Actor, Warhol Superstar. Born Paul Johnson in New Jersey, he met Andy Warhol at a New York discotheque in 1965. Warhol found him to be "unbelievably good looking - like a comic strip drawing of Mr. America, clean cut, handsome, very symmetrical". Dubbing him "Paul America," Warhol invited him to join his coterie of "superstars" at The Factory, his renowned studio in Manhattan. He quickly shot to "superstardom" as the lead character in Warhol's experimental film "My Hustler" (1965), the first of Warhol's films to enjoy commercial success. He subsequently starred in an even bigger hit, "Ciao! Manhattan," with Edie Sedgwick, the biggest superstar in Warhol's stable. His new-found celebrity was short-lived, however, as he increasing became dependent on heroin and speed, and the resulting violent outbursts alienated Warhol to the point that he was no longer welcome at The Factory. His brief brush with fame now over, he drifted through life until he was struck by a car and killed while walking home from a dental appointment in Ormond Beach, Florida.
Actor, Warhol Superstar. Born Paul Johnson in New Jersey, he met Andy Warhol at a New York discotheque in 1965. Warhol found him to be "unbelievably good looking - like a comic strip drawing of Mr. America, clean cut, handsome, very symmetrical". Dubbing him "Paul America," Warhol invited him to join his coterie of "superstars" at The Factory, his renowned studio in Manhattan. He quickly shot to "superstardom" as the lead character in Warhol's experimental film "My Hustler" (1965), the first of Warhol's films to enjoy commercial success. He subsequently starred in an even bigger hit, "Ciao! Manhattan," with Edie Sedgwick, the biggest superstar in Warhol's stable. His new-found celebrity was short-lived, however, as he increasing became dependent on heroin and speed, and the resulting violent outbursts alienated Warhol to the point that he was no longer welcome at The Factory. His brief brush with fame now over, he drifted through life until he was struck by a car and killed while walking home from a dental appointment in Ormond Beach, Florida.
