Wikipedia

Jay Johnson (model)

Jay Johnson (born December 30, 1948) is an American business executive and former model. Shortly after arriving in New York City in 1968 with his twin brother, Jed Johnson, Johnson became part of Pop artist Andy Warhol's inner circle at the Factory, where he emerged as one of Warhol's superstars and appeared in the film L'Amour (1972). Johnson built a successful career as a fashion model and was a muse to photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Following his brother's death in 1996, he became president of Jed Johnson Associates Inc. and later co-founded the textile firm Jed Johnson Home in 2005. He also briefly operated the trendy restaurant Fressen in New York's Meatpacking District.

Jay Johnson
Born (1948-12-30) December 30, 1948 (age 77)
Alexandria, Minnesota, U.S.
OccupationsModel, business executive
SpouseTom Cashin
RelativesJed Johnson (twin brother)

Biography

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Early life and education

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Jay Johnson was born in Alexandria, Minnesota on December 30, 1948.[1] He was the third of six children, born 15 minutes before his fraternal twin brother Jed Johnson.[2] They had two older brothers, Craig and Larry, and two younger sisters, Nancy and Susan.[3] His family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona for eight months, when he was 10 years old before settling in Fair Oaks, California.[3] Johnson and future Playboy model Barbi Benton were junior high school sweethearts.[3] After graduating from Bella Vista High School in 1967, he briefly attended Sacramento State College.[3][2]

Andy Warhol and the Factory and modeling career

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Johnson (center), his twin brother Jed Johnson, and Andy Warhol photographed by Cecil Beaton at the Factory, 1969

Johnson and his twin brother Jed left Sacramento, California, in early 1968 with the intention of traveling to Montreal, Canada.[3] However, the immigration authorities near Buffalo, New York threw them off the train because they believed they were draft dodgers, so they took a Greyhound bus to New York City instead.[4][5][6] They found an apartment in the East Village, Manhattan, through a heroin addict, got robbed, and lost all their money.[7] When they went to collect money their mother had sent them through Western Union, they were offered a job as messengers.[6] Three days later, Jed delivered a telegram to Pop artist Andy Warhol's studio, the Factory, and was offered a job on the spot as a janitor by director Paul Morrissey.[5] Morrissey also promised the brothers parts in the film Lonesome Cowboys (1968), but those plans fell through.[5] Warhol helped them move into an apartment in a safer neighborhood, and they were quickly assimilated into his entourage.[6] Jed would become Warhol's live-in boyfriend, edit his films, and eventually direct the film Bad (1977).[8]

While Warhol was hospitalized following a near-fatal shooting in June 1968, Johnson appeared with his brother as a hippie partygoer in John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy (1969).[5] Warhol subsequently helped him secure positions at the Alexander Iolas Gallery and at several nightclubs, including Arthur.[6]

Around this time, Johnson dated Jane Forth, whom he introduced to Warhol; she later became a Warhol superstar.[9] Johnson recalled that when he and Jed first arrived in New York City they "had not yet recognized that they were gay."[5] The Factory photographer Billy Name helped them come to terms with their sexuality.[3] Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 2019, Johnson stated:

The Stonewall was the first gay bar that I ever went into. … I started working in a club Uptown called Arthur's, and it was managed by Mickey Dean [sic]—a homosexual who tried to rape me—who later became the husband of Judy Garland. He was an awful person and provided Judy with barbiturates and alcohol until she died, which was only a few days before the Stonewall riots. So when the police raided the Stonewall, people were grieving Judy's death—and the raid was the straw that broke the camel’s back. … By the time of the riots, I was an out homosexual and enjoying the fruits of the city.[4]

Jay and Jed Johnson by Jack Mitchell for After Dark, 1970

Johnson pursued professional modeling while assisting with projects at the Factory.[3][1] Johnson posed for renowned photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Jack Mitchell, and Francesco Scavullo.[10][11][12] Johnson appeared alongside Warhol and fellow superstar Candy Darling in the March 1, 1970 issue of Vogue magazine.[13] He was also featured in a photo spread with his brother Jed in the December 1970 edition of After Dark magazine.[1]

While modeling in Paris, Johnson lived in a hotel with Corey Tippin, Patti D'Arbanville, and Donna Jordan, all of whom appeared in Warhol's L'Amour (1972), filmed in Paris in the fall of 1970.[14][15][5] The following year, he appeared in the Off-off-Broadway musical Vain Victory: The Vicissitudes of the Damned, written by fellow Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis, staged at the La Mama Experimental Theatre Club and the WPA Theatre in New York City.[16][17]

In the early 1970s, Johnson was part of fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez's circle and worked as an assistant to designer Giorgio di Sant'Angelo.[18][15][19] He also modeled for photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's jewelry.[20][21] Mapplethorpe created the painting Untitled (Baby/Jay Johnson) (1972) from a Polaroid of Johnson, which he later enlarged and incorporated into his assemblage Jay Kiss (1973).[20][22]

In 1973, Johnson began a relationship with Tom Cashin, a 19-year-old model he met in Paris.[7] After returning to New York, Johnson was featured in the January 1975 edition of Warhol's Interview magazine in the profile "The Return of Jay" and was signed to the Zoli modeling agency.[23] He and Cashin also helped with repairs at Warhol's Montauk estate, Eothen.[24]

Johnson was feistier than his shy twin and considered the "bad boy" of the duo.[19] He drank heavily and battled cocaine addiction.[7] Johnson's twin brother, Jed, and Cashin intervened, sending him to a rehabilitation center in Minnesota for three months.[7] By 1978, Jed had started a decorating business, and Johnson worked as his bookkeeper.[6][7]

Johnson studied macrobiotics under Michio Kushi, and he and Jed later planned to open a macrobiotic restaurant.[25] The brothers were featured together in the June 1986 issue of Vanity Fair.[25] Johnson and Cashin worked as waiters while pursuing modeling careers in the 1980s.[26] Cashin was also an Irish step dancer and appeared in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas during its Broadway run.[26]

Later career as a business executive

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In July 1996, his brother Jed was killed as a passenger aboard TWA Flight 800 when the plane exploded off the coast of Long Island, New York.[27][28] Johnson inherited his collection of Warhol paintings and took over his interior design firm, Jed Johnson & Associates.[29] In 1997, he appointed Jed's protégé, Arthur Dunnam, as design director, and the company was renamed Jed Johnson Associates.[30][29] After Johnson retired in 2017, the firm was rebranded as Arthur Dunnam for Jed Johnson Studio,[31] and in 2024 it became Dunnam Zerbini Design.[32]

Johnson later completed a project begun by his brother with textile merchant Mona Perlhagen, opening the fabric showroom Chelsea Editions in fall 1996, which specialized in high-quality, historically accurate embroidered textiles for the design trade.[33][34][35] He subsequently sold his share in the business to launch Jed Johnson Home in November 2005, offering luxury textiles for interior design clients worldwide.[3][7][36] Cashin serves as co-director, and together they have continued to develop fabrics and furniture for the collection.[37] The line is now exclusively represented in the showrooms of Holland & Sherry in the United States and England, and has been used by Michael S. Smith in designing the White House Residence during the Barack Obama administration.[3][38]

In June 1999, Johnson and Ron Teitelbaum, who owned Blanche's Organic Cafes, opened the restaurant Fressen at 421 West 13th Street in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.[39][40] Named after the Yiddish word roughly meaning to eat ravenously, the restaurant was praised by critics for its organic cuisine and stylish interior, designed by Laura Kirar of Jed Johnson Associates.[41][40][42] It closed in December 2001.[43]

Johnson married Cashin after same-sex marriage became legalized in New York.[44] They reside in New York City and Brookhaven, New York.[45] The couple was featured with their Abyssinian cat, Dylan, in the book Men With Cats: Intimate Portraits of Feline Friendship (2016) by David Williams.[46]

In 2022, Johnson appeared in the Netflix docuseries The Andy Warhol Diaries.[47][48]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Zaden, Craig (December 1970). "Factory Brothers". After Dark: 22–25.
  2. 1 2 Bojorquez, Jennifer (December 17, 1996). "Treasured Moments". The Sacramento Bee. pp. E1, E5. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Callahan, Temo (2005). Jed Johnson: Opulent Restraint, Interiors. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 978-0-8478-2714-5.
  4. 1 2 Samaha, Barry (June 27, 2019). "Stonewall Riots: Artists Reflect on its Impact". SURFACE. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gopnik, Blake (2020). Warhol. New York: Ecco. pp. 629–630, 646–647, 722. ISBN 978-0-06-229839-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Nevins, Jake (May 10, 2023). "Jay Johnson Remembers the Quiet Luxury and Kindness of His Brother Jed". Interview Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hamilton, William L. (November 10, 2005). "The Surviving Twin, Rearranging the Furniture". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ Macias, Ernesto (March 21, 2022). "Meet Jed Johnson, the Man Who Stole Andy Warhol's Heart". Interview Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Jane Forth, Teenage Model & Warhol Superstar". September 20, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  10. ↑ Gefter, Philip (October 16, 2020). "Richard Avedon's Wall-Size Ambitions". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ "Francesco Scavullo (American, 1921-2004). Jay and Jed Johnson, | Lot #38121". Heritage Auctions. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Jay and Jed Johnson - 1970 - Jack Mitchell Archives". jackmitchell.com. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  13. ↑ Perreault, John (March 1970). "Andy Warhol disguised here as Andy Warhol". Vogue. 155 (5): 164–166.
  14. ↑ Kaiser, Alfons (February 8, 2022). Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Fashion. Abrams. ISBN 978-1-64700-430-9.
  15. 1 2 Padilha, Roger (2012). Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex & Disco. New York: Rizzoli. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-8478-3792-2.
  16. ↑ "Vain Victory, The Vicissitudes Of The Damned (1971)". La Mama. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  17. ↑ Lewis, Emory (September 3, 1971). "Vulgarity is Victorious". The Record. pp. B-25. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  18. ↑ Trebay, Guy (August 29, 2012). "Drawn to His Shining Light". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  19. 1 2 Colacello, Bob (1990). Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up. New York, NY: HarperCollins. pp. 74, 147–148. ISBN 978-0-06-016419-5.
  20. 1 2 Terpak, Frances; Brunnick, Michelle (March 15, 2016). Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive. Getty Publications. pp. 79, 101. ISBN 978-1-60606-470-2.
  21. ↑ Davidson, Annabel (August 16, 2021). "How the bad boy of Seventies photography nurtured a talent for jewellery". The Telegraph.
  22. ↑ "Robert Mapplethorpe — Objects — Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Marais — Exposition". Slash Paris (in French). Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  23. ↑ "The Return of Jay". Andy Warhol's Interview. 5 (1): 38. January 1975.
  24. ↑ Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries. New York, NY: Warner Books. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-446-51426-2Entry date: Tuesday, October 11, 1977{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  25. 1 2 Peters, Brooks (June 1986). "Twin City". Vanity Fair. 49 (6): 83.
  26. 1 2 Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (1988). Andy Warhol's Party Book. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-517-56698-5.
  27. ↑ Goldberger, Paul (July 25, 1996). "Jed Johnson: Grace interrupted". New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  28. ↑ Brown, Mareva (July 19, 1996). "Mom's Tragic Instinct: Son was Aboard Plane". The Sacramento Bee: A1, A14.
  29. 1 2 Kellogg, Craig (July 27, 2017). "The Designer Who Started As a Janitor for Andy Warhol". Architectural Digest. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  30. ↑ New York Times News Service (November 15, 1997). "PASSING THE TORCH". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  31. ↑ Kellogg, Craig (July 27, 2017). "Arthur Dunnam Carries Jed Johnson Associates into a New Era".
  32. ↑ Porter, Courtney (February 25, 2025). "Legacy: Kelly Zerbini takes the reins at Dunnam Zerbini Design". Design News Now. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  33. ↑ Lewis, Julia (September 1999). "Crewel Intentions: Chelsea Editions offers hand-embroidered textiles in a showroom that bears the imprimatur of its late founder, Jed Johnson". Interior Design. 70 (11): 100.
  34. ↑ "'The Admirable Art Of The Needle' On View At Chelsea". Antiques And The Arts Weekly. December 6, 2005. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  35. ↑ Szabo, Julia (April 2001). "Dream Weavers: Gifted weekend hosts dress their casual country house with refined embroidered fabrics". House Beautiful. 143 (4): 112–117.
  36. ↑ Irving, Carolina (December 2005). "The Legacy Jed Johnson Associates Unveils New Fabrics Imbued with the Warm, Witty Refinement of the Late Master". Home & Garden. 174 (12): 22.
  37. ↑ "Jay Johnson and Tom Cashin". Jed Johnson Home. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  38. ↑ Fernandez, Jennifer (September 1, 2020). "Peek Inside the Obama Family's White House". Architectural Digest. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  39. ↑ Fabricant, Florence (June 2, 1999). "OFF THE MENU". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  40. 1 2 West, Kevin (June 8, 1999). "Healthy Appetites". WWD. 177 (109): 4. (Jay Johnson president of Jed Johnson Inc., an interior design firm, is another partner in the restaurant.) … Fressen is no less ambitious. The 134-seat restaurant was designed by Laura Kirar of Jed Johnson.
  41. ↑ "Travel: Restaurants". Los Angeles Magazine. 44 (8): 74. August 1999.
  42. ↑ "On the Rise: Laura Kirar". ELLE Decor. October 24, 2006. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  43. ↑ Fabricant, Florence (December 19, 2001). "OFF THE MENU". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  44. ↑ "Designers Jay Johnson + Tom Cashin". Ubilam, LTD. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  45. ↑ Slesin, Suzanne (December 7, 2016). "Andy Warhol Paintings Transform this Eclectic Long Island Home". Galerie. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  46. ↑ "Dylan the cat and his people Tom Cashin and Jay Johnson as seen by David Williams". SUZANNE DONALDSON. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  47. ↑ Laneri, Raquel; Gostin, Nicki (March 9, 2022). "The Andy Warhol Diaries' reveals artist's secret love life after being shot". New York Post.
  48. ↑ "'The Andy Warhol Diaries' explores how the iconic artist was shaped by his great loves". NBC News. March 10, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
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