Attempted assassination of Andy Warhol

In 1967, radical feminist Valerie Solanas was on a quest to have her book SCUM Manifesto published and her script Up Your Ass produced. She presented Up Your Ass to filmmaker Andy Warhol to read. In her 2014 biography of Solanas, Breanne Fahs argues that it is unlikely that she appeared at the Hotel Chelsea looking for Girodias, speculating that Girodias may have fabricated the account in order to boost sales for the SCUM Manifesto, which he had published. at 33 Union Square West, where the incident took place on the sixth floor. Fahs states that "the more likely story ... places Valerie at the Actors Studio at 432 West 44th Street early that morning." Actress Sylvia Miles stated that Solanas appeared at the Actors Studio looking for Lee Strasberg, asking to leave a copy of Up Your Ass for him. Fahs describes how Feiden then "frantically called her local police precinct, Andy Warhol's precinct, police headquarters in Lower Manhattan, and the offices of Mayor John Lindsay and Governor Nelson Rockefeller to report what happened and inform them that Solanas was on her way at that very moment to shoot Andy Warhol". In some instances, the police responded that "You can't arrest someone because you believe she is going to kill Andy Warhol", and even asked Feiden, "Listen lady, how would you know what a real gun looked like?" (A New York Times assistant Metro editor responded to an online comment regarding the story, saying that "The Times does not present Ms.Fieden's account as definitive"). == Shooting at the Factory ==

On June 3, 1968, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Andy Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas at his studio, the Factory, located on the sixth floor of the Decker Building in Manhattan, New York City. Solanas had visited the premises several times earlier that day in search of Warhol. She told Paul Morrissey, who oversaw the Factory, that she was "waiting for Andy to get money", but Morrissey attempted to have her leave, telling her that Warhol would not be there that day and that she could not stay. Warhol recalled in his book Popism (1980): It was a very hot day, and as Jed, Valerie, and I waited for the elevator. I noticed that she was wearing a fleece-lined winter coat and a high turtleneck sweater, and I thought how hot she must be—although, surprisingly, she wasn't even sweating. She was wearing pants, more like trousers (I'd never seen her in a dress), and holding a paper bag and twisting it—bouncing a little on the balls of her feet. Then I saw that there was something even more odd about her that day: when you looked close, she'd put on eye makeup and lipstick. walks to ambulance with back wound. In the ensuing confusion, Amaya believed the shots had come through a window before realizing Solanas was armed with a revolver "like one of those you see in Dick Tracy." Warhol superstar Gerard Malanga and artist Al Hansen arrived at the Factory shortly after Solanas fled the building. Hansen later described the chaotic scene he encountered:The doors opened on madness: Mario Amaya jumping around, blood all over his shirt back, someone's legs sticking out behind the far desk, to the right an arm. Fred Hughes and Jed kneeling, holding the someone's hand, tears in his eyes. Mario presenting his bloody back and earnestly asking over his shoulder, "Did it go in me? Did it go in me?"... "Who's the other one"—I nod toward the desk. Dig it, that's how far beyond my comprehension it was. Paul Morrissey said, "It's Andy—Andy!"—"Valerie Solanis [sic], that ugly dyke, came in with a gun and shot him!" Holy shit! I jump across to the desk. Fred Hughes: "He's dying and there's no ambulance. Where are the doctors, the cops?" Andy is laying there the way bad gunshots do, like a sick dog or cat—his eyelids flutter. "How long since you called?" There’s not much blood. No sirens. Billy Linich, crying, stands looking down at him. Jed wipes his forehead tenderly. Andy Warhol with bullet holes in him, laying in his blood on the floor of his studio. They were later released after Solanas surrendered to authorities that evening. According to Dr. Massimo Bazzini, executive medical director of Columbus Hospital, Warhol had been struck by a single bullet. "He is allowed no visitors except his mother and his two brothers. Soon Jed Johnson is permitted to see him. Distraught at the time of the shooting, he is calmer now and brings us daily reports of Andy's progress," recalled Ultra Violet. During his hospitalization, Warhol received an outpouring of get-well cards and letters from family, friends, and fans. After nearly two months of recovery, he was discharged from the hospital on July 28, 1968. == Arrest, legal proceedings, and psychiatric evaluations ==

Surrender and arrest Around 8 p.m. on the day of the attack, Solanas turned herself in to a police officer at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 47th Street near Times Square. Judge Getzoff intended to conduct a preliminary "psychoing" in light of her conduct, but no psychiatrist was present, and she was ordered held overnight without bail pending a further hearing. Publisher Maurice Girodias enlisted attorneys Irving Younger and Donald S. Engel to represent Solanas, but she refused their assistance. She also declined representation from a court-appointed Legal Aid Society lawyer, stating in court, "I don't want anybody to represent me. I could beat this thing myself." In August 1968, she was declared incompetent to stand trial due to insanity and committed to Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. In September 1968, it was reported that Warhol had decided not to press charges. While at Matteawan, Solanas received regular visits from Geoffrey LeGear, who lived in California and rented an apartment in Beacon, New York, to be near her. Between August and December 1968, he visited her 26 times, often discussing her grievances against Warhol and Girodias and advocating on her behalf. LeGear wrote letters to Warhol and Girodias urging them to assist Solanas, including a plea for Warhol's forgiveness and concerns that she was suicidal and felt abandoned. He also relayed her allegations against Girodias, including claims of eviction, surveillance, and interference with her legal and professional efforts, while expressing uncertainty about their validity.At times, Solanas rejected his involvement, asking him to stop visiting and insisting, "Only I can interpret me." Questions about her mental competence continued during this period. On December 9, 1968, Matteawan officials declared her fit to return to court. She appeared before Judge Schweitzer on December 12, who ordered further psychiatric evaluation and set bail at $10,000. The same day, LeGear posted bail in cash, an act that led Solanas to believe he had connections to the Mob. After her release, Solanas sent threatening letters to Warhol. On Christmas Eve, she also called him in an attempt to pressure him into purchasing a screenplay she had written, prompting Warhol to contact the police. She continued making obsessive and threatening phone calls to Girodias, Barney Rosset, Howard Hughes, and Robert Sarnoff of NBC, leading to her arrest on January 9, 1969. She was held at the New York Women's House of Detention in Manhattan until May 1969, after which she was transferred to Elmhurst General Hospital and Bellevue Hospital for further psychiatric evaluation. Conviction and sentencing On June 9, 1969, Solanas pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, stating, "I didn't intend to kill him … I just wanted him to pay attention to me. Talking to him was like talking to a chair." She was sentenced by Supreme Court Justice Gerald T. Culkin to up to three years at the State Prison for Women in Bedford Hills, New York, with credit for time served.When Solanas heard her sentence, she shouted in court, "Warhol deserved what he got! He is a goddamned liar and a cheat." Warhol was reportedly taken aback by the "light" sentence when contacted for comment. The Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed, a friend of Warhol, remarked, "You get more for stealing a car." == Aftermath ==

Reactions and subsequent events The National Organization for Women and other mainstream feminist organizations were divided on whether to support or condemn Solanas after she shot Warhol. Although Solanas had self-published the work in 1967, this marked its first commercial release. Girodias later acknowledged that he would not have published it had she not shot Warhol. While at Bellevue in 1969 and early 1970, Solanas continued to send angry letters to Girodias and Warhol, criticizing Olympia Press' handling of the book and insisting she deserved greater publicity. In March 1970, executive assistant district attorney David S. Worgan denied her request for parole, citing the seriousness of the crime. Two months later, she was transferred to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, but after only a few weeks was returned to Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane to complete her sentence. In April 1971, Solanas escaped from Matteawan and was recommitted before she was released in June 1971. Later that year, Solanas was arrested and charged with aggravated assault for threatening Barney Rosset, editor of Evergreen Review. Solanas underwent psychological testing and was certified as mentally ill. Years later, she spent some time as the editor of the biweekly feminist magazine Majority Report. She spent her last years in destitution and died in poverty in 1988. Warhol's reflections on the shooting In September 1968, Warhol told the Associated Press that he saw "'no new Warhol' as a result of the shooting. 'Before I thought it would be fun to be dead. Now I know it's fun to be alive.'" In a 1969 interview with Newsday, Warhol said of Solanas, "I don't dislike her. I don't dislike anyone. It wasn't her fault … She wasn't responsible for what she did." Effects on Warhol The shooting had a profound impact on Warhol and his work. Following his recovery, he focused on transforming the Factory into a more structured business enterprise as regulations tightened. His boyfriend, Jed Johnson, played an important role in his recovery, moving in with him to assist his recuperation and installing an alarm system at his Lexington Avenue townhouse. At the Factory, he also added security features, including a Dutch door and a wall around the elevator so that visitors had to be buzzed in. Despite these added precautions, security remained fragile. In 1971, two armed men forced their way into the Factory, demanding to see Warhol. Johnson and Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro ushered a terrified Warhol into the editing room and called the authorities. Although Warhol survived the attack, it is often said that the injuries he sustained hastened his decline. In March 1969, he underwent a follow-up procedure to remove a fragment of the bullet left inside him after the June 1968 shooting. According to his brother, John Warhola, the experience was deeply distressing and left Warhol with a lasting fear of hospitals. == In pop culture ==

The song "Andy's Chest" by rock musician Lou Reed is inspired by the attempted assassination of Andy Warhol. He first recorded the song in 1969 with his band, the Velvet Underground. He recorded a solo version for his 1972 album Transformer. The attack is the basis for the 1996 film I Shot Andy Warhol directed by Mary Harron. The film stars Lili Taylor as Valerie Solanas and Jared Harris as Andy Warhol. The 2017 episode "Valerie Solanas Died for Your Sins: Scumbag" from the television series American Horror Story is inspired by the attack. Solanas is portrayed by Lena Dunham and Warhol by Evan Peters. == References ==