Cherry Vanilla (born Kathleen Dorritie; October 16, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, publicist, and actress. After working as an actress in

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

's ''

Pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

'', she worked as a publicist for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, before becoming a rock singer. She subsequently became a publicist for

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

Career

Kathleen Dorritie was born in Woodside, New York. Adopting the stage name Cherry Vanilla, she starred in the London productions of

's play, ''Pork'', directed by Tony Ingrassia, and other theatre of the ridiculous plays including a role as a

necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving Cadaver, corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) ...

c nurse. She worked for MainMan LTD as

's publicist, in the early 1970s. She became known for her outrageous marketing strategies, which included an open offer to perform oral sex on any DJ who would play Bowie's records and a series of radio commercials that began "Hi, my name is Cherry Vanilla and I've got scoops for you…". After parting ways with Bowie in 1974, Vanilla formed her first band with

Kasim Sulton Kasim Sulton (born December 8, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton ...

, which played under her name. In 1976, she formed Cherry Vanilla & her Staten Island Band, with Buzzy John Vierno (bass guitar),

Frankie LaRocka Frankie LaRocka (April 17, 1954 – May 12, 2005), born Frank LaRocca, was an American rock musician and producer. He was a member of Scandal, playing drums on their debut EP, and, at various stages, played the drums with Bon Jovi, David Johans ...

(drums), Thomas Morrongiello (guitar), and Gary Cohen (piano). The group's first released material was the track "Shake Your Ashes", on the ''Max's Kansas City'' album of 1976. 1976 also saw the release of Vanilla's art book, ''Pop Tart''. Her high profile in New York was the impetus for

Miles Copeland III Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producin ...

to invite her to England. She relocated to London in 1976, becoming part of the burgeoning

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

scene and was signed by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. The London-based Cherry Vanilla Band initially consisted of Vanilla's boyfriend/guitarist Louis Lepore and pianist Zecca Esquibel, along with bassist Gordon "Sting" Sumner, guitarist

Henry Padovani Henry (or Henri) Padovani (born 13 October 1952) is a French musician (from the Mediterranean French isle of Corsica), noted for being the original guitarist of English rock band The Police. He was a member of the band from January 1977 to Augus ...

and drummer

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...

, who loaned their services and equipment in exchange for £15 a night and the support spot on her tour, including a date on March 5, 1977 at London's legendary Roxy Club. (The support spot was for Copeland's band

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

, and would be the setting for the band's first live performances.) A more permanent line-up comprised Louis Lepore (guitar), Zecca Esquibel (keyboards), Howie Finkel (bass guitar), and Michael (Manny) Mancuso (drums). Their first release was the single "The Punk" in September 1977, followed in February 1978 by the debut album ''Bad Girl''. Finkel and Esquibel left the band and with a string of replacements the band continued, releasing another single and a second album, ''Venus D'Vinyl'', in 1979. She split up with Lepore and the group disbanded, with Vanilla returning to the U.S. In 1980 she performed the narrative on

' "Not A Bit – All Of It" (from his ''

See You Later ''See You Later'' is an album by the Greek electronic music, electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1980. It breaks quite violently with the style he had employed in the late 1970s and later, relying much more on vocals and being more experi ...

'' album). She later ran his American office. In 1984, she played the hitchhiker and the waitress on

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

' album, ''

The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking ''The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer and musician Roger Waters; it was released in 1984, the year before Waters announced his departure from Pink Floyd. The album was certified gold in the Un ...

'' In 1987, she was the composer in the boxing club documentary film ''Broken Noses''. She returned to recording in the early 1990s, releasing ''Blue Roses'', with

Man Parrish Manuel "Man" Parrish (born May 6, 1958) is an American songwriter, vocalist and producer. He, along with artists such as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Art of Noise, Arthur Baker, Afrika Bambaataa, John Robie, Jellybean Benitez, Lotti Gold ...

and

Barb Morrison Barb Morrison (born May 22, 1967) is an American recording artist, Top 5 Billboard dance chart songwriter, and Platinum record producer, best known as producer for numerous artists such as Blondie, Rufus Wainwright, Franz Ferdinand (band), LP, ...

, plus two singles. Blue Roses combines spoken word poetry with electronic music. Her autobiography, ''Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla'', was published in October 2010 by the

Chicago Review Press Chicago Review Press, or CRP, is a U.S. book publisher and an independent company founded in 1973. Chicago Review Press publishes approximately 60 new titles yearly under eight imprints: Chicago Review Press, Lawrence Hill Books, Academy Chicago, ...

. The foreword was written by

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

. A song entitled "Cherry Vanilla" celebrating her career and recorded by The (Fabulous) Cult of John Harley was produced by

Martin Rushent Martin Charles Rushent (11 July 1948 – 4 June 2011) was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and Buzzcocks. Early life Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father ...

. The song was used during the launch of the book. A launch party for "Lick Me" was held November 4, 2010 at

Chateau Marmont The Chateau Marmont is a hotel located at 8221 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The hotel was designed by architects Arnold A. Weitzman and William Douglas Lee and completed in 1929. It was modeled loosely after the Château d'Am ...

in Los Angeles where

performed and

Angela Bowie Angela Bowie (born Mary Angela Barnett; September 25, 1949) is an American model, actress, and journalist. Alongside her ex-husband David Bowie, she influenced the glam rock culture and fashion of the 1970s. She was married to Bowie (whom she a ...

was in attendance.

Filmography

* '' Let's Get Lost'' (1988), herself

Discography

Albums

*'' Bad Girl'' (1978), RCA *'' Venus d'Vinyl'' (1979), RCA *''Blue Roses'' (with Man Parrish) (1993), E.S.P.

Singles

*"The Punk" (1977), RCA *"Liverpool" (1978), RCA Victor – Netherlands only *"Moonlight" (1979), RCA *"Fone Sex" (1991), Radikal – with

*"Techno Sex" (1992), Radikal – with Man Parrish

Books

*"Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla" (2010) Chicago Review Press

References

External links

Official site
* *

at punk77.co.uk

2006 interview

2007 interview
2016 interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherry Vanilla People from Woodside, Queens People from Staten Island Actresses from New York City Singers from New York City American rock singers Women punk rock singers Living people 1943 births People associated with The Factory Women in punk