how the star of Andy Warhol's film
LUPE,
a film about a real life actress who
overdoses, dies
...overdoses and dies
As one of the 60's biggest New York cult-icons, Edie Sedgwick dazzled the scene with her beauty, style, glamour and wealth. She was a very bright and well spoken young lady with a knack for buying glamourous clothes, make-up and earings. She often graced the covers of Time, Life and Vogue.
Edie had an impressive family history of wealth and was well educated.Rumor had it that this family history was one of the reasons why Andy Warhol was first attracted to Edie. Warhol and Edie soon became close friends.
In the sixties, Edie would accompany Warhol everywhere - to parties in the Warhol 'factory' and to gallery openings all over New York and beyond. Edie added a touch of style and glamour to Warhol's gallery openings and these gallery exhibitions became 'events' and attracted large numbers of people.
Edie Sedgwick was the second of Warhol's Superstars. She followed in the footsteps of Baby Jane Holtzer, who was the first star of Warhol's early screen tests. The screen tests were regular occasions at which visitors to Warhol's factory would sit and be filmed by Warhol - or his assisstants - with his 16mm Bolex camera on their arrival. The films were packaged away and sometimes never seen in again.
Warhol's factory was an old building. It was splendidly decorated by Warhol's friend Billy Name using silver foil. The factory was used by Warhol, and his assistants, to produce silk-screens during the day and for holding parties at night. The factory was a place that has been well documented elsewhere. It housed a strange combination of artists, poets, drugged crazed people, socialites, party goers and drug dealers. Visitors would be dazzled by the shining silver walls. Once inside, visitors would be encouraged to dance by the sounds of Maria Callas (selected by Ondine) and Sixties pop music piping out from the sound system. On some occasions, the personalities of factory people clashed, but despite this, the factory was one of the most amazing and exciting places to be, in New York.
During 1964-5, Edie started to develop her modelling and acting skills. She started to perform in some of Warhol's films. These were not such a great success commercially - in fact they were often only screened inside the factory at parties or sometimes during concerts with Warhol's band, the Velvet Underground. Occasionally they were screened at the film makers co-op run by Jonas Mekas, an undeground film maker, where they became quite popular and had a cult following.
Edie became an underground film star, often noticeable by her striking presence on the screen - she had silver hair to match Warhol's. Despite the fact that she often did not follow any kind of coherent plot or script, Edie received a number of comments about how good she appeared on screen. Soon she began to believe in herself and she began to dream about starring in larger budget films, made in Hollywood.
Edie appeared in 13 Warhol films, possibly more as the exact number of films that Warhol and his assistants made is very difficult to assess. These films were often made and then sent to storage, possibly never to be seen again.
Edie's films include: Vinyl, Beauty#2, Kitchen, Poor Little Rich Girl, Bitch,
Restaurant, Prison, Face, Afternoon, Space, Outer and Inner Space, **** - Ondine
and Edie, Lupe.
During this time Bob Dylan was a visitor to Warhol's factory. He was quick to
spot Edie's talent and quickly latched onto her. Two songs of his are rumoured
to be written about Edie. Both were included on his 'Blonde on Blonde' LP.
At the same time as Bob Dylan's interest in Edie began to grow, Edie and Warhol started to argue about the money she was being paid to star in Warhol's films. Warhol told her that he was not making much money from them, but Edie had been told that she could expect to earn much more - even by moving away from the factory. The friendly relationship was beginning to wain. To possibly ease the pain of them breaking apart, Warhol soon distanced himself from Edie.
The arguments went on and eventually Edie left the factory for good. Warhol was reeling from her departure, but publicly denied any feelings for Edie whatsoever. Warhol said nothing and kept his thoughts close to his chest. However, the fact that Edie was leaving affected many of Warhol's factory crowd - who thought the world of her - and they were extremely disappointed that the situation developed as it did.
There was some talk of Edie featuring as a model in some of the leading fashion magazines - Vogue were very keen to use her, and after arranging some photo tests, they were very pleased with the results.
However, just as her modelling career was about to take off, and for no apparent reason, Vogue dropped her. Books about Edie have reported that, rumours of her drug connections had reached Vogue management and they immediately disapproved.
During her last few years of her tragically short life, Edie became a patient at the Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara. Edie was not like other patients because she was able to leave the hospital and take day visits. Edie made a number of friends and was very popular. Her friends found this visit ironic because Edie was actually born in the same hospital and also her father died at the hospital. During her stay, Edie met the person that would become her husband and with his help Edie began the long road back to recovery.
Towards the end of her life, Edie appeared on stage at a local fashion show. Although no one knew who she was - she had ditched her familiar silver haired look - her presence on stage turned heads with her sense of poise and style.
Her recovery was temporary, however. Edie Sedgwick's husband, Michael Post, woke up on the morning of November 16, 1971 to find Edie lying dead next to him in bed. The Coronor classified her death as an 'Accident/Suicide' and the cause of her death as 'acute barbituate intoxication'.
Edie Sedgwick Filmography
Ciao Manhattan (1972) .... Susan Superstar
Andy Warhol Story, The (1967)
Four Stars (1967)
Chelsea Girls (1966) .... Edie
Outer and Inner Space (1966)
Beauty #2 (1965)
Horse (1965)
Kitchen (1965)
Poor Little Rich Girl (1965)
Restaurant (1965)
Space (1965)
Vinyl (1965)
Lupe (1965)
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