Rotten Rita (real name Kenneth C. Rapp) (May 6, 1938 - February 26, 2010) was an influential denizen of

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 Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

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 ...

and was sometimes referred to as "The Mayor". Although he worked by day in a fabric store, he spent many nights at the Factory bringing his unique influences to encourage others to become artists. He was an opera aficionado, and also an alleged amphetamine dealer and user, and he touched the lives of many members of Warhol's artist collective. He was particularly close to another member,

Brigid Berlin Brigid Emmett Berlin (September 6, 1939 – July 17, 2020) was an American artist and Warhol superstar. Early years Berlin was born on September 6, 1939 in Manhattan in New York City. She was the eldest of three daughters born to socialite parent ...

. Warhol wrote about Rita in his 1980 memoir Popism: The Warhol Sixties. In one mention, Warhol recalled asking a mutual friend, Duchess, why Rita was known as "The Mayor" and received the reply 'Because he screws everybody in town'. Rapp's alleged death in late 1991 (together with that of songwriter

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

by cancer) inspired Lou Reed, another famous Factory denizen, to compose his 1992 album '' Magic and Loss''. Rapp, however, died February 26, 2010, in Irvington, New Jersey where he had lived in exile from the downtown drug scene since 1980. He had an opera show on local college radio and worked as a hot dog vendor at the Irvington bus station. Reed also makes mention of Rotten Rita in the song " Halloween Parade" on the 1989 album '' New York''. Writing about his first year in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

for the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, in 2000, Reed recalled returning to find his apartment trashed, and the front door, "which hung off its hinges", had a poem by Rita carved into it.

References

2010 deaths 1938 births People associated with The Factory People from Irvington, New Jersey People from New York City {{US-bio-stub