Warhol's Muses: The Artists, Misfits, and Superstars Destroyed by the Factory Fame Machine

In this intriguing book, veteran celebrity biographer Laurence Leamer turns his attention to Andy Warhol’s “superstars,” the loosely-knit collection of aspiring models and performers who starred in the pop artist’s scandalous underground films.

Warhol’s so-called superstars generally fit a certain mold. Hallmarks of the Warholian “Factory” style included striking beauty, an angular body, and a propensity towards wearing heavy makeup. Most of the denizens of Warhol’s world were lapsed Catholics from wealthy but highly dysfunctional families. All of them became addicted to amphetamines, heroin, or both. Only a few survived their phase in Warhol’s orbit.

The superstars were a pathetic lot, but Leamer’s portrait of Warhol show more himself is even more damning. The pop artist exploited his followers sexually, emotionally, and financially in ways that reminded me of how, during the same time period, Charles Manson manipulated the members of his “Family” to further his own ends. Moreover, Warhol’s callousness towards his superstars was legendary. Even the death of his favorite “Factory girl,” Edie Sedgwick, at the age of 28 left Warhol unmoved.

This book is engagingly written, but the underlying sadness of the milieu it depicts makes it tough to read. show less