Gerard Malanga was Andy Warhol’s longtime Factory collaborator and a poet featured in many of his early films.
Malanga joined Warhol’s working circle in the 1960s and became an important figure at the Factory. He worked as a poet, performer, dancer, filmmaker, and assistant, contributing to the experimental atmosphere that surrounded Warhol’s studio.
He appeared in films including Vinyl, Screen Tests, and Chelsea Girls. Malanga also performed with the Velvet Underground during the period when the band was closely associated with Warhol’s multimedia project Exploding Plastic Inevitable.
Malanga is sometimes confused with Paul Morrissey, who directed several films produced by Warhol, or Billy Name, the photographer who documented the Factory’s silver interior. Those figures were important collaborators, but Malanga’s roles combined performance, poetry, and direct participation in Warhol’s early film and Factory activities.