Film Homage Andy Warhol Paul Morrissey Lonesome Cowboys 1968 Main Street Old Tucson Arizona 1968

Title

Film Homage Andy Warhol Paul Morrissey Lonesome Cowboys 1968 Main Street Old Tucson Arizona 1968

Artist

David Lee Guss

Medium

Photograph

Description

Finally, Andy Warhol (1927-1987) is the last of Ted DeGrazia's contemporaries I'll write about. Like Ted, Andy was also a filmmaker.

Here he is on the set of "Lonesome Cowboys" in January 1968 at Old Tucson; the ostensible director of the Western which features his family of performers from his fiercely self promoted "factory."

Paul Morrissey is uncredited as a co-director. He is also writer, producer, cinematographer and editor of the comic spoof, gay Western. Warhol's biggest star was Joe Dallesandro, who said that in all the years he worked for Warhol, Andy only spoke a few words to him.

In 1964 Andy had yet to wear his blond wig.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKdDbktVKUI

"Lonesome Cowboys" was originally intended as a satire on William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," to be called "Romana and Julian;" according to Paul Morrissey at a lecture appearance in Tucson a few months before the film was made.

At his appearance he was accompanied by a look-alike Warhol who passed himself off as Andy. Since Warhol rarely spoke the hoax initially worked. Once unmasked all the hoopla provided yet more media attention.

"Lonesome Cowboys" shot only briefly at Old Tucson as visitors to the open set complained about the language. It was also lensed at Rancho Linda Dude Ranch, near Tucson, which had been used as a location for several John Wayne films. Duke shot four films at Old Tucson.

{NOTE: In June 2010 a show "Warhol: From Dylan to Duchamp" opened in East Hampton, New York at the Eric Firestone Gallery. The show premiered earlier at his gallery in Tucson, Arizona; focusing partly on "Lonesome Cowboys," with production stills, mounted and framed, and behind the scenes film footage shown on large TV monitors.

Paul Morrissey was invited to the East Hampton opening. He declined saying that "Andy never shot anything. I did it all. He just stood around the camera and posed."

This is substantiated by images, retrieved from 42 years of storage, taken by Bob Broder. Wearing a large cowboy hat, Warhol is awkwardly squinting into the 16mm camera's view finder. Despite a rainy, overcast day he always wore sun glasses.

His fashionable shoes were high heeled. Eyewitness' have him excitedly chewing gum, existing mostly on candy cars and saying little.

Andy stood on the very spot trod upon by John Wayne 29 months later while shooting "Rio Lobo." History will tell who is even remembered in 200 years.}

In 1986 Warhol created a screen print series called "Cowboys and Indians." John Wayne was represented by a publicity photo taken for the John Ford directed "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962).

Warhol's 1963 12 foot "Eight Elvises," one of a kind, silkscreen painting, based on a publicity shot from the 1960 film "Flaming Star," sold for one hundred million in November 2009. Elvis is dressed as a cowboy gunslinger (without a hat) aiming, directly at the viewer, a gun drawn from his holster.

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December 23rd, 2013

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