Occupation Actressmodel | Years active 1969–93 | |
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Nominations Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play Movies Reform School Girls, Heat, Foul Play, Which Way Is Up?, Six Characters in Search Similar Tom DeSimone, Wendy O Williams, Paul Morrissey, Sybil Danning, Colin Higgins | ||
Pat Ast (October 21, 1941 – October 3, 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.
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Sylvia miles vs pat ast in andy warhol s heat
Early life
Pat Ast was born on 21 October 1941 in Brooklyn, New York.
Career
Ast made her screen debut after meeting director John Schlesinger 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 the fact that she weighed 210 pounds. 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 has appeared usually in small parts in films, such as The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), Foul Play (1978), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), and Reform School Girls (1986).
Death
Ast's lifelong battle with diabetes worsened in the last decade of her life, resulting in the amputation of some toes. She died on October 3, 2001 at her home in West Hollywood, California. Her death came three weeks after the death of her longtime friend Berry Berenson, who was killed in New York's 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 the dogs in a couple of 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. 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.