{{Short description|American business executive and model}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Jay Johnson | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|12|30}} | birth_place = Alexandria, Minnesota, U.S. | occupation = Model, business executive | spouse = Tom Cashin | partner = | relatives = Jed Johnson (twin brother) }}
'''Jay Johnson''' (born December 30, 1948) is an American business executive and former model. Shortly after arriving in New York City in 1968 with his twin brother, Jed Johnson, Johnson became part of Pop artist Andy Warhol's inner circle at the Factory, where he emerged as one of Warhol's superstars and appeared in the film ''L'Amour'' (1972). Johnson built a successful career as a fashion model and was a muse to photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Following his brother's death in 1996, he became president of Jed Johnson Associates Inc. and later co-founded the textile firm Jed Johnson Home in 2005. He also briefly operated the trendy restaurant Fressen in New York's Meatpacking District.
== Biography ==
=== Early life and education === Jay Johnson was born in Alexandria, Minnesota on December 30, 1948.<ref name=":16" /> He was the third of six children, born 15 minutes before his fraternal twin brother Jed Johnson.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Bojorquez |first=Jennifer |date=1996-12-17 |title=Treasured Moments |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-jed-johnson-got-his/143860298/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |work=The Sacramento Bee |pages=E1, E5}}</ref> They had two older brothers, Craig and Larry, and two younger sisters, Nancy and Susan.<ref name=":32" /> His family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona for eight months, when he was 10 years old before settling in Fair Oaks, California.<ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last=Callahan |first=Temo |url=http://archive.org/details/bwb_P8-ACZ-855 |title=Jed Johnson: Opulent Restraint, Interiors |date=2005 |publisher=Rizzoli |isbn=978-0-8478-2714-5 |location=New York}}</ref> Johnson and future ''Playboy'' model Barbi Benton were junior high school sweethearts.<ref name=":32" /> After graduating from Bella Vista High School in 1967, he briefly attended Sacramento State College.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":2" />
=== Andy Warhol and the Factory and modeling career === [[File:Andy-Warhol-and-Johnson-Twins-by-Cecil-Beaton-1969.jpg|thumb|Johnson (center), his twin brother Jed Johnson, and Andy Warhol photographed by Cecil Beaton at the Factory, 1969]] Johnson and his twin brother Jed left Sacramento, California, in early 1968 with the intention of traveling to Montreal, Canada.<ref name=":32" /> However, the immigration authorities near Buffalo, New York threw them off the train because they believed they were draft dodgers, so they took a Greyhound bus to New York City instead.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Samaha |first=Barry |date=2019-06-27 |title=Stonewall Riots: Artists Reflect on its Impact |url=https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/stonewall-uprising-nyc-pride/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=SURFACE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":62" /> They found an apartment in the East Village, Manhattan, through a heroin addict, got robbed, and lost all their money.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Hamilton |first=William L. |date=November 10, 2005 |title=The Surviving Twin, Rearranging the Furniture |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/10/garden/the-surviving-twin-rearranging-the-furniture.html |access-date=March 26, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When they went to collect money their mother had sent them through Western Union, they were offered a job as messengers.<ref name=":62">{{Cite web |last=Nevins |first=Jake |date=2023-05-10 |title=Jay Johnson Remembers the Quiet Luxury and Kindness of His Brother Jed |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/jay-johnson-remembers-the-quiet-luxury-and-kindness-of-his-brother-jed |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Three days later, Jed delivered a telegram to Pop artist Andy Warhol's studio, the Factory, and was offered a job on the spot as a janitor by director Paul Morrissey.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gopnik |first=Blake |url=http://archive.org/details/warhol0000gopn |title=Warhol |date=2020 |publisher=Ecco |others= |isbn=978-0-06-229839-3 |location=New York |pages=629–630, 646–647, 722}}</ref> Morrissey also promised the brothers parts in the film ''Lonesome Cowboys'' (1968), but those plans fell through.<ref name=":0" /> Warhol helped them move into an apartment in a safer neighborhood, and they were quickly assimilated into his entourage.<ref name=":62" /> Jed would become Warhol's live-in boyfriend, edit his films, and eventually direct the film ''Bad'' (1977).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Macias |first=Ernesto |date=2022-03-21 |title=Meet Jed Johnson, the Man Who Stole Andy Warhol's Heart |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/meet-jed-johnson-the-man-who-stole-andy-warhol-heart |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
While Warhol was hospitalized following a near-fatal shooting in June 1968, Johnson appeared with his brother as a hippie partygoer in John Schlesinger's ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969).<ref name=":0" /> Warhol subsequently helped him secure positions at the Alexander Iolas Gallery and at several nightclubs, including Arthur.<ref name=":62" />
Around this time, Johnson dated Jane Forth, whom he introduced to Warhol; she later became a Warhol superstar.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-20 |title=Jane Forth, Teenage Model & Warhol Superstar |url=https://agnautacouture.com/2015/09/20/jane-forth-teenage-model-warhol-superstar/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |language=en}}</ref> Johnson recalled that when he and Jed first arrived in New York City they "had not yet recognized that they were gay."<ref name=":0" /> The Factory photographer Billy Name helped them come to terms with their sexuality.<ref name=":32" /> Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 2019, Johnson stated:<blockquote>The Stonewall was the first gay bar that I ever went into. … I started working in a club Uptown called Arthur's, and it was managed by Mickey Dean [sic]—a homosexual who tried to rape me—who later became the husband of Judy Garland. He was an awful person and provided Judy with barbiturates and alcohol until she died, which was only a few days before the Stonewall riots. So when the police raided the Stonewall, people were grieving Judy's death—and the raid was the straw that broke the camel’s back. … By the time of the riots, I was an out homosexual and enjoying the fruits of the city.<ref name=":4" /> </blockquote>[[File:Jay-and-Jed-Johnson-After-Dark-1970.jpg|thumb|Jay and Jed Johnson by Jack Mitchell for ''After Dark'', 1970]]Johnson pursued professional modeling while assisting with projects at the Factory.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":16" /> Johnson posed for renowned photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Jack Mitchell, and Francesco Scavullo.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gefter |first=Philip |date=October 16, 2020 |title=Richard Avedon's Wall-Size Ambitions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/arts/design/richard-avedon-group-portraits.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Francesco Scavullo (American, 1921-2004). Jay and Jed Johnson, {{!}} Lot #38121 |url=https://fineart.ha.com/itm/photographs/francesco-scavullo-american-1921-2004-jay-and-jed-johnson-circa-1970gelatin-silver-print-printed/a/14202-38121.s |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Heritage Auctions |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jay and Jed Johnson - 1970 - Jack Mitchell Archives |url=https://jackmitchell.com/store/warhol_and_his_circle/EEE6FC3562~Jay+and+Jed+Johnson+-+1970.htm |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=jackmitchell.com}}</ref> Johnson appeared alongside Warhol and fellow superstar Candy Darling in the March 1, 1970 issue of ''Vogue'' magazine.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perreault |first=John |date=March 1970 |title=Andy Warhol disguised here as Andy Warhol |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_vogue_1970-03-01_155_5/page/164/mode/2up |journal=Vogue |volume=155 |issue=5 |pages=164-166}}</ref> He was also featured in a photo spread with his brother Jed in the December 1970 edition of ''After Dark'' magazine.<ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |last=Zaden |first=Craig |date=December 1970 |title=Factory Brothers |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_after-dark_1970-12_12_8/page/22/mode/2up?q=factory+brothers |journal=After Dark |pages=22–25}}</ref> While modeling in Paris, Johnson lived in a hotel with Corey Tippin, Patti D'Arbanville, and Donna Jordan, all of whom appeared in Warhol's ''L'Amour'' (1972), filmed in Paris in the fall of 1970.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaiser |first=Alfons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdpNEAAAQBAJ&dq=jay+johnson+antonio+lopez&pg=PT190 |title=Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Fashion |date=2022-02-08 |publisher=Abrams |isbn=978-1-64700-430-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":0" /> The following year, he appeared in the Off-off-Broadway musical ''Vain Victory: The Vicissitudes of the Damned'', written by fellow Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis, staged at the La Mama Experimental Theatre Club and the WPA Theatre in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vain Victory, The Vicissitudes Of The Damned (1971) |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/975 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=La Mama}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Emory |date=1971-09-03 |title=Vulgarity is Victorious |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-vain-victory-musical-at-the-w/152893055/ |access-date=2024-08-08 |work=The Record |pages=B-25}}</ref>
In the early 1970s, Johnson was part of fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez's circle and worked as an assistant to designer Giorgio di Sant'Angelo.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Trebay |first=Guy |date=2012-08-29 |title=Drawn to His Shining Light |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/fashion/drawn-again-to-the-images-of-the-illustrator-antonio-lopez.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Padilha |first=Roger |url= |title=Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex & Disco |date=2012 |publisher=Rizzoli |others= |isbn=978-0-8478-3792-2 |location=New York |pages=126}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> He also modeled for photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's jewelry.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last1=Terpak |first1=Frances |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Robert_Mapplethorpe/7WJdCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=robert+mapplethorpe+jay+johnson&pg=PA79 |title=Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive |last2=Brunnick |first2=Michelle |date=2016-03-15 |publisher=Getty Publications |isbn=978-1-60606-470-2 |pages=79, 101 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Davidson |first=Annabel |date=August 16, 2021 |title=How the bad boy of Seventies photography nurtured a talent for jewellery |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/jewellery/photographer-robert-mapplethorpe-inspires-jewellery-collection/ |website=The Telegraph}}</ref> Mapplethorpe created the painting ''Untitled (Baby/Jay Johnson)'' (1972) from a Polaroid of Johnson, which he later enlarged and incorporated into his assemblage ''Jay Kiss'' (1973).<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Robert Mapplethorpe — Objects — Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Marais — Exposition |url=https://slash-paris.com/fr/evenements/robert-mapplethorpe-objects |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Slash Paris |language=fr}}</ref>
In 1973, Johnson began a relationship with Tom Cashin, a 19-year-old model he met in Paris.<ref name=":02" /> After returning to New York, Johnson was featured in the January 1975 edition of Warhol's ''Interview'' magazine in the profile "The Return of Jay" and was signed to the Zoli modeling agency.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |date=January 1975 |title=The Return of Jay |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_interview_1975-01_5_1/page/38/mode/2up?q=jay+johnson |journal=Andy Warhol's Interview |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=38}}</ref> He and Cashin also helped with repairs at Warhol's Montauk estate, Eothen.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Warhol |first=Andy |url=https://archive.org/details/andywarholdiarie00warh/page/80/mode/2up?q=tom |title=The Andy Warhol Diaries |last2=Hackett |first2=Pat |date=1989 |publisher=Warner Books |others= |isbn=978-0-446-51426-2 |location=New York, NY |pages=81 |postscript=Entry date: Tuesday, October 11, 1977}}</ref>
Johnson was feistier than his shy twin and considered the "bad boy" of the duo.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Colacello |first=Bob |url=http://archive.org/details/holyterrorandywa0000cola_a4e9 |title=Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up |date=1990 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-016419-5 |location=New York, NY |pages=74, 147–148}}</ref> He drank heavily and battled cocaine addiction.<ref name=":02" /> Johnson's twin brother, Jed, and Cashin intervened, sending him to a rehabilitation center in Minnesota for three months.<ref name=":02" /> By 1978, Jed had started a decorating business, and Johnson worked as his bookkeeper.<ref name=":62" /><ref name=":02" />
Johnson studied macrobiotics under Michio Kushi, and he and Jed later planned to open a macrobiotic restaurant.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Peters |first=Brooks |date=June 1986 |title=Twin City |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_vanity-fair_1986-06_49_6/page/n89/mode/2up?q=jay+johnson |journal=Vanity Fair |volume=49 |issue=6 |pages=83}}</ref> The brothers were featured together in the June 1986 issue of ''Vanity Fair''.<ref name=":5" /> Johnson and Cashin worked as waiters while pursuing modeling careers in the 1980s.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Warhol |first=Andy |url=http://archive.org/details/andywarholsparty00warh |title=Andy Warhol's Party Book |last2=Hackett |first2=Pat |date=1988 |publisher=Crown Publishers |others= |isbn=978-0-517-56698-5 |location=New York |pages=30}}</ref> Cashin was also an Irish step dancer and appeared in ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' during its Broadway run.<ref name=":10" />
=== Later career as a business executive === In July 1996, his brother Jed was killed as a passenger aboard TWA Flight 800 when the plane exploded off the coast of Long Island, New York.<ref name="grace">{{cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=July 25, 1996 |title=Jed Johnson: Grace interrupted |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/25/garden/jed-johnson-grace-interrupted.html |accessdate=March 26, 2024 |newspaper=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=Mareva |date=July 19, 1996 |title=Mom's Tragic Instinct: Son was Aboard Plane |journal=The Sacramento Bee |pages=A1, A14}}</ref> Johnson inherited his collection of Warhol paintings and took over his interior design firm, Jed Johnson & Associates.<ref name=":1" /> In 1997, he appointed Jed's protégé, Arthur Dunnam, as design director, and the company was renamed Jed Johnson Associates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=New York Times News Service |first= |date=November 15, 1997 |title=PASSING THE TORCH |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/11/15/passing-the-torch-3/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kellogg |first=Craig |date=2017-07-27 |title=The Designer Who Started As a Janitor for Andy Warhol |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/arthur-dunnam-jed-johnson-associates-studio |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}}</ref> After Johnson retired in 2017, the firm was rebranded as Arthur Dunnam for Jed Johnson Studio,<ref name=":52">{{Cite web |last=Kellogg |first=Craig |date=July 27, 2017 |title=Arthur Dunnam Carries Jed Johnson Associates into a New Era |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/arthur-dunnam-jed-johnson-associates-studio}}</ref> and in 2024 it became Dunnam Zerbini Design.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Porter |first=Courtney |date=2025-02-25 |title=Legacy: Kelly Zerbini takes the reins at Dunnam Zerbini Design |url=https://designnewsnow.com/legacy-kelly-zerbini-takes-the-reigns-at-dunnam-zerbini-design/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Design News Now |language=en-US}}</ref>
Johnson later completed a project begun by his brother with textile merchant Mona Perlhagen, opening the fabric showroom Chelsea Editions in fall 1996, which specialized in high-quality, historically accurate embroidered textiles for the design trade.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=Julia |date=September 1999 |title=Crewel Intentions: Chelsea Editions offers hand-embroidered textiles in a showroom that bears the imprimatur of its late founder, Jed Johnson |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_interior-design_1999-09_70_11/page/100/mode/2up?q=jed+johnson |journal=Interior Design |volume=70 |issue=11 |pages=100}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2005-12-06 |title=‘The Admirable Art Of The Needle’ On View At Chelsea |url=https://antiquesandthearts.com/the-admirable-art-of-the-needle-on-view-at-chelsea/ |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=Antiques And The Arts Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Szabo |first=Julia |date=April 2001 |title=Dream Weavers: Gifted weekend hosts dress their casual country house with refined embroidered fabrics |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_house-beautiful_2001-04_143_4/page/n137/mode/2up?q=chelsea+editions+jay+johnson |journal=House Beautiful |volume=143 |issue=4 |pages=112-117}}</ref> He subsequently sold his share in the business to launch Jed Johnson Home in November 2005, offering luxury textiles for interior design clients worldwide.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Irving |first=Carolina |date=December 2005 |title=The Legacy Jed Johnson Associates Unveils New Fabrics Imbued with the Warm, Witty Refinement of the Late Master |journal=Home & Garden |volume=174 |issue=12 |pages=22}}</ref> Cashin serves as co-director, and together they have continued to develop fabrics and furniture for the collection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jay Johnson and Tom Cashin |url=https://jedjohnson.com/company/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Jed Johnson Home |language=en-US}}</ref> The line is now exclusively represented in the showrooms of Holland & Sherry in the United States and England, and has been used by Michael S. Smith in designing the White House Residence during the Barack Obama administration.<ref name=":32" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fernandez |first=Jennifer |date=2020-09-01 |title=Peek Inside the Obama Family’s White House |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/designing-history-the-extraordinary-art-and-style-of-the-obama-white-house |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}}</ref>
In June 1999, Johnson and Ron Teitelbaum, who owned Blanche's Organic Cafes, opened the restaurant Fressen at 421 West 13th Street in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=1999-06-02 |title=OFF THE MENU |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/02/dining/off-the-menu.html |access-date=2026-04-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite journal |last=West |first=Kevin |date=June 8, 1999 |title=Healthy Appetites |url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/article-1085190/ |journal=WWD |volume=177 |issue=109 |pages=4 |quote=(Jay Johnson president of Jed Johnson Inc., an interior design firm, is another partner in the restaurant.) … Fressen is no less ambitious. The 134-seat restaurant was designed by Laura Kirar of Jed Johnson.}}</ref> Named after the Yiddish word roughly meaning to eat ravenously, the restaurant was praised by critics for its organic cuisine and stylish interior, designed by Laura Kirar of Jed Johnson Associates.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=August 1999 |title=Travel: Restaurants |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_los-angeles-magazine_1999-08_44_8/page/74/mode/2up?q=Fressen+jay+johnson |journal=Los Angeles Magazine |volume=44 |issue=8 |pages=74}}</ref><ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 24, 2006 |title=On the Rise: Laura Kirar |url=https://www.elledecor.com/shopping/furniture/a1093/on-the-rise-laura-kirar-19377/ |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=ELLE Decor |language=en-US}}</ref> It closed in December 2001.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=2001-12-19 |title=OFF THE MENU |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/19/dining/off-the-menu.html |access-date=2026-04-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Johnson married Cashin after same-sex marriage became legalized in New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Designers Jay Johnson + Tom Cashin |url=https://www.ubilamltd.com/tom-cashin-jay-johnson |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Ubilam, LTD |language=en-US}}</ref> They reside in New York City and Brookhaven, New York.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Slesin |first=Suzanne |date=2016-12-07 |title=Andy Warhol Paintings Transform this Eclectic Long Island Home |url=https://galeriemagazine.com/jay-johnson-tom-cashin-long-island/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Galerie |language=en-US}}</ref> The couple was featured with their Abyssinian cat, Dylan, in the book ''Men With Cats: Intimate Portraits of Feline Friendship'' (2016) by David Williams.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dylan the cat and his people Tom Cashin and Jay Johnson as seen by David Williams |url=https://www.mrssizzle.com/dog-blog/2015/8/10/cashin-johnson-cat |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=SUZANNE DONALDSON |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2022, Johnson appeared in the Netflix docuseries ''The Andy Warhol Diaries''.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Laneri |first1=Raquel |last2=Gostin |first2=Nicki |date=March 9, 2022 |title=The Andy Warhol Diaries' reveals artist's secret love life after being shot |url=https://nypost.com/2022/03/09/the-andy-warhol-diaries-reveals-artists-secret-love-life/ |website=New York Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-10 |title='The Andy Warhol Diaries' explores how the iconic artist was shaped by his great loves |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/-andy-warhol-diaries-explores-iconic-artist-was-shaped-great-loves-rcna19386 |access-date=2024-05-05 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|id=nm13470791}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jay}} Category:1948 births Category:American twins Category:Fraternal twins Category:People from Alexandria, Minnesota Category:People from Scottsdale, Arizona Category:People from Fair Oaks, California Category:People associated with The Factory Category:People from the East Village, Manhattan Category:American LGBTQ businesspeople Category:Male models from Minnesota Category:Living people Category:American LGBTQ models Category:People from Brookhaven, New York Category:Muses (persons) Category:Businesspeople from Sacramento, California Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people Category:Businesspeople from New York City Category:American restaurateurs