Thursday, September 22, 2005

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Monday, September 17, 1984

Vincent picked up the small Truman Capote portraits that I'd done for New York. When they saw them they said they'd thought I was going to do something new, but I'd done them my usual way because that's what I thought they wanted. They're going to pay a user's fee. But I don't know about these low prices I get when I do stuff for magazines, because I think of the time Carl Fischer took my picture for the New York cover for the Philosophy book--I mean, he had a whole set built, and then he had eight assistants or something, so look how much they probably spent on that. So I got all worked up thinking about how cheaply I work, and it made me call Vogue and ask them where the money they owe me was.

Keith told me that he rented a store for $1,500 across from the Puck Building. so I guess he is a little like Peter Max. But then Peter never did get in the good art collections that Keith's in. And he said he won't sell his stuff to any other store, it'll just be in his own store.

And Nick Rhodes buys art, but he doesn't listen to anybody, and I told him that it's stupid not to, that it's just like buying stocks. But he said, "I just buy what I like." And I remember Kay Ballard saying the same thing when she bought pictures twenty or thirty years ago and then couldn't even get back what she paid for them.

And Bruno had called earlier. These combined paintings of Jean Michel and me and Clemente that he said were "Just a curiosity that nobody would want to buy" that he paid $20,000 for like fifteen pictures for, he's now selling for $40,000 or $60,000 apiece! Yes! And I have a funny feeling that he's actually giving Clemente more because I can't see him doing this for this little. And I should get more because I bring up the prices... oh but well, Jean Michel got me into painting differently, so that's a good thing.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Tuesday, September 11, 1984

PH finally got back from L.A. The Richard Pryor people told her Richard was "in seclusion" in hawaii and that they were going to "wait to give him his mail when he gets back in October." She was out there trying to get a screenplay she wrote sold --Coppola's Zoetrope studio had it for two years and didn't get it financed and then they went bankrupt. While she was out there she wrote up the treatment I asked her to about a sixties "Girl of the Year" because I want to show it to Jon and maybe he can get Paramount interested.

and it's a good thing she's back because she was about to get fired from her one-minute-a-day job. While she was gone Truman died. His old boyfriend Jack Dunphy got $600,000 and was carrying the ashes in a golden book with "TC" engraved on the side. And Brigid figured out that Kate "Harrington" isn't Truman's niece--she's actually Kate O'shea! The daughter of Truman's old boyfriend Jack O'Shea. The one who lived on Long Island and had a wife and lots of kids. and I'm doing paintings now of Truman for the cover of New York magazine.

So Jean Michel just called me and I haven't heard from him in two days. Now he's staying all the time at the Ritz Carlton instead of down on Great Jones, and his room is like $250 a night. Fred went off to Lord Jermyn's wedding. Jay's on jury duty and Kate broke up with him and I don't know, he seems sort of relieved.

I read the article in theTimes, very low-key, that said that Barry Diller was leaving paramount to go to Fox! And that he was getting $30 million. So Jon will probably now work for Frank Mancuso there at paramount or something. It'll actually better for him. Barry did make the place great, though.

I worked on Judy Garland for Ron Feldman. The "What Becomes a legend Most" advertisement.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Wednesday August 15, 1984

I'm still looking for ideas. This fall it'll be a whole new look, new people. Because five years into the decade is when it really becomes a decade. The eighties. They'll be looking over all the people and picking the ones from the last five years that'll survive as the eighties people. it's when the people from the first five years will either become part of the future or part of the past.

Worked till 4:30. Cab to the crystal doctor and this time it was a real experience. This session was like an exorcism. He had me lie down on his table and close my eyes, and then he asked me, "Do you know where you are?" and I kept saying, "Well what do you mean?" and he kept saying, "Do you know where you are?" And I kept saying, "What do you mean?" and finally I said I was lying on his table and he said, "Oh, I thoughtf you might not know because your eyes were closed." And he would touch me here and there and when I wouldn't have any reaction he said that I wasn't in touch with my pain. But it didn't hurt is the thing. But he said it was because I wasn't sensitive to the pain yet and that I would have to become sensitive to it. And he took my crystal and asked it, "How long? One minute? Two minutes? One hour One day?" And at four days the crystal told him yes, so that's how long it's going to take for this crystal to be programmed. I said that I could go and get another one that'll be ready sooner. He said no. so I'm going to wait four days and then I have to have it with me always and not more than ten feet away when I'm asleep. I really do believe that all this hokum-pokum helps, though. It's positive thinking. And It's why people wear gold jewels. it does have something. And if you wear pearls around a stone it does do something for you. He said I had some negative powers in me and I asked him how long I would have to come to him and he didn't tell me. It's so abstract. But you do feel better when you get out.

And the funniest thing was I picked up some chiropractor magazine and Jack Nicholson, our Interview cover boy, was on the cover of that, too. Standing with this chiropractor to the stars.

I had a fight with Fred. His attitude is so--it's like he's a magazine-editor-on-the-phone. And I don't know if he's on the ball or not. I know he's doing his best, but...

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Saturday, August 4, 1984

Worked all afternoon till 7:00. Susan Blond called and said that we could go to maybe meet Michael Jackson in a hotel room before his concert at madison Square. so we cabbed to the Penta Hotel ($5). It's the hotel that was called the Statler Hilton until last week or something and now it's the Penta. but the cab wouldn't go near the place because of the mobs for Michael, so he let us off and we had to walk.

Finally we found the place, we got Elevator B and went up, and Calvin was there, and he was mad that he'd come so early. and Marina Schiano was with him and his girlfriend Kelly. And Rosanna Arquette, the actress, came up and was so sweet, and I asked her if we'd ever done anything on her in Interview and she said, "No,and you've just got to!" But then i remembered that we had done something--but just a "First Impression." Little Sean Lennon was there and that was exciting. And then this apparition appeared and it was Michael Jackson.

Susan Blond pushed me into his arms and he was shy, and then people pushed me away, and Keith gave him T-shirts and everybody was meeting everybody and then I was pushed back at him and it was anticlimactic and then it was over. I shook his hand and it was like foam rubber. The sequined glove isn't just a little sequined glove, it's like a catcher's mitt. Everything has to be bigger than life on stage.

We went to the show and it was laser beams and a movie where a sword had to be pulled out of a stone and Michael pulled it out. Bianca arrived late and the Jackson father was in her seat and she didn't know who he was and tried to kick him out, but Susan Blond got up and gave her her seat.

And then after the concert we called Mr. Chow's to see if they'd be open and they said yes, that they had leftover food. And at Mr. Chow's we were next to Anthony Quinn and he said hi and I didn't know if I should go over to his table, I never know, so I played it shy, but then when he was leaving he came over and sort of hugged me, and I remembered that he's an artist, that he paints.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Tuesday, July 24, 1984

Got woken up by Jean Michel talking about his girlfriend things. She has an infection in her tubes. This is the tall tall blonde, Ann. He's working his way up. He started with short girls and he's getting more confidence and now he's with tall blondes that are just average-looking, but he'll go on to the Swedish beauties, I just bet. Then he'll have a white baby with one and then dump her for a black girl, right?

Went down to meet Grace Jones at the office and we waited for three hours. Benjamin went out and made calls and finally tracked her down at Bergdorf's getting a fur coat out of the Revillon cooler. She spends all her money on fur coats. She says it's all she cares about, that she doesn't care about money, just furs. I told her it's crazy, that you can't resell them or anything, and that she should buy jewelry, but she just loves furs. It's that insane. She buys them and stores them all in the cooler. I was taking pictures of Grace for Vogue, and we were interviewing her for the cover of Interview. But anyway, she was really late, and we were putting her down for hours and then suddenly she appeared and it was all, "Oh darling!" So that would be funny to have all the put-downs in the interview and then show when it all changed when she walked in (Benjamin's phone calls $5).

Andre Leon Talley asked Grace if she thought she was white and she said yes. He's just low-key and good. Sent out for champagne, but then we didn't have ice. Everything's gone from the office.