Warhol Superstar Pat Ast was born on October 21, 1941, and had early aspirations of becoming a famous singer. In a feature in The New York Times Magazine, Michael Kaplan recalled a story about which, according to Ast herself, she once won a singing competition at her high school (Erasmus Hall High School), in which she beat out a fellow classmate named Barbra Streisand.
Ast’s first film credit came in 1969’s Midnight Cowboy, given to her by director John Schlesinger. Fashion Designer Halston once gave her a job in his boutique because she highly entertained him. She starred in Warhol’s Heat in 1972 and appeared in Hollywood productions such as The Pursuit of D.B Cooper and Foul Play. Ast also appeared in television shows The Twilight Zone and Mr. Belvedere.
Ast became close with Halston, after becoming a model for the famous designer. However, she was distraut by his death of Kaposi’s sarcoma, an AIDs-defining illness, in 1990. During the period after Halston’s death, she grew close to photographer Berry Berenson. Yet, ten years later, she was thrown into depression after the death of Berenson during the attacks on 9/11. Ast passed away shortly after on October 3, 2001.
