Were you aware that Andy Warhol had been shot and had almost died?
After he’s shot in 1968, Andy Warhol begins documenting his life and feelings. Those diaries, and this series, reveal the secrets behind his persona.
The Andy Warhol Diaries is the dictated memoirs of the American artist Andy Warhol, posthumously published. It was edited by his frequent collaborator and long-time friend, Pat Hackett. Warner Books first published it in 1989 with an introduction by Hackett.
The 807-page book begins on November 24, 1976 and ends eleven years later on February 17, 1987, just five days before his death. It is a condensed version by Hackett of Warhol’s more than 20,000-page diary.
Andy Warhol died from complications from a burst gall bladder 35 years ago. He had been suffering from the pain of his failing gall bladder for a couple of years because he was deathly afraid of hospitals. He felt that if he went into a hospital, he would die there. He did.
While Andy Warhol had his public persona that most people are aware of, he kept his private life to himself and a tiny handful of people. He never went out in public or allowed photographs taken without his signature silver wig and glasses because he used them to ‘hide’ behind.
His abridged and edited diary has been out for 33 years. In that diary, you can get an idea of who Andy Warhol really was, behind the image he crafted for the world. Because the diary is extremely long and covers eleven years of basic mental riffs, different people get different things out of what they read. Up until Netflix took on this project, it was almost impossible to read the diary and get a total picture of the man.
Netflix took the diary, and using artificial intelligence to create Andy Warhol’s voice, they took the diary in chronological order and had “Andy” narrate it over photos and existing video of that time.
It’s a fascinating story of the man, who was born in 1928, and moved to New York in the 1950s as an artist who made a name for himself, and kept reinventing himself over the years to stay relevant. It is a story of his friends, his lovers, and his art.
Starring: Andy Warhol, Jed Johnson,