Paul Morrissey, cult director and early collaborator of Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground, dies aged 86

Paul Morrissey, the cult film director and early collaborator of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground has died at the age of 86.

His death was confirmed by his archivist, Michael Chaiken, who told the New York Times that Morrissey died from pneumonia in a New York hospital on Monday (October 28).

Best known for films including Flesh (1968), Trash (1970) and Women In Revolt (1971), Morrissey was an instrumental figure in Warhol’s Factory studio after being contracted to run it upon meeting Warhol in 1965. He became known for making low-budget films about drug addicts and hustlers using a cast of models, socialites, artists, drag queens and others that would eventually be known as Warhol’s “superstars”. Morrissey also collaborated with Warhol on the likes of Chelsea Girls (1966) and Lonesome Cowboys (1968).

He managed the Velvet Underground and Nico between 1968 and 1967 and collaborated with Warhol on the film The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound. Around this time, he also co-conceived and named Warhol’s multimedia series of “happenings”, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, featuring performances by the band.

Warhol and Morrissey’s creative relationship fractured in 1974, after which the latter was frequently critical of the former, particularly in relation to Warhol purportedly taking too much credit for their work together.

Morrissey continued making films after parting ways with Warhol, including the 1978’s Sherlock Holmes spoof The Hound of the Baskervilles and 1982’s Forty Deuce. His final film, News From Nowhere, came out in 2010.

Morrissey is survived by his brother Kenneth, and his eight nieces and nephews.

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