Allen Midgette (born as Allen Joseph Midgett; February 2, 1939 – June 16, 2021) was an American actor and painter who is perhaps best known for playing

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 ...

on a 1968 University lecture tour after the artist was shot by

Valerie Solanas Valerie Jean Solanas (April 9, 1936 – April 25, 1988) was an American radical feminism, radical feminist known for the ''SCUM Manifesto'', which she self-published in 1967, and for her attempt to murder artist Andy Warhol in 1968. Solanas had ...

. He was eventually eventfully found out.

Early life and career

Midgett was born in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

, the son of Dorothy (Jones) and Jarvis Midgett, who was a ship captain and harbor master. Prior to his role imitating Warhol, Midgette appeared in two

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of icono ...

influenced avant-garde Italian films by

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

, the then 21 year old's 1962 directorial debut ''

La commare secca ''La commare secca'' (literally "The skinny gossip", English title ''The Grim Reaper'') is the 1962 Italian film written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, based on a short story by Pier Paolo Pasolini. It was Bertolucci's directorial debut a ...

'' (based on a story by

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

for whom Bertolucci was previously an assistant) and ''

Before the Revolution ''Before the Revolution'' ( it, Prima della rivoluzione) is a 1964 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. It stars Adriana Asti and Francesco Barilli and is centred on "political and romantic uncertainty among the youth of ...

'' (1964). Midgette was also an extra in the 1961 film version of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid- ...

''. Midgette was a

Warhol superstar Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life, epitomizing his famo ...

and appeared in two of Andy's films, '' The Nude Restaurant'' (1967) and ''

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 Internation ...

'' (1968). He later appeared in another Bertolucci movie, ''

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), ...

'' (1976), in the role of Vagabond, which, Midgette related, the director wrote specifically for him. Midgette died on June 16, 2021, in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 200 ...

at the age of 82.

References

External links

* 1939 births 2021 deaths Male actors from New Jersey Andy Warhol People from Camden, New Jersey {{US-actor-stub