Allen Midgette (born as Allen Joseph Midgett; February 2, 1939 – June 16, 2021) was an American actor and painter. He is best known for impersonating Andy Warhol on a 1967 University lecture tour.[1] He was eventfully found out.
Allen Midgette | |
|---|---|
 Midgette by Billy Name, 1966 | |
| Born | Allen Joseph Midgett February 7, 1939 Camden, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | June 16, 2021 (aged 82) Woodstock, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Painter |
| Years active | 1968–2014 |
Life and career
editMidgett was born in Camden, New Jersey, the son of Dorothy (Jones) and Jarvis Midgett, who was a ship captain and harbor master.[2]
Midgette appeared in two French New Wave influenced avant-garde Italian films by Bernardo Bertolucci, the then 21 year old's 1962 directorial debut La commare secca (based on a story by Pier Paolo Pasolini for whom Bertolucci was previously an assistant) and Before the Revolution (1964). He was also an extra in the 1961 film version of West Side Story.
In 1967, Warhol asked Midgette to impersonate him at a University lecture tour.[3] Months passed before the schools realized it wasn't Warhol. Warhol had to return to the campuses to appear as himself in 1968.[4]
Midgette appeared in two of Warhol's films, The Nude Restaurant (1967) and Lonesome Cowboys (1968).[2]
He later acted in another Bertolucci movie, 1900 (1976), in the role of Vagabond, which, Midgette related, the director wrote specifically for him.[5]
Midgette died on June 16, 2021, in Woodstock, New York at the age of 82.[2]
References
edit- ^ Smart, Paul (2019-11-05). "Alan Midgette's mural of the whole - Hudson Valley One". hudsonvalleyone.com. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
- ^ a b c Genzlinger, Neil (2021-06-18). "Allen Midgette, an Ersatz Andy Warhol, Dies at 82". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
- ^ Nichols, Sharon (7 August 2013). "Being Andy Warhol". Chronogram Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
- ^ "'Real Warhol' Reveals Tricks". The Oregon Daily Journal. February 22, 1968. p. 3.
- ^ "Allen Midgette Interview". warholstars.org.
External links
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