ABC

ABC is presented in the diary not through an account of its corporate structure but through the television exposure and production arrangements it brought to Andy Warhol. Its two documented projects have different stakes: a 20/20 profile made Warhol fear that network attention could undermine his business, while an Omnibus segment turned a portrait session into a paid commission.

Television Exposure and Apprehension

On April 8, 1980, Warhol learned that ABC’s 20/20 was preparing an update to an earlier story about him. Karen Lerner said the segment would run that Thursday and was expected to last thirteen minutes. Rather than treating the broadcast as automatically beneficial publicity, Warhol feared that such prominent exposure might make his entire business fall apart. His response registers a tension central to the diary’s account of fame: visibility could attract attention, but it could also feel unpredictable and dangerous.

The broadcast’s actual reception brought some relief. On April 10, while Warhol was working at a restaurant, Brigid Berlin called to say that the 20/20 segment had just aired and was good. Hugh Downs narrated it. Because Warhol regarded Berlin as highly critical of him, her approval reassured him that the profile had come off well. The sequence—from dread of the broadcast to relief at a trusted friend’s favorable judgment—shows how exposure was experienced not simply as publicity, but as a risk whose consequences had to be read through other people’s reactions.

Omnibus and Paid Portrait Work

The other ABC project was the revived Omnibus, for which a crew was scheduled to film Warhol on April 10. The segment centered on Carly Simon having her portrait painted by Warhol, Larry Rivers, and Marisol. Warhol had insisted that he would not undertake another activity without payment; Vincent Fremont negotiated a contract with the program, with Simon expected to cover most of the cost. The diary thus records ABC’s involvement as part of a specific production arrangement: a televised portrait session was also commissioned work, rather than an unpaid appearance.

ABC’s Place in the Diary

Taken together, the two projects mark contrasting forms of television’s presence in Warhol’s life. The 20/20 update placed him before a broad audience and prompted fears about the effects of exposure; Omnibus connected filming to an explicit fee and a portrait commission. The evidence does not describe ABC’s wider operations, but it does show the network as both a source of public attention and a venue through which Warhol’s work could be organized as paid media activity.