Glenn O'Brien obit

Glenn O’Brien, Writer and “TV Party” Host, Dead at 70

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O’Brien, known as “The Style Guy,” worked closely with Warhol, Madonna, Basquiat, and others throughout his career 

He was not on the list.

Glenn O’Brien has died, according to GQ and colleague Jerry Saltz. He was 70 years old. A cause of death has not yet been revealed. O’Brien began his career at Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine in 1970, serving as Editor & Art Director from 1971 to 1974. After that, he worked as Rolling Stone’s New York Bureau Chief, and later penned “The Style Guy” column in GQ. From 1978 to 1982, O’Brien hosted the public-access television show “Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party.” The program featured music and interviews with David Byrne, Blondie, the Clash, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and others. O’Brien also wrote the film Downtown 81, which starred Basquiat. Other works from O’Brien include 2002’s The Style Guy, 2011’s How to Be a Man, and Madonna’s 1992 book Sex, which he co-wrote and edited.

He was featured for many years as "The Style Guy" in GQ magazine and published a book with that title. He worked as a writer and editor at a number of publications, including Rolling Stone, Playboy, Interview, High Times, Spin, and Details. He also published the arts and literature magazine Bald Ego from 2003 to 2005.

O'Brien was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended the Jesuit St. Ignatius High School. O'Brien went to Georgetown University and edited the Georgetown Journal, which was founded by Condé Nast. O'Brien later studied film at the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

In his early career, O'Brien was a member of Andy Warhol's Factory. He was one of the first editors of Warhol's Interview magazine. Bob Colacello, his classmate and the editor of Interview, hired him as an associate editor. O'Brien significantly extended the magazine's content beyond film by including fashion and music. He worked with artist Richard Bernstein to produce the elegant new Interview logo, which is still in use today. From early 1972 to the summer of 1973, O'Brien took over Colacello's role as the managing editor of Interview.

After his departure for Rolling Stone magazine, he continued to write for Interview and returned as editor several times. He was a music critic for the publication in the punk era for which he penned the column "Glenn O'Brien's Beat" for 12 years.

The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers (1971) features an image of O'Brien in his underwear on the inner sleeve, taken by Warhol.

In the late 1970s, O'Brien had a band called Konelrad, which he described as a "socialist-realist rock band".

From 1978 to 1982, O'Brien hosted a New York city Public-access television cable TV show called TV Party. During this period, O'Brien edited several iconic downtown novels, including Kathy Acker's Blood and Guts in High School[14] and The Correct Sadist by Terence Sellers.

In 1980, he wrote the screenplay (which he also co-produced with Patrick Montgomery) for a film to be called New York Beat, starring Jean-Michel Basquiat It was released in 2000 as Downtown 81, with post-production managed by O'Brien and Maripol.[17] In June 1980, O'Brien's article "Graffiti '80: The State of the Outlaw Art" was published in High Times magazine. It was the first major survey of the burgeoning graffiti art scene, which featured Basquiat, Fab 5 Freddy and Lee Quiñones. O'Brien has a cameo appearance as an art dealer in the hip-hop film Wild Style.

After leaving TV Party, in addition to continuing his writing career, he attempted a stint as a stand-up comedian, and was a contributing editor of Allure, Harper's Bazaar, and Creative Director of advertising at Barneys New York. For 10 years, he wrote a monthly column for Artforum magazine. O'Brien edited Madonna's 1992 Sex book. He had been introduced to Madonna a decade prior through her relationship with Basquiat. He also worked with her on The Girlie Show World Tour book in 1993.

In January 2008, he was named editorial director of Brant Publications, which included Interview Magazine as well as Art in America and Antiques. In June 2009, it was announced that he had left his position with Brant Publications.

He lent his collection of early Basquiat works to various exhibitions, including Deitch Projects, and co-authored a major volume on the artist.

Actor

The Trophy Hunter (2012)

The Trophy Hunter

6.0

Short

2012

 

Alter Egos

TV Series

2011

1 episode

 

Downtown 81 (2000)

Downtown 81

6.9

Rock Critic

2000

 

Force of Circumstance (1990)

Force of Circumstance

6.3

Charles Foris

1990

 

Wild Style (1982)

Wild Style

7.0

Museum Curator

1982

 

Subway Riders (1981)

Subway Riders

5.6

C.O.D. Isherwood

1981

 

Writer

Downtown 81 (2000)

Downtown 81

6.9

Writer

2000

 

TV Party (1978)

TV Party

TV Series

creator

1978–1982

 

Producer

TV Party (2005)

TV Party

6.9

Video

producer: original series

2005

 

Downtown 81 (2000)

Downtown 81

6.9

co-producer

2000

 

Casting Department

Downtown 81 (2000)

Downtown 81

6.9

casting

2000

 

Music Department

Downtown 81 (2000)

Downtown 81

6.9

musical director

2000

 

Additional Crew

Shot Through the Heart (1998)

Shot Through the Heart

7.1

TV Movie

consultant: SFOR, Sarajevo unit (as Lt. Glenn O'Brien)

1998

 

Thanks

Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills (2007)

Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills

7.5

special thanks

2007

 

Self

Debbie Harry: Atomic Blondie (2018)

Debbie Harry: Atomic Blondie

7.9

TV Movie

Self

2018

 

Tea at the Beatrice with Glenn O'Brien (2015)

Tea at the Beatrice with Glenn O'Brien

TV Series

Self

2015–2018

16 episodes

 

Jean Michel Basquiat in Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat (2017)

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat

6.7

Self

2017

 

Wild History

Self

2016

 

My First Apartamento: Glenn O'Brien

Short

Self

2015

 

Petra Collins in The Bubble (2015)

The Bubble

Short

Self

2015

 

In the Woods (2013)

In the Woods

5.7

TV Series

Self

2013

3 episodes

 

Jay-Z in Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film (2013)

Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film

6.6

TV Short

Self - Writer

2013

 

Gray: Live at the New Museum

Self

2011

 

Mark Kostabi: Jedermann (2010)

Mark Kostabi: Jedermann

Self

2010

 

Basquiat, Une Vie (2010)

Basquiat, Une Vie

7.0

Self

2010

 

New York Conversations (2010)

New York Conversations

Self

2010

 

Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston (2010)

Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston

5.4

Self

2010

 

Blank City (2010)

Blank City

7.1

Self

2010

 

Candy Darling in Beautiful Darling (2010)

Beautiful Darling

7.3

Self

2010

 

Jean Michel Basquiat in Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (2010)

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child

7.7

Self

2010

 

Downtown Calling (2009)

Downtown Calling

7.5

Self

2009

 

Con Artist (2009)

Con Artist

7.3

Self

2009

 

Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills (2007)

Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills

7.5

Self

2007

 

Face Addict (2005)

Face Addict

7.4

Self

2005

 

TV Party (2005)

TV Party

6.9

Video

Self

2005

 

Omnibus (1967)

Omnibus

7.2

TV Series

Self - Interview Magazine

1990

1 episode

 

TV Party (1978)

TV Party

TV Series

Self - Host

1978–1982

 

The Coca Crystal Show: If I Can't Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution (1977)

The Coca Crystal Show: If I Can't Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution

TV Series

Self

1977–1995

 

Andy Warhol (1972)

Andy Warhol

7.7

Self

1972