]] in March 1978, Morrissey said: "To me, moviemaking is dealing with personalities, people who are always the way they are in every film, like [[John Wayne]] or [[Clint Eastwood]], that kind of film-star personality, which is not very fashionable now. It doesn't really matter what the camera's doing as long as the people are worth watching."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.roxycinemanewyork.com/stories/the-gospel-according-to-paul-morrissey/ | title=The Gospel According to Paul Morrissey}}</ref>

== Post-Factory years ==
In March 1973, Morrissey went to [[Rome]] and directed two back-to-back features, ''[[Flesh for Frankenstein]]'' (1973) and ''[[Blood for Dracula]]'' (1974), starring Dallesandro and [[Udo Kier]]. Produced by [[Carlo Ponti]] and presented by Warhol, their international success propelled Morrissey out of the Factory and into his first and only attempt at directing a studio film, ''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978 film)|The Hound of the Baskervilles]]'', co-written by Morrissey, [[Peter Cook]], and [[Dudley Moore]]. It was a commercial and critical flop.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.splittoothmedia.com/paul-morrissey-hound-of-the-baskervilles/ | title=Superstars to Movie Stars: Paul Morrissey and 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (1978) | date=October 12, 2021 }}</ref> Morrissey moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s and returned to independently produced features, starting with ''[[Madame Wang's]]'' (1981), a satire of the LA punk-rock scene, starring Patrick Schoene and Morrissey's niece Christina Indri.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://home-of-films.com/en/festival-film/madame-wangs/ | title=Madame Wang's }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://burningretina.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/madame-wangs/ | title=Madame Wang's | date=January 2013 }}</ref>
[[File:Madame Wang's Paris Olympia 2 screenings May 1981 blue flyer copy.tif|thumb|''Madame Wang's'' (1981)]]
[[File:Forty Deuce poster 1982.png|thumb|''Forty Deuce'' (1982)]]
[[File:Mixed Blood (promo sheet) ca. 1985.jpg|thumb|''Mixed Blood'' (1984)]]

Returning to New York City in the early 1980s, Morrissey began a collaboration with playwright and screenwriter [[Alan Bowne]], directing a film version of his 1981 play ''[[Forty Deuce]]'' (1982) starring [[Orson Bean]] and [[Kevin Bacon]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.artforum.com/events/forty-deuce-directed-and-adapted-by-paul-morrissey-from-the-play-by-alan-bowne-224569/ | title="Forty Deuce," directed and adapted by Paul Morrissey from the play by Alan Bowne | date=February 9, 1985 }}</ref> Morrissey worked again with Bowne on the screenplays for ''[[Mixed Blood (1984 film)|Mixed Blood]]'' (1984) and ''[[Spike of Bensonhurst]]'' (1988), completing a trilogy of films taking a satirical, empathetic look at the political, social and moral decay of New York City and its outer boroughs during the [[Ed Koch]] years.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/11/11/spike-of-bensonhurst-a-comedy-streaked-with-despair/ | title='Spike of Bensonhurst' A Comedy Streaked with Despair | website=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=November 11, 1988 }}</ref>

In later years, Morrissey was publicly critical of Warhol, saying that work attributed to Warhol was created by associates without his involvement, and expressing frustration when his films were associated with Warhol's name.<ref name = Grimes/><ref name = Vlessing>{{cite news|url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/paul-morrissey-andy-warhol-collaborator-dies-86-1236046767/|title = Paul Morrissey, Cult Director and Andy Warhol Collaborator, Dies at 86|last = Vlessing|first = Etan|date = October 28, 2024|accessdate = October 30, 2024|work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref>

[[File:Spike_of_Bensonhurst_poster_1988.png|thumb|''Spike of Bensonhurst'' (1988)]]

Morrissey's last feature, ''News From Nowhere'' (2010), made its U.S. debut at [[Film at Lincoln Center]] in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Evening with Paul Morrissey featuring News From Nowhere |url=https://www.filmlinc.org/films/an-evening-with-paul-morrissey-featuring-news-from-nowhere/ |access-date=May 18, 2024 |website=Film at Lincoln Center |language=en}}</ref>

Speaking to screenwriter and biographer [[Gavin Lambert]], filmmaker [[George Cukor]] said of Morrissey's work: 
<blockquote>He makes a marvelous kind of world, and a marvelous kind of mischief, holding nothing back and just watching it happen. "Personal expression" is a much abused expression, but these films are real expression ... Nobody has done anything like it. The selection of people, the casting, is absolutely brilliant and impertinent. The life they see, the gutter they see, or the world they see is so funny and agonizing, and they see it so vividly, with such original humor.<ref>Lambert, Gavin. ''On Cukor''. Putnam. 1972. {{ISBN|9780399109256}} pp 153-4</ref></blockquote>

==Personal life and death==
''[[Bright Lights Film Journal]]'' once called Morrissey a "contradiction": a Warhol collaborator who was a "straight right-wing Catholic [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]".<ref>{{cite news|url = https://brightlightsfilm.com/how-stupid-the-whole-world-is-an-interview-with-paul-morrissey/|title = "How Stupid the Whole World Is!" An interview with Paul Morrissey|last = Weisberg|first = Sam|date = February 22, 2020|accessdate = October 30, 2024|work = [[Bright Lights Film Journal]]}}</ref> When film critic [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] asked Morrissey in a 1975 interview why he portrayed drug addicts and street hustlers with such sympathy despite his conservatism, Morrissey responded: "A human being is a sympathetic entity. No matter how terrible a person might be, someone with an artist's point of view will try to render his individuality without condescension or contempt. That's the natural function of a dramatist. The movies I've made have no connection to my personal beliefs".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Conversation with Paul Morrissey (Part I) {{!}} Jonathan Rosenbaum |url=https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2021/12/conversation-with-paul-morrissey-part-i/ |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=jonathanrosenbaum.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2021/12/conversation-with-paul-morrissey-part-ii/ | title=Conversation with Paul Morrissey (Part II) &#124; Jonathan Rosenbaum }}</ref>

Morrissey died from pneumonia at [[Lenox Hill Hospital]] in Manhattan, on October 28, 2024, at the age of 86.<ref name = Vlessing/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.artforum.com/news/paul-morrissey-dies-19382024-1234721028/ | title=Paul Morrissey (1938–2024)| date=October 30, 2024}}</ref>

==Filmography==
Source:<ref>{{cite web |title=Paul Morrissey |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/paul-morrissey/credits/3030255893/ |website=TVGuide.com |access-date=October 30, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Paul Morrissey |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Person/122169-Paul-Morrissey |website=AFI Catalog |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=October 2024}}
*''Ancient History'' (short) (1961)
*''Dream and Day Dream'' (short) (1961)
* ''Mary Martin Does It'' (short) (1962)
*''Civilization and Its Discontents'' (short) (1962)
*''Taylor Mead Dances'' (short) (1963) 
*''Peaches and Cream'' (short) (1964)
*''Merely Children'' (short) (1964)
*''About Face'' (short) (1964)
*''The Origin of Captain America'' (short) (1964) 
*''Like Sleep'' (short) (1964)
*''All Aboard the Dreamland Choo-Choo'' (short) (1965)
* ''[[My Hustler]]'' (1965) 
* ''Paul Swan'' (1965)
* ''[[More Milk, Yvette]]'' (1966)
* ''Hedy'' (1966)
*''[[Chelsea Girls]]'' (1966)
*''[[The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound]]'' (1966) 
*''[[Imitation of Christ (film)|Imitation of Christ]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Tub Girls]]'' (1967)
*''[[I, a Man]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Bike Boy]]'' (1967)
*''Loves of Ondine'' (1967)
* ''[[The Nude Restaurant]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Four Stars (1967 film)|Four Stars]]'' (1967)
*''[[San Diego Surf (Andy Warhol film)|San Diego Surf]]'' (1968)
*''[[Flesh (1968 film)|Flesh]]'' (1968)
*''[[Lonesome Cowboys]]'' (1968)
*''[[Trash (1970 film)|Trash]]'' (1970)
*''I Miss Sonia Henie'' (short) (1971)
*''[[Women in Revolt]]'' (1971)
*''[[Heat (1972 film)|Heat]]'' (1972)
*''[[L'Amour (film)|L'Amour]]'' (1973)
*''[[Flesh for Frankenstein]]'' (1973)
*''[[Blood for Dracula]]'' (1974)
*''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978 film)|The Hound of the Baskervilles]]'' (1978)
*''[[Madame Wang's]]'' (1981)
*''[[Forty Deuce]]'' (1982) 
*''[[Mixed Blood (1984 film)|Mixed Blood]]'' (1984)
*''[[Beethoven's Nephew]]'' (1985)
*''[[Spike of Bensonhurst]]'' (1988)
* ''Changing Fashions'' (short) (1993) 
*''Veruschka: A Life for the Camera'' (documentary) (2005)
*''News from Nowhere'' (2010)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* For an analysis of each of Morrissey's feature films, see Maurice Yacowar, ''The Films of Paul Morrissey'' (Cambridge University Press, 1993).
* For an in-depth interview with Morrissey on his early years as an independent filmmaker, see "Captured: A Film/Video History of the Lower East Side" Clayton Patterson, ed. (New York: Seven Stories, 2005)
* An in-depth interview with Morrissey about his years working with Warhol appears in "The Autobiography and Sex Life of Andy Warhol" by John Wilcock. Edited by Christopher Trela; photographs by Harry Shunk.(New York, Trela Media, 2010.)

==External links==
{{commons category|Paul Morrissey}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0607407|name=Paul Morrissey}}
* https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/62-paul-morrisseys-top-10
*https://aes-nihil.bandcamp.com/album/paul-morrissey-interview-1997
* {{discogs artist|Paul Morrissey (2)}}
* https://airmail.news/issues/2024-11-23/the-exploding-archival-inevitable

{{Paul Morrissey}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrissey, Paul}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
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[[Category:American horror film directors]]
[[Category:American film editors]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Artists from Yonkers, New York]]
[[Category:Catholics from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in New York City]]
[[Category:Film directors from New York City]]
[[Category:Fordham University alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York (state)]]
[[Category:People associated with The Factory]]
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