The news was the same news that had been on all night, pictures of John [Lennon] and old film clips. Had to take Archie and Amos down to the office to be looked at by the Lewis Allen dummy people (cab $5). When I got there Howdy Doody was waiting for me. I'm doing his portrait, he's one of the Big Myths.
After I photographed Howdy, I got into the barber's chair that the dummy people brought. They did the back of my head, they put a wig hat on me. There were two photographers and Ronnie was taking 3-D pictures. They put a gook on and covered my ears and eyes. They said, Pinch me if you want to get out of it." It was making me sick, and I had a cold, and I had phlegm that I couldn't cough up, it was awful They finally took the mold off but then they dropped it. They were saying. "We can save it, we can save it." But then they said they might have to do another one and I said, "No you're not." They stuck my hands in some more gook and that got some air bubbles so they lost a couple of fingers on that try. Then they did my teeth. And while this was going on, Ron Reagan arrived, he'd just had lunch with his father at the Waldorf. I was so out of it I couldn't really talk. Bob had given Doria the day off -- she's working for him now -- but she didn't go to the Waldorf lunch because Nancy couldn't get over the idea that her son had married without her consent.
And Bob was feeling his oats becasue the collector's issue of the Daily News that had "John Lennon Shot" headlines is the one that had the big story on him in it--"The Man Behind Andy Warhol." It was a long article, but it was boring.
I watched the John Lennon news and it's so scary. I mean, the other day, the kid named Michael who's been writing me letters for five years just walked in -- somebody buzzed him in -- and he walked over and handed me another letter and left. Where does he live? In institutions?
Warhol, A. (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries (P. Hackett, Ed.). Pg. 347-348. New York: Warner Books.