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Pat Ast

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Pat Ast
Ast in 1972
Born
Patricia Ann Ast

(1941-10-21)October 21, 1941
New York City, U.S.
DiedOctober 2, 2001(2001-10-02) (aged 59)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeMount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
EducationErasmus Hall High School
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
Years active1969–1993

Patricia Ann Ast (October 21, 1941 – October 2, 2001) was an American actress and model. She was best known for starring in Andy Warhol films and being a Halston model and muse in the 1970s.

Early life

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Patricia Ann Ast was born on October 21, 1941, in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents Irwin and Rose (Ludwig) Ast.[1][2] She attended Erasmus Hall High School in Prospect Lefferts Garden, Brooklyn.[3]

Career

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Ast (left) with Dennis Christopher and Shelley Duvall in 1975

Ast enjoyed partying in her twenties on Fire Island, and her boisterous personality allowed her to meet and befriend influential people. She had aspirations to become an actress, singer and model despite her day job as a receptionist at a box factory.[3]

Ast made her screen debut after meeting director John Schlesinger on Fire Island, who cast her as a party guest in his film Midnight Cowboy (1969). Around that time, she caught the attention of fashion designer Halston, who gave her a job at his boutique and made her one of his models, despite her weighing 210 pounds, in a time when most models were extremely thin. In the early 1970s, with Pat Cleveland, Connie Cook, Alva Chinn, Anjelica Huston, Karen Bjornson, among others, Ast became one of Halston's favored troupe of models, nicknamed the Halstonettes.[4] She also appeared in runway shows for Halston and Yves St. Laurent, closing the 1972 Coty Awards runway show for Halston by popping out of a giant cake.[3]

She became associated with Andy Warhol, who gave her the role of landlady Lydia in his film Heat (1972) alongside Joe Dallesandro.

In 1975, Ast moved to Hollywood to pursue her acting career. She appeared in films such as The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), Foul Play (1978), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), and Reform School Girls (1986).[5][6]

She became resentful of Los Angeles as her film career stalled and she went to New York to do Nine, a Broadway musical based on Federico Fellini’s movie 8 1/2, but was dismissed after three months.[3]

Death

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Ast's lifelong battle with diabetes worsened in the last decade of her life, resulting in the amputation of some toes.

Halston's death in 1990 affected her tremendously, and she was said to never have been the same.[3]

Ast died on October 2, 2001, at her home in West Hollywood, California.[2] Her death came three weeks after the death of her longtime friend Berry Berenson, who was killed in the September 11 attacks. Ast's neighbors noticed that the newspapers were piling up outside her door and that she hadn't been out to walk her dogs in a few days. Concerned, they called a friend of Ast's, who found her dead on her bed. It was reported that she had died of natural causes.

Due to scheduling conflicts among the attendees, there were two memorial services.[3] Among the guests were Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Bud Cort, and Paul Reubens. Ast was buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills.[7][8]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1969 Midnight Cowboy Party Guest Uncredited
1970 The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker Fat Girl at Party Uncredited
1972 The Possession of Joel Delaney Mental Hospital Patient Uncredited
1972 Heat Lydia
1976 The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox Music Hall Singer
1976 Six Characters in Search of an Author Madam Pace TV movie
1977 Which Way Is Up? Hooker
1977 The World's Greatest Lover Bakery / Wardrobe Lady
1978 Foul Play Mrs. Venus
1978 The Users The Dressmaker TV movie
1979 Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill Vera Elvira TV movie
1981 The Incredible Shrinking Woman Customer #1
1982 Pandemonium Bus Driver
1986 Club Life Butch
1986 Slow Burn TV movie
1986 Reform School Girls Edna
1989 Homer and Eddie Maggie Sinclair
1991 Ted & Venus Women's Group #2
1992 Loving Lulu
1995 Beauville short

References

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  1. ^ Hofler, Robert (March 2, 2010). Party Animals: A Hollywood Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll Starring the Fabulous Allan Carr. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306818943.
  2. ^ a b "Patricia Ann Ast in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007". Ancestry.com. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Wally, Maxine (May 14, 2021). "Pat Ast Was the Halston & Andy Warhol Muse Who Never Got Her Due". W Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  4. ^ A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York. Simon and Schuster. 14 October 2014. pp. 236–. ISBN 978-1-4516-5630-5.
  5. ^ Savage, David (September 6, 2007). "Pat Ast - You Were a Piece of Semi-Heaven!". Cinema Retro. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  6. ^ Yacowar, Maurice. The Films of Paul Morrissey. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
  7. ^ Silva, Horacio (February 24, 2002). "Remembrance Of Things Ast". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  8. ^ "Pat Ast, 59; Model, Actress in Warhol Films, B Movies". Los Angeles Times. October 26, 2001. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
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