Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up

by Bob Colacello

In the 1960s, Andy Warhol’s paintings redefined modern art. His films provoked heated controversy, and his Factory was a hangout for the avant-garde. In the 1970s, after Valerie Solanas’s attempt on his life, Warhol become more entrepreneurial, aligning himself with the rich and famous. Bob Colacello, the editor of Warhol’s Interview magazine, spent that decade by Andy’s side as employee, collaborator, wingman, and confidante.

In these pages, Colacello takes us there with into the Factory office, into Studio 54, into wild celebrity-studded parties, and into the early-morning phone calls where the mysterious artist was at his most honest and vulnerable. Colacello gives us, as no one else can, a riveting portrait of this extraordinary brilliant, controlling, shy, insecure, and immeasurably influential. When Holy Terror was first published in 1990, it was hailed as the best of the Warhol accounts. Now, some two decades later, this portrayal retains its hold on readers—as does Andy’s timeless power to fascinate, galvanize, and move us.

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Pop Culture, Cultural, Art and Photography

752 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Tommy Bat-Blog Brookshire]

I've been a huge Andy Warhol Fan for a very long time & have read almost every book there is about him. This one is the BEST so far. It was written by Bob Colacello, who actually worked very closely with Andy for many years. So, there's a ton of inside information & circumstances that's really interesting, both from a "Biography" point of view & "Art History". Back in the 70's and 80's Colacello worked for Interview ( the Magazine created by Warhol ) & now, I think, he works for Vanity Fair. He's a VERY excellent author. This book is basically a Biography of Warhol's life & is very detailed. Like I said, if you only read 1 "Warhol" book, then grab this one.

[Ria]

exams are finally over im free

it was as messy and as problematic as i expected it to be. god Andy was such a bitch. we somehow don't bully him enough.

[Jim Wayland]

Not just the best biography of Andy Warhol, but one of THE BEST bios I've EVER read. Colacello has written for magazines, and so makes each chapter a closely-observed slice of his years inside the Warhol Factory and New York's "In" society circles.

[GK Stritch]

Happy Birthday, Andy.

Once upon a time, when New York City, celebrity, and international society seemed more interesting, Andy Warhol was in the thick of the soup, and Bob Colacello (melodic name Cellocola) gently spoons it out. Really up there: 5 BIG GILDED GRAPES. The funniest most fun book I've read in years, however, things do sour in that gilded, decadent, silk-screened scene, intimately informative, not only for the dish but for Andy's processes: his thinking and techniques--a book I enjoyed so much I couldn't put it down, and didn't want to end. Had to be exhausting to toil with Warhol, but, Bob, it was the opportunity of the second half of the century. The author comes across as a level-headed gentleman who takes care not to disparage. ​Sad finale for Warhol who achieved fantastic worldy success (and a compelling rags to riches American story: poor boy from poor place makes it in the New York world of fashion illustration on nothing but pure talent--no looks, no charm, no connections--and goes on to the greatest heights in the world and world of art). But then the return home in death to family and the Holy Ghost Byzantine Rite Catholic Church, Pittsburgh, and a plain burial site on a hill (I'm sure Andy would have HATED it) in a place he escaped from to go to New York to re-create himself. Alas, the final journey to the undiscovered country: Angels and Archangels . . . Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim . . . , and as written (1 Corinthians 2.9) Eye has not seen . . . not even Andy's sophisticated, color-filled eyes--interesting how the author draws the Catholic connection in Andy's world. Can't wait to read this again.

(And re-read it again I did: deeply and mostly hilarious, but countered by pathos. July 31, 2018)

posted August 6, 2020: In the End (he's my one best friend)
https://youtu.be/UE1VS2QzOv4

[Derek]

A wonderful insider’s look at the business of being Warhol. The book captures Warhol’s artistic energy, commercial intelligence, and personal insecurities.

[Jac]

Whoa. This was like reading 500 pages of Jezebel, if Jezebel was set in the late 60's and 70's when stars were awesome and if Jezebel was an insider.

Catty joy.

[Chris Organ]

At just under 700 pages I felt this was way too long . In many ways it read a bit like a long OK or Hello magazine with endless references to the great and the good as Warhol and his cronies scour the glitterati for portrait commissions . The author worked at the Factory for a period of time and was a significant contributor to the establishment and success of Interview magazine and the book was as much a potted history of that publication as anything else .
They say you should never meet your heroes and if that is true then neither should you read about them . No one comes out of this particularly well and perhaps the authors treatment by his employer underlies his view of his subject although he doesn’t really portray himself in a particularly positive light
Unlike some reviews I have read I did not feel that I learned more about Warhol than I already knew which perhaps is due to the fact that the author’s association was for a limited period of time or perhaps there is not that much to know ? I have always admired Warhol’s work epitomising or perhaps even creating the zeitgeist of the times but some of the sheen has been removed for me by reading this book. It will be interesting how I react when I see the new exhibition which has just opened at the Tate Modern . Enjoyable reading but ultimately disappointing

[Julie Stout]

enjoying all the juicy tidbits about Andy Warhol and his entourage. this is the kind of stuff that can keep me up at night. It's better than the best reality tv on steroids!

Brilliant on every level. Not one page was less than riveting. Will be worth a second read in 10 years from now. Laugh out loud funny stuff too!

[Rachael]

An oldie but goodie for me. This book is a smorgasbord of NYC art/entertainment gossip, both horrifying and captivating. It heightened my fascination with the NYC that existed in the 60s/70s/80s, a down and dirty version of the artstar/hipster playland of today. I could not put it down once I got started, and I think it might be time to give it a re-read.

[Karen]

love bios that don't read like history lessons--this is THE book to read if you really want an accurate glimpse of Warhol beyond the art.

[Stacey]

I really thought Andy Warhol would have been a more interesting topic. Lots of gossip, mostly about people I've never heard of.

[Annie Jeng]

DNFed this one at about 25%. Too much name dropping and gossip…

[Evan]

I actually read about half of this, and it was pretty good. It was obvious the author had a huge ax to grind against Andy and the circle, but I have to admit this doesn't bother me too much because I'm a Warhol skeptic, not so much about the art, which is considerable and worthy (for the most part), but for the whole vacuous bohemian scene and fawning that went on. Warhol strikes me as a cipher, although he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut most of the time and let everyone else write on the slate. The Warhol phenom is, in some ways, most fascinating as a study of how the public reacts to an artist and his movement.
There should be books, pro and con, about artists, because there are always opposing camps and somewhere in the middle of the two lies the truth. There are plenty of books, for instance, that portray Orson Welles as a poor victim of the system, an artist robbed of his vision by commercial forces. And yet, I would recommend Charles Higham's bio of Welles, which takes an opposite view: that Welles' own ego and poor judgement led to his decline. Great artists can stand up to the scrutiny. (It's usually the sycophants who can't).

[Carmen]

So much of what we read in terms of biography and history is revisionist, however, as you read what Bob Colacello observed from his most intimate perspective in the catbird seat, you learn alot about the cult-like life style of the pop art icon, Andy Warhol. Supplementing this memoir with other material about the lives of Edie Sedgwick (Factory Girl), Danny Williams (A Walk into the Sea), the Factory Warholstars, Lou Reed, Holly Woodlawn, Rudolf Nuryev, Truman Capote, Halston, Dylan, amongst others - will leave you wondering about the "composite" talent that was Andy Warhol and which lasted more than his infamously solipsistic "fifteen minutes". He was in his own right a cataclysmic tour de force who cast long shadows far beyond his time.

[DTMcMIchael]

Filling in the blanks.

When you consider the scope of celebrity, it is impossible to completely capture the essence of someone as complex and disconnected as Andy Warhol. Like Marilyn Monroe or Jacqueline Kennedy, there will be many interpretations and last words. Andy Warhol was a man encased in his own fears and experiences. His exposures will always be fragmented. As a gay man, I recognized the patchwork quilt of stories that are woven as means to an end to unravel the enigma that was Andy Warhol. In order to understand this man and the world that he presided over, one must read all that was written and let the cream rise to the top. Because of the nature of his life, what has settled at the bottom also must be carefully scrutinized. There is still much to be told.

[Iga]

Andy wasn't really so original, brilliant and caring as we all thought? Well, no, we knew he wasn't all that nice. A couple hundred pages of juicy gossip from one of Andy's right- wing men, but which of it is true and which is mere hallucination? One thing is for sure; it's fun in a true warholian way.

[Amber]

Really great and brutal biography of Andy from someone who worked with him really closely for a long time. I think my husband was secretly bummed out when I told him Andy kind of did drugs and kind of messed around with dudes. Kind of. Anyone into Warhol who has read THE Philosophy of... or his autobiography should read this too as a companion piece.

[Sue]

The author was an intimate of Warhol's during The Factory days & became a writer for Vanity Fair magazine. The museum where I volunteer having a Warhol exhibit soon & I was eager to learn about him. In the same vein as Vanity Fair, this book is gossipy, celebrity-driven, revealing, titillating & a quick read.

[Christopher Ames]

the most interesting part of this book is the backstory on INTERVIEW magazine and insight into Andy's business world of his art. Bob's personal relationship with Andy and his retelling of their history comes across as petty and resentful which I guess is understandable in the end due to his feeling of mistreatment. If you are a fan of the Warhol world, it is a worth while adventure.

[The Reading Geek]

This is a very good book; it took me a very long time to finish it because I’m working all the time and have more than one hobby. But this book is brilliant and in depth writing wise. It presents Andy Warhol more than just the artist he was; it humanizes him and tells the story of the man behind the artist. He was very thoughtful and insightful. A very good read.

[Damon]

Of all the books about Andy Warhol, this one is not the best written, but it is the most detailed, insightful and, in my best estimation, captures the delicate balance of what was real and what was supposed to be real in Andy's world.

[laura]

I read this when I was obsessed with Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick. I think I read this book five times my 10th grade year. Not the best written, but really gives inside details about what life was [allegedly:] like having the in's with Warhol and his crew. Enjoyed.

[Robin]

Skimming through most of this (long, not-very-interesting) book, I learned some things about Andy Warhol in my efforts to prepare myself for a Warhol art exhibit. I probably would have been better off skimming through Wikipedia.

[Heather]

Andy! <3

[Heather]

A wonderful portrait of a man with a very controlled image. The truth you get to when the one speaking has nothing to lose.

[Sweaty]

i first borrowed this from my public library when i was in junior high school. i loved it and have been a fan of warhol since.

[Onsetsu Evan Cordes]

Great insider view of Warhol in the 70's. Plenty of dish.

[John]

Dishy.

[Ronn]

Let's just say that reading biographies of people you admire can often be a bad idea.

[Edward Mourningwood]

No one has anything nice to say about Andy and I think he'd like that just fine.