Paul Morrissey (born February 23, 1938) is an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

, best known for his association with

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 ...

. He was also director of the first film in which a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

actress,

Holly Woodlawn Holly Woodlawn (October 26, 1946 – December 6, 2015) was a transgender Puerto Rican actress and Warhol superstar who appeared in the films ''Trash'' (1970) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971). She is also known as the Holly in Lou Reed's hit glam r ...

, starred as a girlfriend of the main character played by

Joe Dallesandro Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro III (born December 31, 1948) is an American actor and Warhol superstar. Having also crossed over into mainstream roles such as mobster Lucky Luciano in the film '' The Cotton Club'', Dallesandro was a sex symbol of g ...

in ''

Trash Trash may refer to: Garbage * Garbage, unwanted or undesired waste material ** Litter, material discarded in inappropriate places ** Municipal solid waste, unwanted or undesired waste material generated in a municipal environment Arts, enter ...

'' (1970).

Life and career

Of Irish extraction, Morrissey attended

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

and

Fordham University Fordham University () is a private Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its original campus is located, Fordham is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit un ...

, both Catholic schools, and later served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. A political conservative and self-described "right-winger", who has publicly protested against immorality and

anti-Catholicism Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

, Morrissey's long-term collaboration with the low-keyed, apparently apolitical Warhol was viewed by many as "a successful mismatch", although both men did share some traits, e.g. both were practicing Catholics from ethnic backgrounds (Warhol was of

Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn language, an East Slavic l ...

descent). Morrissey's bold, avant-garde direction in film making is often attributed to his relationship with Warhol and

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstar ...

, although Morrissey claimed in his memoir, ''Factory Days'', that this is not the case. Morrissey's early works with Warhol took advantage of

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...

news cameras such as the

Auricon Auricon cameras were 16 mm film Single System sound-on-film motion picture cameras manufactured in the 1940s through the early 1980s. Auricon cameras are notable because they record sound directly onto an optical or magnetic track on the same film ...

, which recorded sound directly on film and had the capacity to film takes up to 33 minutes in length. This permitted a portable, small crew method of filming and was amenable to improvisation. Morrissey was among the first film directors to cast a transgender woman from Warhol's inner circle in his films ''

'' (1970) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971). For an analysis of each of Morrissey's feature films, see Maurice Yacowar, ''The Films of Paul Morrissey'' (Cambridge UP).

Filmography

*'' All Aboard the Dreamland Choo-Choo'' (short) (1964) *'' About Face'' (short) (1964) *'' Like Sleep'' (short) (1965) *''

Chelsea Girls ''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). It w ...

'' (1966) *'' The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound'' (1966) *'' I, a Man'' (1967) *''

San Diego Surf San Diego Surf may refer to: * San Diego Surf SC, a youth soccer club * Oceanside Surf, a basketball team formerly known as San Diego Surf * ''San Diego Surf'' (film), a 1968 film by Andy Warhol {{disambiguation ...

'' (1968) *'' The Loves of Ondine'' (1968) *''

Flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...

'' (1968) *'' Lonesome Cowboys'' (uncredited) (1968) *''

'' (1970) *'' I Miss Sonia Henie'' (short) (1971) *'' Women in Revolt'' (1971) *''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

'' (1972) *'' L'Amour'' (1973) *''

Flesh for Frankenstein ''Flesh for Frankenstein'' is a 1973 horror film written and directed by Paul Morrissey. It stars Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren and Arno Juerging. Interiors were filmed at Cinecittà in Rome by a crew of Italian filmmakers. In ...

'' (1973) *''

Blood for Dracula ''Blood for Dracula'' is a 1974 horror film written and directed by Paul Morrissey and starring Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Maxime McKendry, Stefania Casini, Arno Juerging, and Vittorio de Sica. Upon its initial 1974 release in West Germany a ...

'' (1974) *''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set ...

'' (1978) *'' Madame Wang's'' (1981) *'' Forty Deuce'' (1982) *''

Mixed Blood The term mixed-blood in the United States and Canada has historically been described as people of multiracial backgrounds, in particular mixed European and Native American ancestry. Today, the term is often seen as pejorative. Northern Woodla ...

'' (1985) *' (1985) *'' Spike of Bensonhurst'' (1988) *'' Veruschka: A Life for the Camera'' (documentary) (2005) *''A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory'' (documentary) (2007) by Esther Robinson *''

News From Nowhere ''News from Nowhere'' (1890) is a classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris. It was first published in serial form in the ''Commonweal'' journal begin ...

'' (2010)

References

External links

*
Paul Morrissey's official website

from

Bright Lights Film Journal ''Bright Lights Film Journal'' is an online popular-academic film magazine, based in Oakland, California, United States. It is edited and published by Gary Morris. Originally a print publication established in 1974, it was discontinued in 1980 to ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrissey, Paul 1938 births Living people American people of Irish descent American film editors American Roman Catholics Fordham University alumni People educated at Ampleforth College Film directors from New York City United States Army soldiers People associated with The Factory