John Curry

John Curry appears in Andy Warhol’s diary through a small sequence of encounters in early January 1979: a performance, a backstage meeting, and a painting sent afterward. The entries present Curry as both an ice-ballet performer facing an injury-related threat to his show and the recipient of Warhol’s open personal admiration and artistic attention.

Performance and Backstage Meeting

On January 5, Bianca Jagger had tickets to Curry’s ice-ballet show at the Minskoff Theater. After the performance, Warhol and the others went backstage to see him. Warhol noted that the theater’s dressing rooms were new, attractive, and air-conditioned, then described Curry as exceptionally good-looking and adorable. As Warhol was leaving, Curry kissed him on the mouth. The diary records the gesture plainly, without developing it into evidence of a continuing romance or relationship.

The show itself was under pressure: Curry had badly injured himself, and its closure was being considered. Even so, the production was to continue for another week. The entry places the intimate backstage moment beside the practical uncertainty surrounding Curry’s performance, without suggesting that one affected the other.

The Painting and Follow-up

The next day, Walter Steding called to offer freelance work, and Warhol arranged for him to deliver a Shadows painting to Curry. The diary specifies that the cab cost $10, giving the gift a concrete place in Warhol’s working routine: the artwork moved from his studio-world into the orbit of a performer he had just met backstage.

On January 7, as Warhol was leaving home, Curry called to thank him for the painting. That brief call completes the sequence begun at the theater. Curry is not merely the subject of Warhol’s admiration; he responds to the gift, creating a short exchange that links personal attention with the circulation of Warhol’s art.

Place in the Diary

Curry’s appearance is limited to these three closely connected entries, which give no broader biography or account of his career. Their significance lies in the way the diary follows a social encounter into a material gesture and its acknowledgment: a kiss at the theater, a painting delivered the following day, and a call of thanks. Together, these details make Curry a vivid presence in a compact episode, while leaving the nature and duration of any connection beyond it unstated.