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Jon Gould

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Jon Gould
Gould in 1982
Born
Jon Jewell Gould

(1953-05-07)May 7, 1953
Amesbury, Massachusetts
DiedSeptember 17, 1986(1986-09-17) (aged 33)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNew England College
Occupations
RelativesNathaniel Currier (great-great uncle)

Jon Jewell Gould (born May 7, 1953 – September 17, 1986) was an American studio executive and producer. He worked at Paramount Pictures as the director of marketing administration and then the vice president of corporate communications before becoming a film producer.[1]

Gould was a companion of the artist Andy Warhol from 1981 to 1985. Following Gould's death from AIDS in 1986, his collection of Warhol's work was shown at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center in 2004.[2]

Early life and education

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Jon Jewell Gould was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts on May 7, 1953.[3] He was born into a prominent Yankee family that has owned a 900-acre dairy farm and estate since the 1700s. Through his mother, Harriet H. Gould (née Woodsom), he was related to Nathaniel Currier of Currier and Ives fame.[4]

He had a twin brother, Jay Gould, who worked with their father, Robert P. "Bud" Gould, in the Gould Insurance Company family business.[5] He is now a restaurateur and investor.[6]

Gould graduated from Amesbury High School in 1971.[5] After graduating from New England College in 1975, he enrolled in the publishing program at Harvard University's Harvard Radcliffe Institute.[7]

Career

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In 1977, Gould was hired by Straight Arrow Press as the East Coast sales manager for Rolling Stone and Outside magazine.[7]

In 1978, Gould joined Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Division as the director of marketing administration for the Marketing Group.[8] In 1979, Gould became the executive assistant to Frank Mancuso, the executive vice president of distribution and marketing. When Mancuso was promoted to president of distribution, Gould remained his executive assistant.[9] In 1980, Gould was appointed vice president of corporate communications for Paramount Pictures Corp.[10] He specialized in marketing films such as The Warriors (1979), Urban Cowboy (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Flashdance (1983).[11][12][8] In 1983, he worked to get the Showtime network, owned by Paramount, the film rights to the Diana Ross concert in New York's Central Park.[13]

In 1986, Paramount Pictures Corporation signed Gould to produce four films under his company, Jon Jay Gould Productions.[5]

Gould assisted his friend, socialite Cornelia Guest, with writing her memoir The Debutante's Guide to Life (1986).[14]

Sexuality and relationship with Andy Warhol

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In November 1980, Gould met artist Andy Warhol at a New York gallery through a mutual friend, photographer Christopher Makos.[15][1] Warhol was initially interested in meeting Gould so that he could get Paramount to advertise in Interview magazine.[16][17] Warhol soon began to pursue a romantic relationship with Gould in 1981, but Gould told him that he was not gay.[18] The two men began spending more time together, and Warhol made a silkscreen portrait of Gould in 1981.[19]

Gould had a certain pedigree that attracted the artist, becoming the most photographed subject of Warhol's later career.[20] As former Interview editor Bob Colacello wrote in the book Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up: "Old money, Harvard, Hollywood it was a résumé that Andy couldn't resist. And there was something else about Jon Gould that drew Andy toward him: like Jed Johnson, [Warhol's previous boyfriend] he had a twin brother named Jay."[21] "To those of us who were working with Andy at the time, it was obvious that he was suppressing the hurt of losing Jed ... by going completely gaga over Jon Gould," Colacello wrote in an article for Air Mail.[22]

Although Gould was Warhol's "romantic obsession," they likely did not have a sexual relationship.[23] Warhol made an offer to give Makos a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch if he could get Gould to sleep with him.[24] "He said, if you get me a boyfriend, I will get you the watch. So I got him the boyfriend, and I said, time to pay up. He said, well, nothing's happened yet," said Makos.[25] Gould also told another friend that his relationship with Warhol was "asexual."[21] As a result, he had relations with other men and continued to frequent the gay baths.[21]

An issue of complexity was that Gould was closeted and had not come out about his sexuality.[6] Therefore, his intimate relationship with Warhol was concealed from his family.[11] By 1983, Gould moved into Warhol's townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where he had his own bedroom.[26][24] Because Gould valued his independence and didn't want to receive mail at Warhol's townhouse, he purchased an apartment with assistance from Warhol at the Hotel des Artistes on Manhattan's Upper West Side.[27][24] Jay Gould recalled that when he visited his brother at Warhol's home, he asked him about the nature of their relationship: "He said there was no sexual contact, that they were just good friends."[11]

Gould was admitted to New York Hospital with pneumonia on February 4, 1984.[1] Although Warhol had visited him in the hospital, after his release, Warhol instructed his housekeepers to wash Gould's clothes separately from his.[28][29]

Gould prioritized his work over Warhol and frequently took extended business trips to California for a month at a time.[30] In an attempt to keep Gould near, Warhol gave him the cover story on Shirley MacLaine in the March 1985 issue of Interview magazine.[31][32] Gould also had his portrait painted by Warhol's collaborator Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1985.[33] In March 1985, Gould purchased the former home of actress Joan Hackett in Beverly Hills and did not give Warhol a key to his house.[34] Subsequently, Gould sold his apartment on the West Side of Manhattan and moved to California.[21] He gradually distanced himself from Warhol, and the two were no longer on speaking terms by the end of 1985.[26][35][29]

Death

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Gould died of AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 33 at Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on September 17, 1986.[1][36] Warhol's collaborator Pat Hackett noted in The Andy Warhol Diaries that at the time of his death, Gould "was down to seventy pounds and he was blind. He denied even to close friends that he had AIDS."[37] He was survived by his parents, twin brother Jay Gould, and sister Dale Gould.[36]

A memorial service was held at the Main Street Congregational Church in Amesbury, Massachusetts on September 21, 1986.[36]

He is buried at Bartlett Cemetery in Amesbury, Massachusetts.[3]

Legacy

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In September 2004, the exhibition "Andy Warhol: The Jon Gould Collection" was mounted at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center in Brattleboro, Vermont.[4][38] The show consisted of 45 paintings and drawings, 20 prints, and 50 photographs taken by Warhol.[11] Gould also had works by artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Rauschenberg, Marc Chagall, and Keith Haring.[11]

In January 2018, Gould's alma mater New England College announced the "Jon Gould '75 Legacy Challenge."[7] Two alumni, Jay Gould and Lex Scourby, pledged a combined $1 million towards the construction of The Rosamond Page Putnam Center for the Performing Arts.[39] Jay Gould '75 has made his pledge for $500,000, in memory of Jon Gould and the lobby will be named in honor of him.[7]

After his mother died in 2016, Jay Gould discovered poetry and love letters his brother and Warhol had exchanged, which his mother had kept.[6] "We were very close, identical twins, but we never talked a lot about his sexuality ... I didn't realize the relationship was as deep as it was," he said.[6] Jay appeared in the Netflix documentary series The Andy Warhol Diaries (2022), which explored Gould's relationship with Warhol.[40][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Spencer, Samuel (2022-03-11). "What Happened to Andy Warhol's Boyfriend Jon Gould". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  2. ^ Publishing, Here (2004-10-12). The Advocate. Here Publishing.
  3. ^ a b Gravestone: Jon Jewell Gould 17.9.86. Retrieved 10 Oct 2024.
  4. ^ a b O'Conner, Kevin (September 12, 2004). "A Private Warhol Art Collection Pops Up in Brattleboro". Rutland Daily Herald. pp. E1, E4.
  5. ^ a b c Finucane, Martin (June 18, 1986). "Hollywood is home to Amesbury film maker". Amesbury News. pp. 3, 17.
  6. ^ a b c d e Laneri, Raquel; Gostin, Nick (2022-03-09). "'The Andy Warhol Diaries' reveals artist's secret love life". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  7. ^ a b c d "Jon Gould '75 Legacy Challenge". www.alumni.nec.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  8. ^ a b Grant, Lee (1979-02-22). "A Lower Profile: New 'Warriors' Ad Campaign". The Los Angeles Times. pp. Part IV 15. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  9. ^ Klain, Stephen (August 13, 1980). "Paramount Distrib Presidency To Mancuso; Pickups Integral". Variety. p. 3.
  10. ^ "Jon Gould appointed Paramount vice-pres". Amesbury News. December 23, 1980.
  11. ^ a b c d e Kahn, Joseph P. (2004-08-25). "The Muse". The Boston Globe. pp. C1, C4. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  12. ^ Stefanic, Vern (1981-07-04). "Success Wasn't an Accident for 'Raiders'". Tulsa World. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  13. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 515.
  14. ^ Steinbach, Alice (1986-06-12). "Heralding the Dawn of the Deb". The Baltimore Sun. pp. 1B, 4B. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  15. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 344Entry date: November 19, 1980
  16. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 351Entry date: December 22, 1980
  17. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 359Entry date: February 19, 1981
  18. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 371Entry date: April 13, 1981
  19. ^ "Andy Warhol portrait worth £570,000 up for sale following release of Netflix series". The Independent. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  20. ^ Salvo, Donna M. De; curator), Jessica Beck (Art museum (2018-01-01). Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-23698-9.
  21. ^ a b c d Colacello, Bob (1990). Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up. Internet Archive. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 439, 469, 471–472. ISBN 978-0-06-016419-5.
  22. ^ "The Real Andy Warhol Diaries". airmail.news. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  23. ^ Stockwell, Anne (October 12, 2004). "Art Display of Affection". The Advocate: 103.
  24. ^ a b c Gopnik, Blake (2020). Warhol. Internet Archive. New York, NY: Ecco. pp. 887–888, 890. ISBN 978-0-06-229839-3.
  25. ^ Rajagopal, Mekala (2023-11-07). "Christopher Makos and Honey Dijon Trade Warhol Lore at Free People's Andy in Oz Exhibit". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  26. ^ a b Cresap, Kelly M. (2004). Pop Trickster Fool: Warhol Performs Naivete. University of Illinois Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-252-02926-4.
  27. ^ Bourdon, David (1989). Warhol. New York: Abrams. ISBN 978-0-8109-1761-3.
  28. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 552Entry date: February 4, 1984
  29. ^ a b Bockris, Victor (1989). The Life and Death of Andy Warhol. Internet Archive. New York : Bantam Books. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-553-05708-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  30. ^ Bourdon, David (1989). Warhol. New York: Abrams. p. 389. ISBN 978-0-8109-1761-3.
  31. ^ Gould, Jon (March 1985). "Shirley MacLaine". Interview. 15 (4): 41–46.
  32. ^ Colacello 1990, p. 471.
  33. ^ "Portrait of Jon - Jean-Michel Basquiat". Sotheby's.
  34. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 642Entry date: April 14, 1985
  35. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 703Entry date: December 24, 1985
  36. ^ a b c "Obituaries: Jon J. Gould, 33". Amesbury News. September 24, 1986. p. 9.
  37. ^ Warhol & Hackett 1989, p. 760Entry date: September 21, 1986
  38. ^ Fritz, Robert (November 11, 2004). "Remembering Jon and Andy". Brattleboro Reformer. p. 23.
  39. ^ "The Rosamond Page Putnam Center for the Performing Arts". www.alumni.nec.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  40. ^ "'The Andy Warhol Diaries' explores how the iconic artist was shaped by his great loves". NBC News. 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2024-03-15.

Sources

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Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries. Warner Books. ISBN 9780446514262.

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