International Velvet
- Actress
International Velvet was the Andy Warhol
"superstar" who was the immediate replacement for
Edie Sedgwick in the Warhol retinue. Born
Susan Bottomly into a venerable New England family (her father served
as a district attorney in Boston), she attended boarding school, but
was expelled four times. In 1966, the rebellious deb met Warhol at a
party in Boston. Simultaneously, her modeling career was launched
independent of Warhol when she was featured on the front cover of
"Mademoiselle" magazine. She was 16 years old.
Bottomly hooked up with Warhol after she moved to New York City that
summer. She began living at the Chelsea Hotel, financed by her
allowance from her family. Warhol factotum and superstar
Gerard Malanga shacked up with Bottomly
at the Chelsea for the first couple of months of her stay in Gotham.
According to Warhol, the smitten Malanga wrote poems about her.
Warhol's personal and professional relationship with
Edie Sedgwick, his greatest creation and -
for a time in 1965, his constant companion - had fractured due to the
erratic behavior linked to her drug use (addicted to speed, she was a
raving paranoid by 1966). Edie had virtually abandoned Warhol to became
an acolyte of Bob Dylan, becoming a virtual
"sex slave," in her own words, to Dylan's right-hand man, Bob Neuwirth.
She took Edie's place, and Warhol began escorting her to clubs,
restaurants and art shows.
The Machivellian Warhol used Bottomly in the mind-games he played with
his own acolytes, the assistants, hangers-on and others who hung out
with him at The Factory, his industrial loft living/work space. He
played Bottomly off against the others in the Wahol crowd while
exploiting the well-heeled Bottomly, who like fellow "poor little rich
girl" Edie Sedgwick, had family money that she used to pick up the tab
for Warhol's gallivants about town. Unlike Edie, Bottomly's well-to-do
and influential father, a member of the Eastern Establishment,
introduced Warhol to to potential financial backers.
Warhol rechristened her "International Velvet" (Warhol had recently
discovered the great rock 'n roll band The Velvet Underground and had
become their manager and promoter) and gave her a role in his film
Chelsea Girls (1966), which was
shot in the summer of 1966. Her sequence, in which she co-starred with
Mary Woronov, was actually filmed in her
own room at the Chelsea Hotel. International Velvet also appeared in
two other sequences in the movie, which was Warhol's most successful
film, critically and financially, of the 1960s.
Velvet and Woronov both appeared in the movie
Superboy (1966) which has never been
screened in public. She later appeared in
**** (1967), Warhol's 25-hour long "movie"
consisting of all the footage shot from August 1966 through September
1967. **** (1967) was only screened once and
was later cut up into a two-hour version and into other films with
normal running times.
Velvet broke up with Malanga and launched an affair with tyro fashion
designer David Croland, who later become known for his fashion
illustrations. She met Croland at a party she attended with Warhol;
instantly smitten, they became lovers that night at another party, in
the bathroom of a Fifth Avenue apartment. They soon shacked up together
in a hotel room paid for by Velvet, registered as "Mr. & Mrs. Bottomly"
as she was the one with the checkbook.
Velvet and Croland eventually broke up when she pursued an affair with
the French movie actor and director
Christian Marquand, a good friend of
Marlon Brando who was directing him in the
movie version of Terry Southern's "Candy." Marquand cast Velvet in a
bit part in the movie, but it did nothing for her career. Under
Marquand's spell, she moved to Italy to perform with
Julian Beck's Living Theatre and stayed
there for months.
Velvet arrived back in New York on June 2, 1968, the day before Warhol
was shot. The day of Warhol's attempted assassination by
Valerie Solanas, she ended her
relationship with Croland for good, after finding out that Warhol would
survive.
While Warhol recovered in the hospital during late June 1968, Velvet
had an acting gig in
John Schlesinger's
Midnight Cowboy (1969). She was
also one of the Warhol crowd who appeared in the psychedelic party
scene. By this time, dynamics at The Factory began to change. After
getting out of the hospital, Warhol began to be less accessible to the
pubic, and Viva was becoming the new
"queen" of The Factory. Velvet realized her time was over and it was
time to move on. After
Midnight Cowboy (1969),
International Velvet went back to being Susan Bottomly.
"superstar" who was the immediate replacement for
Edie Sedgwick in the Warhol retinue. Born
Susan Bottomly into a venerable New England family (her father served
as a district attorney in Boston), she attended boarding school, but
was expelled four times. In 1966, the rebellious deb met Warhol at a
party in Boston. Simultaneously, her modeling career was launched
independent of Warhol when she was featured on the front cover of
"Mademoiselle" magazine. She was 16 years old.
Bottomly hooked up with Warhol after she moved to New York City that
summer. She began living at the Chelsea Hotel, financed by her
allowance from her family. Warhol factotum and superstar
Gerard Malanga shacked up with Bottomly
at the Chelsea for the first couple of months of her stay in Gotham.
According to Warhol, the smitten Malanga wrote poems about her.
Warhol's personal and professional relationship with
Edie Sedgwick, his greatest creation and -
for a time in 1965, his constant companion - had fractured due to the
erratic behavior linked to her drug use (addicted to speed, she was a
raving paranoid by 1966). Edie had virtually abandoned Warhol to became
an acolyte of Bob Dylan, becoming a virtual
"sex slave," in her own words, to Dylan's right-hand man, Bob Neuwirth.
She took Edie's place, and Warhol began escorting her to clubs,
restaurants and art shows.
The Machivellian Warhol used Bottomly in the mind-games he played with
his own acolytes, the assistants, hangers-on and others who hung out
with him at The Factory, his industrial loft living/work space. He
played Bottomly off against the others in the Wahol crowd while
exploiting the well-heeled Bottomly, who like fellow "poor little rich
girl" Edie Sedgwick, had family money that she used to pick up the tab
for Warhol's gallivants about town. Unlike Edie, Bottomly's well-to-do
and influential father, a member of the Eastern Establishment,
introduced Warhol to to potential financial backers.
Warhol rechristened her "International Velvet" (Warhol had recently
discovered the great rock 'n roll band The Velvet Underground and had
become their manager and promoter) and gave her a role in his film
Chelsea Girls (1966), which was
shot in the summer of 1966. Her sequence, in which she co-starred with
Mary Woronov, was actually filmed in her
own room at the Chelsea Hotel. International Velvet also appeared in
two other sequences in the movie, which was Warhol's most successful
film, critically and financially, of the 1960s.
Velvet and Woronov both appeared in the movie
Superboy (1966) which has never been
screened in public. She later appeared in
**** (1967), Warhol's 25-hour long "movie"
consisting of all the footage shot from August 1966 through September
1967. **** (1967) was only screened once and
was later cut up into a two-hour version and into other films with
normal running times.
Velvet broke up with Malanga and launched an affair with tyro fashion
designer David Croland, who later become known for his fashion
illustrations. She met Croland at a party she attended with Warhol;
instantly smitten, they became lovers that night at another party, in
the bathroom of a Fifth Avenue apartment. They soon shacked up together
in a hotel room paid for by Velvet, registered as "Mr. & Mrs. Bottomly"
as she was the one with the checkbook.
Velvet and Croland eventually broke up when she pursued an affair with
the French movie actor and director
Christian Marquand, a good friend of
Marlon Brando who was directing him in the
movie version of Terry Southern's "Candy." Marquand cast Velvet in a
bit part in the movie, but it did nothing for her career. Under
Marquand's spell, she moved to Italy to perform with
Julian Beck's Living Theatre and stayed
there for months.
Velvet arrived back in New York on June 2, 1968, the day before Warhol
was shot. The day of Warhol's attempted assassination by
Valerie Solanas, she ended her
relationship with Croland for good, after finding out that Warhol would
survive.
While Warhol recovered in the hospital during late June 1968, Velvet
had an acting gig in
John Schlesinger's
Midnight Cowboy (1969). She was
also one of the Warhol crowd who appeared in the psychedelic party
scene. By this time, dynamics at The Factory began to change. After
getting out of the hospital, Warhol began to be less accessible to the
pubic, and Viva was becoming the new
"queen" of The Factory. Velvet realized her time was over and it was
time to move on. After
Midnight Cowboy (1969),
International Velvet went back to being Susan Bottomly.