On February 22, 1987, American pop artist Andy Warhol died at the age of 58 in New York City of irregular heartbeat following gallbladder surgery.
Initially a commercial artist, Warhol rose to fame in 1962 with his painting of a Campbell’s Soup can. He followed later that year with an exhibit containing his depictions of Marilyn Monroe, soup cans, Coke bottles, and $100 bills. His art launched the pop art movement. Warhol worked in various media, including paint, photography, film, and music. Soon before he died, he was learning to incorporate computers in his art as well. Some of his lost computer art resurfaced in 2014 and more of it resurfaced in 2024.
Previous assasination attempt
On June 3, 1968, Warhol survived an assassination attempt by Valerie Solanas, a writer who tried at least twice to sell Warhol a script and whom Warhol had given a small part in his 1967 film I, A Man. Encountering him outside his studio, she followed him inside. Warhol noted she was dressed for winter in spite of it being June. As Warhol took a phone call at approximately 4:30 PM, Solanas fired multiple shots at him at close range with a .32-caliber pistol.
Only one of her shots struck her intended target, striking Warhol once in the belly. Another shot struck art critic Mario Amaya in the back. Amaya received a flesh wound in the back. Warhol’s wound was much more serious, exiting his body and causing damage to his lungs, esophagus, liver, spleen, and stomach. At one point he was clinically dead, and spent six hours in surgery. Ultimately he spent 55 days in the hospital. He had to wear a surgical corset for the rest of his life.
Solanas turned herself in at 8 PM that night. She spent 6 months in psychiatric detention. In June 1969, New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald T. Culkin sentenced her to three years in prison, with credit for time served. The light sentence surprised Warhol.
A 1996 film titled I Shot Andy Warhol dramatized the assassination attempt.
Reluctance to seek medical attention
Warhol had a family history of gallbladder issues, but he was afraid of hospitals and doctors. He had put off checking his recurring gallbladder problems because of this fear. At the time, his surgery was reported as routine, but re-evaluation of his case decades later showed it was not routine due to his age, complications from the gunshot wound from 19 years before, and his family history.
Warhol had seemed to be making a good recovery when he died suddenly at 6:32 AM.
His funeral was in his native Pittsburgh February 27, 1987, and he is buried in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery in Bethel Park, a suburb south of Pittsburgh, near his parents. A memorial service in New York on April 1, 1987 had more than 2,000 attendees, including various celebrities he collaborated with during his career.
In December 1991, Warhol’s family sued the hospital where Warhol received treatment. They said improper care and water intoxication caused his death. The hospital quickly settled out of court and Warhol’s family received an undisclosed sum of money.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.