Paul Morrissey, Icon of NY Underground Cinema Behind ‘Trash,’ ‘Flesh’ and More Andy Warhol Films, Dies at 86

Paul Morrissey, a fixture of New York's cinema scene whose collaborations with Andy Warhol in the '60s and '70s reinvented the American underground and made local legends of amateur actors and transgender performers, died on Monday at a hospital in Manhattan. Click to expand the Mega Menu Variety Home Film Obituaries Oct 28, 2024 2:07pm PT He was 86.

The New York Times received confirmation of Morrissey's death from archivist Michael Chaiken, who stated that pneumonia was the cause.

In 1965, Morrissey and Warhol met for the first time, when the former was working on experimental films in his famous loft, The Factory. Dealing with financial plans of under $10,000, the pair finished a progression of elements, arriving at the most business accomplishment with a set of three featuring Warhol installation and gay sex image Joe Dallesandro that comprised of "Tissue," "Junk" and "Intensity." Morrissey's cinéma vérité direction and largely ad-libbed scripts provided his leads, such as Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn, and Viva, with a melodramatic apparatus to flex big personalities and affirm their star power. Click to expand the Mega Menu Variety Plus Icon Home Film Obituaries Oct 28, 2024 2:07pm PT Paul Morrissey, Icon of NY Underground Cinema Behind "Trash," "Flesh He was 86.

The New York Times received confirmation of Morrissey's death from archivist Michael Chaiken, who stated that pneumonia was the cause.

In 1965, Morrissey and Warhol met for the first time, when the former was working on experimental films in his famous loft, The Factory. The pair completed a series of films with budgets of less than $10,000. The trilogy starring Warhol fixture and gay sex symbol Joe Dallesandro, "Flesh," "Trash," and "Heat," achieved the greatest commercial success. Morrissey's cinéma vérité direction and largely improvised scripts provided his leads, such as Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn, and Viva, with a melodramatic apparatus to flex big personalities and affirm their star power. Warhol was the producer, and Morrissey was the director.

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Popular on Variety Morrissey and Warhol continued their collaboration with titles that were more genre-specific: Flesh for Frankenstein," which came out in 1973 in 3D; and the year after that, "Blood for Dracula." Although both were commercial failures and received less attention from critics at the time, they have since become cult classics.

Advertisement In 1974, the couple broke up. Morrissey would continue to direct, securing roles for Kevin Bacon and Dudley Moore. In 2010, his final film, "News From Nowhere," came out. Morrissey's criticism of Warhol and belief in the minuscule artistic contributions he made to their projects became increasingly outspoken over time.

Morrissey described Warhol as "incompetent, anorexic, illiterate, autistic, Asperger's — he never did anything in his entire life." That paid off in the long run because he kind of walked through it like a zombie.

Morrissey was born on February 23, 1938, in Manhattan. He was raised in Yonkers, where he attended Roman Catholic schools and later graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor's degree in English. Shortly thereafter, he began producing 16mm shorts, frequently drawing inspiration from his religious upbringing. Morrissey opened an underground cinema in the East Village following his time in the Army. His programming included his own shorts and early Brian De Palma films.

Morrissey is made due by his sibling, Kenneth, and his eight nieces and nephews