Saturday, July 17, 2004

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Saturday, July 2, 1977

Victor called and said he wanted to take me to dinner in the Village. I picked him up (cab $4). We went into porno magazine stores for research materials for the "landscapes" ($36) and another one where the guy wouldn't give us a receipt ($17). Bought a "fairy shirt" that has my name on it. It's just a list of names of people who're gay all over it like Thoreau, Alexander the Great, Halston, me--but they have Richard Avedon on it. And there was somebody else on it who I've never heard was queer, either, but I forget who. Cruised the whole area. The Village was so packed with everybody who couldn't afford Fire Island. Victor had a "big black number" coming over to his house that he wanted me to photograph as a "landscape," so we cabbed back ($3.60). Then Studio 54 ($3). It was filled with beautiful people.

Went back to Halston's, Halston wasn't home, waited for the "landscape." Took pictures when he got there until I ran out of film. when I opened the door it was bright daylight. I was surprised. Home at 7:00.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Tuesday, June 28, 1977

Went down to the office where Interview was having a lunch for Schenley's liquor people. I was in and out of the lunch because I was painting with the sponge mop in the back. I haven't peed on any canvases thsi week. This is for the piss paintings. I told Ronnie not to pee when he gets up in the morning--to try to hold it until he gets to the office, because he takes lots of vitamin B so the canvas turns a really pretty color when it's his piss. Answered a few phone calls myself. A couple of cute kids from Sweden came by. Sent Ronnie for photo supplies ($5.95)

Cabbed to "21" ($5.50). Vincent picked me up. It had just started to rain. Dinner was with Peter Beard and his friend Harry Horn from Kenya. People were streaming upstairs for a dinner that Diane Von Furstenberg was giving for Egon's birthday. I was surprised when I saw Diane's mother--she didn't look Jewish, she was small and blonde. Then Mick in a lime suit came in with Jerry Hall. I thought things were fishy with Mick and Jerry and then the plot started to thicken. Mick was so out of it that I could tell the waiters were scared he'd pass out. His head was so far back and he was singing to himself. The top part of his body was like jelly and the bottom hald was tapping 3,000 taps a minute. He was putting his sunglasses on and off. Mick started going after Vincent, but it was just a ruse, because I found out later from Fred he's really passionately in love with Jerry, and it looks like there's trouble for Bianca, "Oh, that's all right, Michk will drop me off."

Then we went next door for a continuing party for Egon, this one given at New York/New York by Diane de Beauvau. Franco Rossellini was there with a big black and blue nose, and you couldn't see anything but that, but I wanted to be discreet in case somebody had hit him, soI ignored it until Franco said finally, "By the way, have you noticed by nose? My little dog bnit me." He has a dachshund, so i got nervous. He took it to a funeral and the dachsund, Felix, got upset and bit his nose and wouldn't let go.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Sunday, June 26, 1977--Montauk--New York

Sunny. Mr. winters was thrilled all weekend because we told him he was going to get a new Jeep.

Earl and I discussed the cover of the Rolling Stones album that I'm doing. He wanted me to put some writing on it. I was down by the beach, Vincent was surfing, and there was a guy walking his big dog. I ignored him for a while, and then realized it was Dick Cavett. We talked a while and he was fishing for an invitation so I invited him over for lunch. Peter Beard came over with Margrit Ramme, who was Kissing Peter in front of Barbara Allen, his old girlfriend, but the two girls got along okay.

Dick Cavett told a Polish joke--put dots on his hands and then put his hand by his ear--"what're you doing?" "Listening to the Ink
Spots." And then Margrit told one about the Polish police lineup where the guy rapist steps out of the line and says, "That's the girl!"

Barbara was upset because Jack Nicholson gave the part she "auditioned" for to an unknown girl who did some New York theater things.

I left early with Francois. He's a good fast driver--got us from Montauk to East Hampton in ten minutes. Jann Wenner had John Belushi at his place. Jann gave us a tour of the house. If he'd rented Montauk, he could have had something great, but I guess he and his wife Jane just wanted something "adorable." I was thinking about an idea all weekend that I got from the Liz and Dick book about doing a love affair between two parallel streets that can never meet. Dylan Thomas had once told Richard Burton he wanted to do that, but then he died. It would be a good thing for me to do, a good art idea.

Philip Niarchos kept calling Barbara from his car all weekend from London. He went to a big ball there, all the rich kids were at it.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Saturday, June 18, 1977

Victor said that it was a good day to go around looking for ideas, so we went down to the Village. But it was like Suddenly, Last Summer--I was his prop to go cruising, the boys would come over to talk to me and Victor would get them. We sat at the Riviera Lounge for four hours having coffees and teas ($7).

Went home, called Julia Scorsese at the Sherry Netherland--she'd called me--and she said to hold on and then she was gone for ten minutes. Then she came back on and said to hold on some more and was gone for another ten minutes. The Liza Minnelli got on the phone and said, "This is Liza, let me have your number and she'llcall you right back." And then Julia called and said to come over for dinner. I said I was with Catherine and her brother that evening and she said to bring them.

Cabbed to Sherry ($2). As we were going in, a guy with a beard was getting into the elevator. Mr. and Mrs. Scorsese, Martin's parents, were there. They're taller than he is, which is unusual, because kids are usually taller than their parents. There were a couple of agents. His parents live downtown right below Ballato's. There was a nurse with a beautiful baby. it was a nurse that Julia had just hired, and she'd gotten lost in the airport so Julia was worried that she wasn'ty a good one. There was a Negro girl with a baby, too, and the guy with the beard turned out to be Bobby De Niro and this Negro girl was his wife, Diahnne Abbott.

Marty's skinny now, he's been on a diet. Jack Haley was running around. Liza was wearing the dress Halston made out of fabric based on my Flower paintings. Marty came out in a white outfit and then changed into a black outfit. Everyone went downstairs to eat. Roger Moore was with them, and a girl from U.A. who was doing publicity, she was kissing Roger.

Roger Moore was wonderful and charming. He showed us what he called his three expressions: "worried," "eyebrow up," and "eyebrow down." He's been married three times, he's married to an Italian woman now.

Bobby De Niro came in after dinner with an agent with funny glasses, didn't say much. Marty's parents were there really late.

Everybody got really really drunk. They were wanting me to make a toast, and I was so drunk I actually stood up and said something and it came out right I guess because everybody kept saying how moving it was, but I was so drunk I can't remember what I said. Liza kept saying, "I'll tell this to my grandchildren--and I've forgotten everything else!"

It was the best party. I stole a copy of the record album of New York, New York because Valentine wanted it, and Roger Moore had written backwards on it, and then I felt bad because they saw me do it. I was popping painkillers because of the neck operation from last week, the biopsy. I haven't found out yet. When we left the Sherry it was dawn outside, six o'clock (cab $3.50).

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Thursday, June 9, 1977

Got to St. Regis at 11:30 for the Jewish Anti-Defamation League Testimonial to Elizabeth Taylor. Liz and Halston weren't there yet. I met the president of Cartier. Eugenia Sheppard was there. Hermione Gingold was there. A woman who didn't even have to say she was Bob Feiden's mother came over to me and said that, because she looked just like Bob Feiden but with jewelry. John Springer and Liz and Halston arrived. There were two or three Liz lookalikes there, one introduced herself to Liz.

I was next to Mary Beame, the wife of Mayor Abe Beame. There were a few anti-defamation people on the dais, and Hal Prince and Mike Todd, Jr., Liv Ullmann led the prayer, and Diane Von Furstenberg was there. Livia Weintraub who was good-looking gave a speech about being in a concentration camp, and she ended it with a plug for her new perfume, "Livia." She gave Liz one of the first batch of 50.

Then they gave Liz the Plaque which had raw amethist all over it--the stuff ashtrays are made of--it was of Mt. Sinai and at the top in gold was the Ten Commandments. Liz was in river purple, she got up and gave a little speech, very breathy and sincere, like, "I'm just like all of you--when I care about something, I do something about it, we're all like that, thank you so much." John Warner was there. Then she and Halston got up off the dai to make a trip to the bathroom and one of the ladies at Bob's table wondered, "Why are they both going to the bathroom?" And another lady said, "Maybe she ripped her dress and Halston's going to sew it for her."

Cabbed dowtown because we had to meet Bella Abzug at the office to photograph her for the cover of Rolling Stone ($4.25).

Bella was there with her daughter, another dyke. Oh I'm kidding, but you know what I mean--a chip off the same block. i took pictures of Bella smelling a rose. Jann Wenner came down.

Cabbed to la Petite Ferme, a little restaurant in the Village where George mason was having a dinner for me. Cahterine and her borther Valentine were waiting for us out in the rain. All the boys in the family are raving beauties, but the girls are like Catherine--just cute.

Then I talked everybody into going up to Studio 54 for the party of Beatlemania. Aerosmith was there, and Cyrinda Foxe from Bad who used to live with David Johansen but now she lives with one of Aerosmith. She siad that a picture of me with a Campbell's Soup Can was in the light show of Beatlemania.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Friday, May 27, 1977--Brussels--Paris

Slept on train. Rented a car ($20) to take us to William Burke's gallery where he was having a show of photos of me and also a book signing. Paloma was waiting in the alley for us. Nico was there with a young kid with a big bulge in his pants, she asked Bob to photograph him. Bob already had. Nico looked older and fatter and sadder. She was crying, she said, because of the beauty of the show. I wanted to give her some money but not directly so i signed a 500-franc note ($100) and handed it to her and she got even more sentimental and said, "I must frame this, can you give me another one, unsigned, to spend?" ($100, cab to Regine's $4). Barbara and Philip were there, Regine and her husband. Then Maria Niarchos arrived. Regine was all dog dishes. Got tired of waiting for Bianca so we sat down to dinner around 11:00. Dinner was crayfish, goose, fruit plates--very good. A beautiful English girl was putting down Maria as "amoral" because she was showing off her cleavage where I'd signed it. Fred was very drunk and started defending Maria and saying, "What is morality anyway?" and they fought for the rest of the night. It was so French.

At 3 A.M. just when we decided to leave Bianca called and siad to please wait for her. She arrived a minute later looking great and the party started all over again. She was wearing a beautiful Faberge Amethist. Around 6:00 when the waiters started sweeping up we left.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Wednesday, May 25, 1977--Paris

Arrived in Paris around 9 A.M. Went to Fred's apartment on Rue du Cherche-Midi. All Fred's chic antiques are looking more and more like just junk covered in rags. William Burke arrived for Breakfast.

Did interviews with Le Monde, Le Figaro, and Elle that'd been arranged by Flammarion, our French publisher. Then it was time to go to the Beaubourg to sign Philosophy books at their bookshop (cab $5).

Shirley Goldfarb came, and Daniel Templon came, he's giving the Hammer & Sickle show next Tuesday, and about 100 dirty kids in punk clothes.

Pontus Hulten, the director of the Beaubourg, showed up and took us on a tour. First we went into the big Tinguely sculpture being constructed in the middle of the ground floor. He took us into the big tinguely sculpture being constructed in the middle of the ground floor. He took us to a storeroom stuffed with chocolate and gave us some. it smelled so good, the chocolate room.

Then we saw the Kienholz show and then the paris/New York show opening next week and then the parmanent collection. This took two hours and Bob was passing out but I had energy and wanted to just rush home and paint and stop doing society portraits.