Paul Joseph Morrissey (February 23, 1938 – October 28, 2024) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was best known for his long association with Andy Warhol and the Factory scene during the 1960s and early 1970s. A key figure in the development of underground and avant-garde cinema, Morrissey directed a series of influential films—including Flesh (1968), Trash (1970), and Heat (1972)—that blended improvisation, social realism, and dark humor, and helped launch the careers of Warhol superstars Joe Dallesandro and Holly Woodlawn. Although closely linked to Warhol, Morrissey emphasized his own authorship and more structured approach to storytelling, distinguishing his work from Warhol’s earlier, purely improvisational films. His international reputation grew with cult classics such as Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) and Blood for Dracula (1974). Morrissey continued directing into the 1980s, expanding his oeuvre with the gritty stage adaptation Forty Deuce (1982), the Lower East Side–set crime drama Mixed Blood (1984), and the Brooklyn comedy Spike of Bensonhurst (1988), further solidifying his place in American independent film history. In 1998, Morrissey received the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chicago Underground Film Festival. (Via Wikipedia)
