Warhol Superstar Joe Dallesandro

Warhol Superstar Joe Dallesandro was born on December 31, 1948 in Pensacola, Florida. He grew up with foster parents and got into various mischief as a youth. Dallesandro was expelled from school, stole a car, and was shot by a police officer. He landed his first acting credit accidentally by walking on to the set of The Loves of Ondine, where Paul Morrissey cast him on the spot. Dellasandro also appeared in Morrissey’s Flesh produced by Warhol, along with Trash, Heat, and Lonesome Cowboys. Dellasandro was cast as a teenage hustler in Flesh, during which he had multiple nude scenes. When not filming, Dallesandro would serve as somewhat of a bodyguard at The Factory because of his large and imposing appearance.

Dallesandro was referenced in Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side, “Little Joe never once gave it away”. He lived in Italy for a short while and appeared in Italian films. Dallesandro returned in the 80’s due to the death of his brother. After coming back to the U.S., he appeared in some Hollywood productions such as Miami Vice and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club. Dallesandro appeared on the cover of the Rolling Stones’ 1971 album Sticky Fingers.

Warhol Superstar Joe Dallesandro