Susan Bottomly, Andy Warhol's 'International Velvet,' Then And Now
By | December 15, 2019
Among Andy Warhol's muses, the model and actress Susan Bottomly, whom Warhol dubbed International Velvet, stood out for her natural beauty. She was one of the Superstars, as Warhol called them, who appeared in the experimental films Warhol made.
Susan Bottomly Was A Teenaged Model
Bottomly's New Identity
Renamed International Velvet by Warhol, who was taken with The Velvet Underground, Bottomly began to appear in Warhol’s films with roles in Since, Superboy, Chelsea Girls, and (The 24 Hour Movie). Chelsea Girls was the film that had the greatest commercial success of his films made before he was shot in 1968. It lacked a cohesive narrative and was a split-screen movie about the lives of the people who lived in the Chelsea Hotel during the time period.
Andy Warhol In Manhattan
The Factory was Warhol’s Manhattan studio during the 60’s, the space where his work, including silk screens and films were created. It was also a hangout for a sundry group of musicians, actors, drug addicts and other free thinkers who became known as the Warhol Superstars, who seemed to make Warhol’s statement, “in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes,” a reality. Some of the people who frequented The Factory were indeed famous. Edie Sedgwick and Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground were part of the crowd who spent time there. And some, like Susan Bottomly, were unknown at that point.
Her Life As Part Of The Factory
Bottomly became a sort of “queen” of The Factory and briefly lived with Malanga who, according to Warhol, wrote poems about her. Meanwhile, her father was paying for her to stay at the Chelsea Hotel. When she and Warhol went out, her father’s money often paid the tabs and her father also had connections to wealthy benefactors for Warhol. When she and Malanga broke up, she began seeing David Croland. That relationship was also short-lived and she started seeing Christian Marquand, who cast her in a small role in the film version of Terry Southern’s Candy. When this didn’t lead her film career to take off, she moved to Italy and acted with Julian Beck’s Living Theater.
She Leaves The Public Eye
Bottomly returned to the States in 1968, the day before Warhol was shot. While Warhol was in the hospital, the party scene in Midnight Cowboy was filmed, featuring Bottomly and other Factory regulars. Bottomly explained, “I wanted as much attention as I could possibly get... But I had no idea how to handle the attention. I was very clumsy. I would drink too much, often. I had no idea what I was doing... I remember having a few twangs about the fact that Viva was becoming more important than I was. On the other hand I knew it was time for me to move on." After Midnight Cowboy, she dropped her pseudonym and became Susan Bottomly once again. She is said to be alive and well, living in Hawaii.