Paul Morrissey, the filmmaker renowned for his collaborations with Andy Warhol on movies like Chelsea Girls, Flesh, Trash, and more, passed away on October 28. At 86, he succumbed to pneumonia at a hospital in Manhattan, his archivist Michael Chaiken confirmed to The New York Times.
A trailblazer in his own right, Morrissey was a central figure in Warhol's film-making world. The two would produce low-budget films about life on the poorer side, and to date, his most famous works include Blood for Dracula, a 1974 horror film starring Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Maxime McKendry, Stefania Casini, Arno Juerging and Vittorio de Sica.
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Paul Morrissey once exclaimed he didn't want to be tied to Andy Warhol
Paul Morrissey was born in Manhattan, New York, on February 23, 1938. He did his schooling in New York, and when he came of age, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He went on to become First Lieutenant, but not long after, he decided to make his foray into the world of film.
In 1960, he began producing a handful of films like Icarus (1960), which was his first film with Brian De Palma. Morrissey first met Andy Warhol back in June 1965. Warhol was impressed with Morrissey's work and invited him to join his next film, Space, which marked the first of their many joint ventures.
Reflecting on their work together, Paul told the New York Times in November 1972:
"Andy and I really try not to direct a film at all. We both feel the stars should be the center of the film."
The two went on to work on notable films like Chelsea Girls (1966), and Lonesome Cowboys (1968). Notably, though, while he's often known as Andy Warhol's co-worker, the two had a falling out in 1974. In speaking with Bright Lights Films in October 2012, Morrissey was visibly disgruntled.
"Don’t say “Warhol films” when you talk about my films! Are you so stupid, you talk to people like that? I have to live through this for fifty years. Everything I did, it’s Warhol this, or he did them with me. Forget it."
Life didn't stop there for the director-writer, given that he went on to produce The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1978, which starred Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, and a young Kevin Bacon. He directed his final film in 2010, called News Froom Nowhere.
Paul Morrissey leaves behind his brother, Kenneth, and eight nieces and nephews.
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