Valerie Solanas: The Defiant Life of the Woman Who Wrote SCUM (49 page)

35.
Controversies about whether Valerie invented Carolyn or whether she actually existed appeared in several subsequent issues of
Majority Report
, including vii, no.4; In my opinion, the “voice” of Carolyn eerily mimics Valerie’s tone, style, and rhythm, not to mention humor and the unique qualities of her narcissism.

36.
Jo’s bitterness over these words remained in 2010, when she told me, “I wrote the
Bitch Manifesto
and she wrote the
SCUM Manifesto
. I think a manifestation of her craziness is that she would see the use of our similar word of the title as somehow a rip off. That’s how crazy she was. If anything, I ripped off the
Communist Manifesto
and so did she” (October 24, 2010).

37.
Freeman, interview by Fahs, October 14, 2010.

38.
Borman, interview by Harron, circa 1992.

39.
Steele, interview by Harron, circa 1992.

40.
Advertisement for
SCUM Manifesto
placed in
Majority Report
7 (1977).

41.
Advertisement for
SCUM Manifesto
placed in
Majority Report
7 (May 28–June 10, 1977), Redstockings Women’s Liberation Archives for Action, Gainesville, FL.

42.
Valerie Solanas, postcard to Mark Zussman, August 9, 1977, Stephen Edelson Collection, Chicago. Mark Zussman loathed Valerie, telling Howard Smith, “Actually, I’m for putting both Sam [“Son of Sam”]
and
Valerie away—rather than turning them into folk heroes. I’m henceforth going to make an effort to be amused by psychopaths only when they’re behind bars and under sedation.” Mark Zussman, letter to Howard Smith, August 4, 1977, Dobkin Collection, New York.

43.
Valerie Solanas, postcard to the Mob (Mark Zussman), August 1, 1977,; see also Valerie Solanas, letter to the Mob (Mark Zussman), August 1, 1977, both in Dobkin Collection, New York.

44.
Solanas, letter to the Mob (Zussman), August 1, 1977.

45.
Valerie Solanas, letter to the Mob, September 5, 1977, Dobkin Collection, New York.

46.
Valerie Solanas, letter to the Mob, September 2, 1977, Ultra Violet personal collection, New York.

47.
Smith, DWAN supplement no. 3, 1.

48.
Steele, interview by Harron, circa 1992.

49.
Michael Chance, interview by Mary Harron, New York, circa 1992.

50.
Chance, interview by Harron, circa 1992.

51.
Borman, interview by Harron, circa 1992.

52.
Smith and Van der Horst, “Valerie Solanas Interview,” 32. Unless stated otherwise, all quotes from the interview are from this source and this page. Howard Smith had an interest in Valerie, perhaps in part because of his lifelong interest in mood disorders. In the early 1990s, he joined the board and became the chair of the Mood Disorders Support Group, a New York organization that helps those with depression and mania (www.mdsg.org).

53.
Howard Smith, “Interview Roughs for Valerie Solanas Interview,” July 29, 1977, Dobkin Collection, New York, 2–3.

54.
“Valerie Solanas Replies,”
Village Voice
, August 1, 1977, 28.

55.
Smith, “Interview Roughs,” 4.

56.
Dunn, “Valerie Charges Back.”

57.
Valerie Solanas, letter to Mark Zussman, July 9, 1977, Ultra Violet personal collection, New York; see also Solanas, letter to the Mob (Zussman), August 1, 1977.

58.
Valerie Solanas, letter to the Mob, September 22, 1977, Ultra Violet personal collection, New York. In the letter she included Schröder’s address: Marz Verlag, Van Deelen Film Verlag, Am Altenroth 8, D-6406 Hosenfeld 3, West Germany.

59.
Valerie Solanas, letter to Mr. Ryan, August 4, 1977, Dobkin Collection, New York.

60.
“Valerie Solanas Replies,” 28.

61.
Dunn, “Valerie Charges Back.”

62.
Steele, interview by Harron, circa 1992.

63.
Zwiren, interview by Fahs, October 23, 2012.

64.
Steele, interview by Harron, circa 1992.

65.
Mary Harron, interview by Donny Smith, “Solanas Supplement,”
DWAN
no. 2, May 1997.

66.
Zwiren, as quoted in Smith, “To Live with a Man.” See also Zwiren, interview by Fahs, October 23, 2012.

67.
Zwiren, as quoted in Smith, “To Live with a Man.”

68.
Zwiren, as quoted in Smith, “To Live with a Man.”

69.
Zwiren, as quoted in Smith, “To Live with a Man.”

70.
Zwiren, as quoted in Smith, “To Live with a Man.”

71.
Zwiren, DWAN Solanas Supplement 3, 30.

72.
Zwiren, interview by Fahs, October 23, 2012.

73.
Zwiren, as quoted in Smith, “To Live with a Man.”

74.
Firestone, “I Remember Valerie,” 132.

75.
Gaither, “Andy Warhol’s Feminist Nightmare,” 35.

76.
Bud Vasconcellos, interview by Breanne Fahs, Phone, October 12, 2012. All Vasconcellos quotes are from this interview.

77.
The Ninth Street address was listed on Valerie’s Social Security documents. This building is now a western wear clothing shop. Records show that the Social Security Administration terminated her disability (SSI) payments at her Phoenix address in 1986 and she received these payments in San Francisco after that.

78.
Evarels, “Spooky Times at the Bristol Hotel.”

79.
Harron and Minahan, introduction to
I Shot Andy Warhol
, xxx.

80.
Boone, “‘Look on My Works.’”

81.
Smith, “The History of Zines”; Harron and Minahan, introduction to
I Shot Andy Warhol
, xxxi.

82.
Fustero, interview by Fahs, September 20, 2008.

83.
Boone, “‘Look on My Works.”

84.
Ultra Violet, interview by Fahs, April 17, 2012.

85.
Ultra Violet,
Famous for 15 Minutes
, 187–88.

86.
Ultra Violet, interview by Fahs, April 17, 2012.

87.
Ultra Violet, letter to Library of Congress Copyright Office, November 1, 1991, Ultra Violet personal collection, New York.

88.
Ultra Violet, recorded phone call with Valerie Solanas, November 1987, Breanne Fahs personal collection, Phoenix, AZ. In Ultra’s memory of this call, Valerie called herself Onz Loh, but the name was, in fact, Zno Hol, according to the tape recording.

89.
Ultra Violet,
Famous for 15 Minutes
, 188.

90.
Ultra Violet, interview by Fahs, April 17, 2012.

91.
Coroner’s Report, Valerie Solanas, San Francisco, April 25, 1988.

92.
Heinz Hoffman, “Police Report for the Death of Valerie Solanas,” File 388383170, San Francisco Police Department, April 25, 1988.

93.
Letter from Chief Medical Examiner Boyd G. Stephens to Ultra Violet, August 26, 1988, Ultra Violet personal collection, New York, confirms that Valerie did not die of AIDS. Also, according to mortician Christopher Brown, police should identify the date of death as an estimate of the actual date of death, not the date the victim was discovered. Given the weather conditions, presence of maggots, foul odor, likelihood of current drug use (which speeds up decomposition), and the fact that the window was closed, Valerie likely died on April 23, 1988 (see Christopher Brown, interview by Breanne Fahs, Phone, October 31, 2011). Taylor Mead, one of Warhol’s associates, in a style typical of the Warhol crowd, threw a “party-wake” at the Café Bizarre following news of Valerie’s death; see Guiles,
Loner at the Ball
, 309.

94.
Death Certificate, filed November 19, 1991, signed May 9, 1988. Valerie’s grave is located at St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church Cemetery, 5612 Ox Road, Fairfax Station, Virginia (number 14927731). For more information about this church, see “About the Church.”

95.
Coburn, “Valerie’s Gang,” 16.

96.
Solanas,
SCUM Manifesto
(Self-Published, 1977), 4.

references

Archives and Personal Collections

Ti-Grace Atkinson personal collection, Cambridge, MA (TGA)

Dobkin Collection, New York (D)

Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, Duke University Archives, Durham, NC (DUA)

Stephen Edelson Collection, Chicago

Breanne Fahs personal collection, Phoenix, AZ (BF)

Robert Fustero personal collection, Silver Spring, MD

Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Archive, New York (GV)

Mary Harron personal collection, Brooklyn, NY (MH)

Redstockings’ Organizational Collection, Redstockings Women’s Liberation
Archives for Action, Gainesville, FL

Ultra Violet personal collection, New York (UV)

University of Missouri–St. Louis Archives, St. Louis, MO

Andy Warhol Museum Archive, Pittsburgh, PA (AWMA)

Letters to the Editor,
Majority Report
, by Valerie Solanas

Vol. 5, November 27–December 10, 1976.

Vol. 6, January 8–21, 1977.

Vol. 6, February 15–18, 1977.

Vol. 6, February 19–March 4, 1977.

Vol. 6, March 19– April 1, 1977.

Vol. 6, April 2–15, 1977.

Vol. 6, April 30–May 13, 1977.

Vol. 7, May 28–June 10, 1977.

Vol. 7, June 11–24, 1977.

Vol. 7, June 23–August 5, 1977.

Vol. 7, June 25–July 8, 1977.

Vol. 7, August 16–29, 1977.

Unpublished Correspondence by Valerie Solanas

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.” Letter. December 21, 1968. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to ‘The Mob’.” Letter. August 1, 1971. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to ‘The Mob’.” Letter. March 3, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to ‘The Mob’.” Letter. September 2, 1977. UV.

“Valerie Solanas to ‘The Mob’.” Letter. September 22, 1977. UV.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. August 1, 1967. Andy Warhol Museum.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. February 1, 1968. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. February 10, 1968. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. February 11, 1968. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. February 7, 1968. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. January 25, 1968. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. June 5, 1969. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. May 7, 1969. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. October 25, 1968. Andy Warhol Museum Archive.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.”
Letter. September 24, 1968. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.” Letter. undated. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.” Letter. February 9, 1966. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Andy Warhol.” Letter. September 20, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Barney Rosset and Fred Jordan (‘the Mob’).” Letter. March 5, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Barney Rosset and Fred Jordan (‘the Mob’).” Letter. March 6, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Barney Rosset and Fred Jordan (‘the Mob’).” Letter. April 17, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Barney Rosset.” Letter. January 15, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Barney Rosset and Fred Jordan.” Letter. March 27, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Fred Jordan and Barney Rosset (‘the Mob’) at Grove Press.” Letter. March 23, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Fred Jordan and Barney Rosset (‘the Mob’) at Grove Press.” Letter. April 17, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Howard Smith.” Letter. July 29, 1977. D.

“Valerie Solanas to Howard Smith.” Letter. September 27, 1968. D.

“Valerie Solanas to Louis Solanas.”
Letter.
May 23, 1970.
BF.

“Valerie Solanas to Louis Solanas.” Postcard. June 29, 1967. Silver Spring, MD. Robert Fustero personal collection.

“Valerie Solanas to Louis Solanas.” Postcard. June 14, 1967.
Phoenix, AZ. BF.

“Valerie Solanas to Mark Zussman.” Letter. July 9, 1977. UV.

“Valerie Solanas to Mark Zussman (‘The Mob’).” Letter. August 1, 1977. D.

“Valerie Solanas to Mark Zussman (‘The Mob’).” Postcard. August 1, 1977. D.

“Valerie Solanas to Mark Zussman.” Postcard. August 9, 1977. Stephen Edelson Collection.

“Valerie Solanas to Mark Zussman (‘The Mob’).” Letter. September 5, 1977. D.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Illegible date. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.”
Letter.
April 15, 1969.
MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. April 26, 1969. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. April 4, 1969. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. August 12, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. August 25, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter 1. December 24, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter 2. December 24, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. February 7, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. February 18, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. January 29, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. January 5, 1969. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. January 2, 1970. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. January 5, 1970. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. January 17, 1970. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. July 18, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. July 20, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. July 29, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. July 9, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. June 29, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. June 7, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. March 2, 1969. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. October 11, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. September 27, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. June 28, 1968. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. September 27, 1969. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. Undated (circa July 1968). MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. Undated. AWMA.

“Valerie Solanas to Robin Morgan.” Letter. October 10, 1970. DUA.

“Valerie Solanas to ‘Mr. Ryan.
’
” Letter. August 4, 1977. D.

“Valerie Solanas to Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.” Letter. September 13, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. July 5, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. June 16, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. August 5, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. August 27, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. February 27, 1969. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. June 11, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. June 16, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. June 26, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to Ti-Grace Atkinson.” Letter. September 27, 1968. TGA.

“Valerie Solanas to
Village Voice
Editors.” Letter. April 5, 1969. MH.

“
Valerie Solanas to Fred Jordan.”
Letter.
March 3, 1973. MH.

“Valerie Solanas to Barney Rosset.”
Letter.
March 3, 1973. MH.

Other Unpublished Correspondence

Atkinson, Ti-Grace. “Ti-Grace Atkinson to Guy Gravesen at
Rampart
Magazine.” Letter. July 28, 1968.
TGA.

—. “Ti-Grace Atkinson to Jo Benson.” Letter. July 14, 1968. TGA.

—.
“Ti-Grace Atkinson to Maurice Girodias.”
Letter.
June 27, 1968.
TGA.

—. “Ti-Grace Atkinson to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. June 27, 1968. TGA.

—. “Ti-Grace Atkinson to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. July 9, 1968. TGA.

—. “Ti-Grace Atkinson to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. November 10, 1968. TGA.

Berman, Andrew. “Andrew Berman to Robert Tierney.” Letter. July 16, 2012. GV.

Blackwell, David. “David Blackwell to Mary Harron.” Letter. June 5, 1996. MH.

Brown, Judith, and Carol Giardina. “Judith Brown and Carol Giardina to Kathie Amatniek.” Letter. October 6, 1968. Microfilm. Part 2, series 7A. Redstockings’ Organizational Collection, Redstockings Women’s Liberation Archives for Action.
 

Brust, Judge Joseph A. “Judge Joseph A. Brust to W. C. Johnston, M.D.” Letter. December 9, 1968. MH.

Burke, Daniel. “Daniel Burke to Diane Tucker.” Letter. September 9, 1993. MH.

Church of Solanas. “Men’s Auxiliary of SCUM to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. May 19, 1973. MH.

Dell Publishing. “Dell Publishing to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. June 6, 1968. MH.
Everheart, Jane. “Jane Everheart to Cosmopolitan Magazine.” Letter. October 9, 1969. DUA.

Girodias, Maurice. “Maurice Girodias to Shriver and Brook.” Letter. October 30, 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. Brooklyn, August 29, 1967. MH.

—.
“Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. July 26, 1968.
MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. April 28, 1969. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. August 29, 1967. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. August 2, 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. January 7, 1969. MH.

—.
“Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.”
Letter.
July 6, 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. July 7, 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. June 14, 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. June 27, 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Telegram. June 6, 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. July 9, 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. circa April/May 1968. MH.

—. “Maurice Girodias to Woodrow A. Shriver.” Letter. October 25, 1968. MH.

Harron, Mary. “Mary Harron to British Broadcasting Company.” Letter. September 26, 1992. MH.

—. “Mary Harron to John Wyver at BBC NY, Pitch About Valerie Solanas Documentary.” Letter. September 26, 1992. MH.

Johnston, W. C. “W. C. Johnston to Judge Joseph A. Brust.” Letter. December 9, 1968. MH.

—. “W. C. Johnston, Matteawan Hospital to District Attorney Frank S. Hogan.” Letter. December 6, 1968. MH.

Kennedy, Florynce. “Florynce Kennedy to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. September 29, 1968. TGA.

Kuhn, Wilma. “Wilma Kuhn to Ultra Violet.” Letter. December 2, 1987. UV.

LeGear, Geoffrey. “Geoffrey LeGear to Andy Warhol.” Letter. December 3, 1968. AWMA.

—. “Geoffrey LeGear to Maurice Girodias.” Letter. December 1, 1968. AWMA.

Morgan, Robin. “Robin Morgan to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. June 9, 1969. DUA.

Newton, Jeremiah. “Jeremiah Newton to Mary Harron.” Letter. July 19, 1994. MH.

—. “Jeremiah Newton to Mary Harron.” Letter. June 25, 1993. MH.

—. “Jeremiah Newton to Mary Harron.” Letter. Undated. MH.

Pickshaus, Peter Moritz. “Peter Moritz Pickshaus to Mary Harron.” Letter. June 8, 1993. MH.

Pinkertons Agency. “Pinkertons Agency to Fred Jordan and Barney Rosset.” Memo. February 23, 1973. MH.

—. “Peter Moritz Pickshaus to Mary Harron.” Letter. September 29, 1993. MH.

—. “Peter Moritz Pickshaus to Mary Harron.” Letter. March 12, 1993. MH.

Polier, Shad, “Shad Polier to Barney Rosset and Fred Jordan.” Letter. January 24, 1972. MH.

—. “Shad Polier to District Attorney Milton Glass.” Letter. January 6, 1972. MH.

—. “Shad Polier to Edward Allen.” Letter. January 19, 1973. MH.

—. “Shad Polier to Fred Jordan and Barney Rosset.” Letter. January 6, 1972. MH.

—. “Shad Polier to Naomi Goldstein and the Criminal Court Clinic of New York City.” Letter. November 9, 1971. MH.

Stephens, Boyd G. “Chief Medical Examiner Boyd G. Stephens to Ultra Violet.” Letter. August 26, 1988. UV.

Sternberg, Arthur. “Letter from Arthur Sternberg M.D. to Mannuccio Mannucci M.D. regarding Valerie Solanas, Elmhurst Hospital.” Letter. June 12, 1968. MH.

—. “Letter from Arthur Sternberg M.D. to Mannuccio Mannucci M.D. regarding Valerie Solanas, Elmhurst Hospital.” Letter. June 26, 1968. MH.

Ultra Violet. “Ultra Violet to Library of Congress Copyright Office.” Letter. November 1, 1991. UV.

Ultra Violet. “Ultra Violet Calls Valerie Solanas.” Recorded Phone Call. Transcript. November 1987. BF.

Warhol, Andy. “Andy Warhol to Valerie Solanas.” Letter. September 20, 1968. MH.

“Wilda Holt to Ti-Grace Atkinson. ” Letter. Undated. TGA.

Zussman, Mark. “Mark Zussman to Howard Smith.” Letter. August 4, 1977. D.

—. “Mark Zussman to Ultra Violet.” Letter. November 24, 1987. UV.

—. “Mark Zussman to Ultra Violet.” Letter. November 24, 1987. UV.

Other Sources

Advertisement for
SCUM Manifesto. Majority Report
7 (May 28–June 10, 1977). Redstockings’ Organizational Collection, Redstockings Women’s Liberation Archives for Action, Gainesville, FL.

Cooper, Ruth. “Psychological Report of Valerie Solanas by Ruth Cooper PhD, Elmhurst City Hospital.” Report, June 13, 1968. MH.

Coroner’s Report. “Valerie Solanas.” San Francisco, April 25, 1988.

Eastwood, Mary. “Open Memo from Mary Eastwood to Betty Friedan.” Open memo, June 29, 1968. TGA.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. “The Andy Warhol FBI Files.”

Girodias, Maurice. Contract with Valerie Solanas. Contract, August 29, 1967. MH.

Harron, Mary. “Interview Notes from Jeremiah Newton.” Notes, circa 1992. MH.

—. Research notes for introduction to
I Shot Andy Warhol
. MH.