Jed Johnson (designer)

Jed Johnson (December 30, 1948 – July 17, 1996) was an American interior designer and film director. ''The'' ''New York Times'' hailed Johnson as "one of the most celebrated interior designers of our time."

In 1968, Johnson arrived in New York from California and was hired to perform odd jobs at Andy Warhol's Factory. After Warhol survived an assassination attempt, Johnson moved in with him to aid in his recovery, and they had a romantic partnership for 12 years. At the Factory, Johnson rose through the ranks from assisting Warhol and director Paul Morrissey to directing his own film, '' Bad'' (1977). He edited several films, including '' Trash'' (1970), ''Heat'' (1972), '' Flesh for Frankenstein'' (1973), and '' Blood for Dracula'' (1974). Following Warhol's death, Johnson was a founding member of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board.

After decorating the townhouse he shared with Warhol, Johnson began collecting antiques and started a decorating business. His clients included Mick Jagger, Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent, and Barbra Streisand. Johnson had become one of the most acclaimed interior designers when he was killed in the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

Johnson was posthumously inducted into the ''Interior Design'' Hall of Fame, and '' Architectural Digest'' named him as one of "The World's 20 Greatest Designers of All Time." In 2005, Rizzoli published the book ''Jed Johnson: Opulent Restraint, Interiors'', a monograph and remembrance by his twin brother Jay Johnson.

Life and career

Early life and education

Jed Johnson was born in Alexandria, Minnesota, on December 30, 1948. He was the fourth of six children, born 15 minutes after his fraternal twin brother Jay Johnson. They had two older brothers, Craig and Larry, and two younger sisters, Nancy and Susan. At the age of 10, Johnson's family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona before settling in Fair Oaks, California where his father worked in construction. His mother Vivian Christopher was the family's sole provider after his parents' divorce, and his father returned to Minnesota. Johnson and journalist Joan Lunden were junior high school sweethearts and remained lifelong friends. While in high school, Johnson took a summer school class in architecture at American River Junior College in Sacramento, California. After graduating from Bella Vista High School in 1967, he attended American River College.

Johnson and Jay decided to take a semester off and drive cross-country to Montreal, Canada, by car with a friend who was an AWOL soldier. Their first stop was San Francisco, where they went to the Avalon Ballroom, and they saw musician Jimi Hendrix perform at the Fillmore in February 1968. Their car broke down on the Santa Monica Freeway while they were leaving Los Angeles after a brief stop, so they hitchhiked to Chicago, where they saw their father, who was visiting family. They boarded a train bound for Montreal, but immigration officials stopped them near Buffalo, New York. They were kicked off the train because they were thought to be draft evaders, so they took a Greyhound bus to New York City instead.

They found an apartment in Manhattan's East Village through a heroin addict but got mugged and lost their last $200. The brothers were offered a job at Western Union when they went to collect money that their mother had sent them.

Relationship with Andy Warhol and film career

On his third day working for Western Union in February 1968, Johnson delivered a telegram to the Decker building at 33 Union Square West, where artist Andy Warhol had recently relocated his studio, the Factory. Paul Morrissey, Warhol's film collaborator and overseer of the Factory, liked the well-mannered messenger and hired him to help get the Factory into shape. Johnson began by stripping wood and quickly advanced to more general tasks, becoming the Factory's first regular salaried employee since Gerard Malanga. Warhol allowed Johnson and his brother to use his charge account at Max's Kansas City, and when he saw where they lived he loaned them money for a deposit to move into an apartment in a safer neighborhood on East 17th Street and Irving Place.

On June 3, 1968, radical feminist Valerie Solanas shot Warhol as Johnson was installing fluorescent lights at the Factory. Warhol and Solanas arrived at the same time as Johnson, who had just returned from the hardware store, and the three of them entered the building together. Johnson hid from the gunshots in Warhol's office; Solanas tried to enter the room but he held the door shut. As Warhol was taken to Columbus Hospital, Johnson and Warhol's business manager Fred Hughes were held for questioning at the 13th Precinct police station until Solanas surrendered later that evening.

Johnson visited Warhol daily during his hospitalization and they developed a deep bond. Subsequently, Johnson moved into Warhol's townhouse at 1342 Lexington Avenue in Carnegie Hill to help him recuperate and look after his ailing mother Julia Warhola. During Warhol's recovery, a romance ensued and Johnson came to "fill the traditional role of a devoted young spouse." Johnson brought order to the household by painting the walls, arranging the furniture, and clearing out the clutter in the home. He accompanied Warhola on weekly visits to the doctor and looked after her two elderly cats.

After expressing interest in working on sound, Warhol and Morrissey trained Johnson, and he started assisting them on their underground films. He taught himself how to edit film on the Factory's Moviola using clips of '' Lonesome Cowboy'' (1968). Warhol had intended for Johnson to edit his film '' San Diego Surf'' (1968), but after he was shot the project was shelved. While Warhol was hospitalized, Johnson assisted Morrissey with '' Flesh'' (1968), in which he had an uncredited role.

Inspired by Warhol, Johnson developed an interest in photography. In 1969, his photographs were featured in artist Al Hansen's underground magazine ''Kiss'', for which Warhol wrote a gossip column. Later that year, he became a staff photographer for Warhol's ''Interview'' magazine.

Described as intensely quiet and shy, Johnson was Warhol's constant companion. He was an integral part of Warhol's inner circle, traveling with the artist for museum exhibitions, gallery shows, and portrait commissions. Johnson was referred to as "Andy's shadow" and "Warhol's new standard of male beauty" in the press.

In 1971, Warhol designed the cover for the Rolling Stones album ''Sticky Fingers'' (1971). The cover features a man's crotch in blue jeans, with a real zipper. Although a few people claim to be the man on the album cover, it's generally believed that Johnson was the cover model.

Johnson edited the films '' Trash'' (1970), ''Heat'' (1972), '' L'Amour'' (1972), '' Flesh for Frankenstein'' (1973), and '' Blood for Dracula'' (1974). He made his directorial debut with '' Bad'' (1977), starring Carroll Baker, which received mixed reviews. Although it was a commercial failure, Johnson maintained that it was a good film—as did Morrissey—but he felt in over his head. As a result, Johnson abandoned filmmaking and began buying and selling antiques.In 1977, Johnson's relationship with Warhol began to deteriorate, spurred on by Warhol's partying and his friendship with Victor Hugo. Johnson recalled: "When Studio 54 opened things changed with Andy. That was New York when it was at the height of its most decadent period, and I didn't take part. … I was always really shy and had a really hard time socially anyway, and I didn't like the people. Andy was just wasting his time, and it was really upsetting."

Johnson suffered from depression, which was exacerbated by Warhol being emotionally distant. "Jed missed the affection—verbally and physically. Andy wasn't capable of expressing it in the way Jed needed ... Jed felt very strongly about the relationship. He definitely had strong feelings for Andy, and it caused him a lot of pain," his brother Jay said. Johnson attempted suicide twice during their relationship, in 1970 and 1978. Johnson had aspirations to become a pilot and paid for flying lessons in the early 1970s, but he was unable to obtain his license due to his suicide attempt.

In October 1980, while still residing with Warhol, Johnson purchased a duplex apartment to use as an office for his decorating business at 15 West 67th Street. On December 21, 1980, Johnson informed Warhol that he had decided to move out and live in the duplex when he returned from a skiing trip in Colorado. Johnson gave Warhol a card that Christmas on which he wrote: "Andy, I don't know what you are looking for. Sorry you didn't find it at home. I don't think (or don't want to think) you'll get it from your Victors and Kevins and nights at Studio 54. You did have all my love and respect. I'm sorry it went wrong. Thinking of you with sincere love, Jed." Following their split, they shared custody of their two dachshunds, Archie and Amos.

In 1982, Warhol amended his will to exclude Johnson. His business manager Fred Hughes remained the executor, and Vincent Fremont, vice president of Andy Warhol Enterprises, replaced Johnson as the backup executor.

Friends and Factory associates perceived their breakup as one of Warhol's biggest regrets. According to a friend, Warhol kept a photograph of Johnson in his wallet many years after their separation. Johnson was devastated by Warhol's death following gallbladder surgery in February 1987. He spoke to biographer Victor Bockris about the "real strong influence" of Warhol's presence. He said, "I still feel him today. When I do something I think, Well, gee, how would Andy do it?" In 1995, Johnson became a founding member of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board, which was a private corporation that certified the authenticity of works by Warhol.

Throughout their relationship, Johnson amassed several of Warhol's silkscreen paintings. His collection included ''Silver Elvis'', ''Front and Back Dollar Bills'', ''Mao'', ''Flowers,'' and ''Self-Portrait''. Warhol also created portraits of Johnson and their dachshunds. Johnson's twin brother Jay Johnson inherited his artwork after his death.

Interior design career

In 1974, Johnson found a townhouse for Warhol at 57 East 66th Street in Lenox Hill. He had enjoyed organizing Warhol's Lexington Avenue townhouse, so when they moved to a larger residence, he was put in charge of decorating their new home. Johnson worked with architect Peter Marino to renovate the kitchens and bathrooms in the home.

For the furnishing, Johnson drew inspiration from his travels with Warhol over the years and was "greatly influenced by the quality of furniture and collections he saw and by the style with which they were displayed." Johnson expanded Warhol's growing collections and experimented with three different styles: Neoclassical, Art Deco, and Victorian. In contrast to the Factory, which had an open-door policy, Warhol allowed few people into his home. Chemist and art collector Stuart Pivar, a friend of Johnson and Warhol's, said, "Jed built period rooms of such refinement and perfection. The level of quality in that house had no equal." "Jed influenced Andy to appreciate fine old things. It probably influenced Andy towards the classical theme of art," he added.

Johnson enlisted Marino to help with the remodeling when Warhol moved his Factory from 45 West Union Square to 860 Broadway in 1974.

In 1977, Johnson started a decorating business with antique collector Judith Hollander, which he ran from home. His connection with Warhol helped him build a network of celebrity clients. Johnson was a close friend of Sandy Brant, who was the director of advertising for Warhol's ''Interview'' magazine. Her husband, businessman Peter Brant, helped finance ''Interview'' and Warhol's films. In 1977, Johnson began going over decorating schemes with Sandy Brant for Peter Brant and Joe Allen's office building in Greenwich, Connecticut. Johnson purchased a house with the Brants in Vail, Colorado, in the 1970s. He also decorated their White Birch Farm home in Greenwich after its completion in 1983.

In 1978, Johnson received his first commission to decorate the pied-à-terre of French businessman Pierre Bergé at The Pierre hotel in New York City. Following dinner, Warhol recommended to Bergé and his business partner Yves Saint Laurent that they follow the aesthetic of his own townhouse.Johnson and Hollander collaborated with Marino on the project in 1978. The apartment featured Neo-Grec and American Empire style furniture, stenciled friezes, and lush furnishing. It was showcased in a spread in '' Vogue'''s May 1979 issue, in which the magazine declared that the apartment had "a warm, comfortable, rich ambience unlike any other in the city." In 1979, Johnson and Hollander designed the Yves Saint Laurent Enterprises offices in New York with architect Michael Hollander.

In the June 1980 issue of ''Interview'', Johnson was referred to as the "master of interior design and period restoration."

In 1980, Johnson met architect Alan Wanzenberg through a mutual friend, art dealer Thomas Ammann. They started working together after becoming friends, and soon they began having an affair. By 1981, Wanzenberg moved into Johnson's apartment on Manhattan's West Side. In 1982, they co-founded a design firm, which they ran jointly until they created their separate entities—Alan Wanzenberg Architect P.C. and Jed Johnson & Associates. They continued to work together while maintaining separate practices, sharing their home office and resources.

Johnson's company attracted high-profile clients, including Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, Bianca Jagger, Barbra Streisand, Richard Gere, and Carl Icahn. In New York, he created a new exhibition space for the Sperone Westwater Gallery, and he renovated ''Interview'' magazine's headquarters. Thurston Twigg-Smith enlisted him to decorate Twin Farms resort in Barnard, Vermont. Johnson was noted for his generosity and he would also send furniture to friends who could not afford his services.

Despite not having a design background or any formal training, Johnson had a natural eye for detail. "I look at all my various jobs as opportunities to learn. And I like to work in different styles. My work doesn't really have a signature to it," he said. Wanzenberg noted, "At a time when no one else did, Jed saw the connection between Arts and Crafts furniture and modern art." Architecture critic Paul Goldberger wrote for '' Architectural Digest'':

Johnson … had the eye of a connoisseur and the compositional gift of an artist. His rooms were assemblages of splendid pieces, set in sensual wholes. He was as interested in fabric and texture as in mass and shape, which is why he could hang a Cy Twombly painting on eighteenth-century Chinese wallpaper or a Venetian-glass chandelier next to a huge nineteenth-century Irish scagliola urn. It was not the cleverness of the combination that intrigued Johnson; it was the way the shapes and the textures played off each other.

Johnson stated that although he was unaware of other designers' work for several years, he eventually grew to admire the work of Renzo Mongiardino, Jacques Grange, Patrick Naggar, Peter Marino, Stephen Sill, and Philippe Starck.

In 1991, Johnson and Wanzenberg participated in '' Metropolitan Home'' magazine's ShowHouse benefit for the Design Industries Foundation for AIDS (DIFFA) in New York City. In 1995, they were honorary chairmen of the Katonah Museum of Art's gala dinner dance at Purchase College in Purchase, New York.

Johnson and Wanzenberg shared a dachshund named Gus, and a two-home property previously owned by fashion designer Perry Ellis on Fire Island in New York.

Death

On July 17, 1996, Johnson was killed at the age of 47, when TWA Flight 800 exploded off the coast of Long Island, shortly after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. As a passenger in first class, Johnson was killed instantly when the fuel tank exploded, and his body was one of the first recovered, a mile from the crash scene in the Atlantic Ocean. Johnson was traveling to Paris for a shopping trip to find antiques for a client's home. He was meant to fly out the next day but because he was a loyal client, TWA gave him an upgrade from business class to first class if he wanted to fly out the night before.

Johnson's longtime friend Joan Lunden, then co-host of ''Good Morning America'', eulogized him on air. She spoke of their friendship and shared a photo of Johnson with Alan Wanzenberg, and expressed her condolences. She referred to Wanzenberg as his domestic partner, which drew praise from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation because Wanzenberg was referred to as Johnson's business partner in initial reports.

Johnson's family and friends, such as writer Fran Lebowitz, and art collector Stuart Pivar released statements following his death. ''Interview'' magazine's editor-in-chief Ingrid Sischy remembered the life of her friend in the Winter 1996 issue.

A 4-year investigation revealed that an explosive mixture of fuel vapor and air in a fuel tank caused a short circuit, which was the likely cause of the accident. As a result, new prerequisites were created to prevent future gas tank blasts in airplanes.

Legacy

In 1996, Johnson was inducted into the ''Interior Design'' Hall of Fame. '' House & Garden'' magazine dedicated an issue to him and '' Architectural Digest'' ran a five-page photo layout of his work.

Johnson's twin brother Jay Johnson inherited his decorating business Jed Johnson & Associates. In 1997, Johnson's protégé Arthur Dunnam was appointed the design director and the company became Jed Johnson Associates. In 2017, the company was rebranded as Arthur Dunnam for Jed Johnson Studio. In 2024, the company was renamed Dunnam Zerbini Design in 2024.

In 2005, Jay Johnson established Jed Johnson Home to pay tribute to and carry on his brother's legacy by offering designers and architects luxury textiles for interior usage.

In 2005, Rizzoli published the book ''Jed Johnson: Opulent Restraint'', ''Interiors'' a monograph documenting his career. Organized by Jay Johnson, the book has contributions from architecture critic Paul Goldberger, former ''Interview'' editor Bob Colacello, Yves Saint Laurent co-founder Pierre Berge, and former ''Interview'' co-owner Sandy Brant. A celebratory re-edition of the book was released in 2023.

In 2010, Johnson was named by ''Architectural Digest'' as one of "The World's 20 Greatest Designers of All Time."

In 2022, Johnson's relationship with Warhol was explored in the Netflix docuseries '' The Andy Warhol Diaries''.

Filmography

Director

* ''Bad'' (1977)

Associate Producer

* '' Women in Revolt'' (1971)
* ''Heat'' (1972)

Cinematographer

* ''Women in Revolt'' (1971)
* '' L'Amour'' (1972)

Editor

* '' Trash'' (1970)
* ''Heat'' (1972)
* ''L'Amour'' (1972)
* '' Flesh for Frankenstein'' (1973)
* '' Blood for Dracula'' (1974)

Bibliography

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References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jed
1948 births
1996 deaths
Accidental deaths in New York (state)
American interior designers
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Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
People from Sacramento, California
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People associated with The Factory
American twins
American LGBTQ film directors
TWA Flight 800
People from Scottsdale, Arizona
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