Early life and education Jed Johnson was born in
Alexandria, Minnesota, on December 30, 1948. He was the fourth of six children, born fifteen minutes after his
fraternal twin brother
Jay Johnson. They had two older brothers, Craig and Larry, and two younger sisters, Nancy and Susan. His mother, Vivian Christopher, was the family's sole provider after his parents' divorce, and his father returned to Minnesota. While in high school, Johnson took a summer school class in architecture at
American River Junior College in
Sacramento, California. 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 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. 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 , and Andy Warhol photographed by
Cecil Beaton at
the Factory, 1969. 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. According to Malanga, Johnson briefly assisted Warhol with
silkscreening, but disliked the hands-on, messy nature of the process, prompting Warhol to call Malanga back to resume the work. Warhol also allowed Johnson and his brother to use his charge account at
Max's Kansas City. After seeing their building, he expressed concern about the neighborhood's safety and encouraged Johnson to find a better apartment. Warhol and Solanas had arrived at the building at the same time as Johnson, who had just returned from the hardware store, and the three rode the elevator up together. During Warhol's recovery, a romance blossomed, 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 townhouse. He also accompanied Warhol's mother on weekly medical visits and cared for her two elderly cats. ,
Brigid Berlin,
Geraldine Smith,
Gerard Malanga, and
Ingrid Superstar. Photo by
Claude Picasso for
Esquire, 1969. After expressing interest in working on
sound, Warhol and Morrissey trained Johnson, and he started assisting them on their
underground films. While Warhol was hospitalized, Johnson assisted Morrissey with filming
Flesh (1968), in which he makes a cameo. He also appeared as a
hippie partygoer in
John Schlesinger's
Midnight Cowboy (1969). Like Warhol, Johnson developed a strong interest in photography. In 1969, his work appeared in
Al Hansen's underground magazine
Kiss, which featured a gossip column by Warhol. 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. The press referred to him as "Andy's shadow" and "Warhol's new standard of male beauty." Warhol designed the cover for
the Rolling Stones' album
Sticky Fingers, which features a man's crotch in blue jeans with a real zipper. Although several individuals have claimed to be the man on the album cover, Johnson is generally believed to have been the model. for
After Dark, 1970.|leftJohnson 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. 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 struggled with depression, which was exacerbated by Warhol's emotional distance; during their relationship, he attempted suicide twice, in 1970 and 1978. Johnson also aspired to become a pilot and paid for flying lessons in the early 1970s, but was unable to obtain his license due to his first suicide attempt. "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 Johnson recalled. 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. at the port of
Amalfi, 1973.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. Throughout their relationship, Johnson amassed several of Warhol's paintings, including
Silver Elvis,
Front and Back Dollar Bills,
Mao,
Flowers, Self-Portrait, and a print portfolio of
Electric Chair. Warhol also created portraits of Johnson and their dachshunds. Johnson's twin brother Jay Johnson inherited his art collection after his death.As Warhol's collecting increasingly overwhelmed his Lexington Avenue townhouse, Johnson encouraged a move to a larger space, reflecting both practical concerns and Warhol's investment in their domestic life. By late 1973, Johnson was scouting properties and reporting back to Warhol, and in January 1974, Warhol purchased a Neo-Gregorian-style townhouse at
57 East 66th Street in
Lenox Hill. Johnson, who had enjoyed organizing their previous home, was put in charge of decorating the new residence and worked with architect Peter Marino to renovate the kitchens and bathrooms. The townhouse served as a canvas for Johnson, who 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." "Jed influenced Andy to appreciate fine old things. It probably influenced Andy towards the
classical theme of art," he added. He was also a close friend of
Sandy Brant, who was the director of advertising for Warhol's
Interview magazine. That year, Johnson collaborated with Sandy Brant on interior schemes for an office building in
Greenwich, Connecticut owned by Peter Brant and his business partner
Joe Allen. Johnson also purchased a house in
Vail, Colorado with the Brants, where their jointly commissioned ski house—known as the Brant-Johnson House—was completed in 1977. Designed by
Venturi & Rauch, the residence was featured in the October 1977 issue of
Progressive Architecture. Its design drew on
Art Nouveau and the
Arts and Crafts movement, emphasizing vertical massing, angular geometry, and extensive use of natural wood. Following a 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. The apartment featured
Neo-Grec and
American Empire style furniture, stenciled
friezes, and lush furnishings. 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 described as a "master of interior design and period restoration." After becoming friends, the two began working together professionally and subsequently had an affair. By 1981, Wanzenberg had moved into Johnson’s apartment on Manhattan's West Side. Despite this division, they continued to collaborate professionally, sharing a home office and resources. During Warhol's lifetime, he did not permit his townhouse to be photographed for design magazines. After he died in 1987, Johnson worked with photographer
Elizabeth Heyert for her book
Metropolitan Places (1989) to document and preserve the atmosphere he had created in the interiors. 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 attracted high-profile clients, including
Mick Jagger,
Jerry Hall,
Bianca Jagger,
Barbra Streisand,
Richard Gere, and
Carl Icahn. In 1990, he renovated the new headquarters of
Interview magazine. In 1994,
Barbaralee Diamonstein and
Carl Spielvogel commissioned Johnson, working with architect Samuel White of
Buttrick White & Burtis, to renovate their home, Bonnie Dune, in
Southampton, New York.
Thurston Twigg-Smith commissioned Johnson to decorate the Twin Farms resort in
Barnard, Vermont. Johnson and Wanzenberg oversaw the renovation of the hotel's main house and the construction of three cottages in 1993, followed by the completion of five additional, individually designed cottages in 1995. In 1995, Johnson and Wanzenberg served as honorary chairmen of the
Katonah Museum of Art's gala dinner dance at Purchase College in
Purchase, New York. They shared a dachshund named Gus and jointly owned a two-home
Fire Island property that had previously belonged to fashion designer
Perry Ellis. In the 1990s, Johnson developed a strong interest in 18th-century crewelwork and embroidery, incorporating such textiles into his carefully composed interiors. As these materials became increasingly scarce, he began commissioning hand-embroidered reproductions in India, a process that led to a partnership with London-based Mona Perlhagen, who oversaw Chelsea Textiles, the European counterpart to Johnson's planned New York venture, Chelsea Editions. Following his death, the showroom opened in 1996 with the support of his brother. == Death ==