Victor Bockris - Warhol: The Biography

It all began with a visit to Muhammad Alis training camp, Fighters Heaven. Andy Warhol was commissioned to paint Muhammads portrait. He took me along in the fleet of dark blue Lincoln limousines that cruised down the Pennsylvania turnpike that crisp early morning, August 16, 1977, as Elvis lay dying in Memphis. I had written a book about Alis poetry, thus incurring the champs lasting friendship, and Andy knew that he would need somebody to bridge the gap between him and the most famous man in the world. I must have done my job because when he published his first book of photographs, Exposures, two years later he dedicated an entire chapter to this visit, writing in it, Victor Bockris is a brilliant young writer who only writes about three people: William Burroughs, Muhammad Ali and me. Victor Bockris also has more energy than any person I know. He types like Van Cliburn plays the piano. Hes always tape recording and taking pictures. I cant keep up with him.

Between 1977 and 1981 I wrote a number of magazine articles about Andy. He usually liked them. Once he did ask to see a taped interview we had done together before it was published and told me to take out some of the stuff about piss and shit. He also said it was too English. I wrote the first draft of one of his books. I wrote his lines in the dreadful movie we acted in together, Cocaine Cowboys. In fact, we made a bunch of tapes together with William Burroughs, and although I often made mistakes (he never forgave me for the disastrous Jagger-Burroughs dinner!), over the years he encouraged, inspired, and advised me. I learned a lot about writing from Andy, and in 1981 I dedicated my book With William Burroughs to him. I see now how each piece was a step toward this book.

Only Andy Warhol, who was virtually attacked every time he walked out the door, could fully understand how ironic it was that Truman Capote was crucified for writing Answered Prayers. What did they think I was doing there? Truman cried. I was a writer. Andy knew that writers were always on duty, because he was a writerin the sense that more people knew his pictures like the Campbells Soup Can and Sleep from their titles than from seeing them, and during his lifetime he did publish 15 books and, at its peak, Andy Warhols Interview was the best magazine in the world. He was primarily a conceptual artist, an author of concepts whose philosophy will in time stand him in as good stead as his painting. And when I started visiting the Factory in 1973, Andy knew that I was there as a writer; he knew that one day I would write a book about him. Anybody who doubts that only has to peruse the Exposures quote. It can almost be seen as a challenge to write the book.