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, p ...

, 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 tr ...

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 (film), The Cotton Club'', Dallesandro ...

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 university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, 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, cla ...

. 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: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, 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 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 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 ''Women in Revolt'' is a 1971 American satirical film produced by Andy Warhol and directed by Paul Morrissey. The film stars Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling, and Holly Woodlawn, three trans women and superstars of Warhol's Factory scene. It also fea ...

'' (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 ''I, a Man'' is a 1967 American erotic drama film written, directed and filmed by Andy Warhol. It debuted at the Hudson Theatre in New York City on August 25, 1967. The film depicts the main character, played by Tom Baker, in a series of sexual en ...

'' (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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (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 muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as mu ...

'' (1968) *''

Lonesome Cowboys ''Lonesome Cowboys'' is a 1968 American Western film directed by Andy Warhol and written and produced by Paul Morrissey. The film is a satire of Hollywood Westerns, and was initially screened in November 1968 at the San Francisco Internationa ...

'' (uncredited) (1968) *''

'' (1970) *''

I Miss Sonia Henie I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'' (short) (1971) *''

'' (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 al ...

'' (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 i ...

'' (1978) *'' Madame Wang's'' (1981) *''

Forty Deuce ''Forty Deuce'' is a 1982 American drama film directed by Paul Morrissey and starring Orson Bean. It was screened in the ''Un Certain Regard'' section at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Orson Bean as Mr. Roper * Kevin Bacon as Ricky * Ma ...

'' (1982) *'' Mixed Blood'' (1985) *' (1985) *''

Spike of Bensonhurst ''Spike of Bensonhurst'' is a 1988 American comedy drama and mafia film written and directed by Paul Morrissey and starring Sasha Mitchell. The film also features Ernest Borgnine, Maria Pitillo, and Talisa Soto. Plot The protagonist, Spike Fumo ...

'' (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 Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chose ...

*''

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 {{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