Blotcher: The Warhol account The

BY JAY BLOTCHER

Marketing wiz Roger Schlaifer, N THE BEGINNING THERE WAS graduate Roger Schlaifer. Six years ago, Andy Warhol, Renaissance Man, an Schlaifer orchestrated the unlikely interna­ aficionado of America's junk culture, tional success of a group of round-faced rag already King of the Cabbage who painted what he knew best: Campbell dolls called the Cabbage Patch Kids. Soup cans, Sunday tabloid car crash photos, Marilyn Monroe, Howdy Doody. Patch, sets his sights on the With his death this past year, Warhol moved ID-MARCH. THE ANDY into his second phase: Legend. His silkscreen Warhol Studio, known as the legacy ofAmericas seminal works bring higher fees than when he was alive Factory, on East 33rd Street and his mammoth hodgepodge of fine art, an­ in Manhattan. The lobby of tiques, and cheap bric-a-brac fetched an un­ the converted Consolidated Edison power sta­ pop artist. precedented $25.3 million in bids during a tion is lined with Warhol's own creations, 10-day period this past spring, in the largest wrapped in plastic. A stuffed Great Dane auction ever held by Sotheby's-10,000 pieces stands in one corner near an eight-foot-high in all. phonograph record. A white elephant sculp­ Now enter the artist's third incarnation: ture by Keith Haring perches on a shelf Andy Warhol, Trademark. By the end of 1989, overhead. A huge photograph of the Master, Warhol's signature and artwork will grace white hair askew and waxy features almost designer clothes, calendars, bedsheets, and menacing, commands the reception area. watches. A multi-tiered licensing program is Fame and Fortune, a pair of homely pug dogs, JAY BLOTCHER is a free-lance journalist, living being built around Warhol's entire body of yip across the cement floor towards visitors. in New York City, who writes frequently about the artwork. Fred Hughes has been rushing all afternoon arts and politics. He is a 1982 SU graduate, with Marketing experts have high hopes for the to meet appointments. But his tailored suit re­ a dual degree in English and magazine journalism. program, not only because ofWarhol's reputa­ mains crisp, his slicked-back hair still in place. He last wrote about land-use planning in New York City, for the March 1988 issue of Syracuse tion, but also because of the man who From the red-walled office on the second floor, University Magazine. engineered the deal, Syracuse University Hughes oversees the operations of Andy

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"It took a lot of guts iust to walk in and say he wanted a painting." Schleifer's first negotiations with Andy Warhol weren't over marketing or licensing, but rather Warhol's four-part tribute to the stars of the Cabbage Patch.

Warhol Enterprises. Hughes sets aside his Studio and you don't know what you might T FIRST, ANDY WARHOL walking stick and sits behind an oaken desk. find, right?" was reluctant to share Roger An oversized dollar bill, a Warhol original, Warhol walked in and sized up the four Cab­ Schlaifer's vision. The artist hangs on the wall behind him. Magazines bage Patch Dolls that Schlaifer had brought. was notorious for hedging on memorializing the artist are scattered on either He grinned shyly. "Oh gee, they're really business matters, explains Henry Geldzahler, side. For many years, Hughes was Warhol's great." Warhol said he was willing to paint the curator of the first 20th Century Art collec­ closest friend, party companion, and business dolls and listened quietly as Schlaifer, now tion for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in advisor. When Warhol was shot in 1968 by a more at ease, explained the wall space in his 1966 and a close friend. "Andy had a way of berserk feminist, Hughes breathed life into office where the paintings would hang. Warhol sticking his big toe into something carefully him until the ambulance arrived. From that estimated that the project would take a couple a few times before he stepped in," Geldzahler day on, his influence in Warhol's world grew. of months. explains. "He did that with film, he did that As expected, Hughes was named estate ex­ Returning early in the fall to check on the with many aspects of his life. As it became ecutor in Warhol's will. paintings, Schlaifer also found a new business more comfortable, he would commit himself The first time that Hughes negotiated a deal prospect for his Atlanta-based licensing firm, more completely." with Roger Schlaifer was in the summer of Schlaifer Nance & Company. Propped up Schlaifer faced the same problem. "Andy 1985, by which time the Cabbage Patch Kids around the workshop were a number of was not what you'd call an aggressive, wildly were already a toy-industry phenomenon. original Warhols. Many ofthem - portraits of enthusiastic type of person in a traditional Schlaifer, an avid modem art collector, wanted Chairman Mao, Mount Vesuvius, endangered sense," Schlaifer recalls. '"Gee, this is in­ his billion-dollar playmates immortalized by species- were less known than the signature teresting,' was his first reaction." Warhol. On one ofhis many trips to New York, Campbell's Soup cans and Brillo boxes. Schlaifer launched a campaign to win over he made an appointment to drop by the Factory. Schlaifer suddenly imagined these images on Warhol and Hughes and prove the potential "There was a sense ofuneasiness, not know­ sweaters and shirts. of a licensing deal involving the artist's work. ing what to expect," Schlaifer says, recalling "It just hit me," Schlaifer recalls over He invited the pair to a Thanksgiving Eve bash those tentative first steps into the large lobby. breakfast at New York's Mayfair Regent Hotel. at the posh Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue. More "It's a strange environment to begin with. It "The Warhol name, the magic and the mys­ than 150 people came to celebrate the suc­ encourages that sort of uncertainty." tery, the whole aura, the cachet surrounding cess of Cabbage Patch Kids. The Father of Hughes was both amused and impressed by his persona, his name. They could be turned Pop Art and his business partner arrived in Schlaifer's manner. "It took a lot of guts just into a fabulous licensing program," Schlaifer time for the cocktail party. Warhol was the to walk in and say he wanted a painting," says, his boyish grin brighter than his red star of the event, surrounded by businessmen Hughes says of Schlaifer. "I thought he was paisley bow tie. and art connoisseurs. As he drank in the at­ very nice, very reserved. He was nervous." tention, Hughes hobnobbed with happy Hughes chortles. " You walk into the Warhol licensees, asking questions about their in- https://surface.syr.edu/sumagazine/vol4/iss3/36 SYRACUSE UNIVEHSilY MAGAZINE 2 Blotcher: The Warhol account

volvement with Schlaifer Nance. After a Propped up around the work- Schlaifer, to put it lightly, was crestfallen. while, Warhol slipped out unnoticed. But Now that Warhol and Hughes had turned him Hughes stayed the evening, sitting down to down, the whole idea was doomed. Substi­ dinner with Schlaifer at the head table. Later tuting Jasper Johns, Andrew Wyeth, or a in the evening, the most successful licensees celebrity from a field other than art was out were awarded lead crystal obelisks from of the question. "One of our dilemmas was Tiffany. Hughes watched the ceremony with that when Fred put off our agreement," mounting interest. Schlaifer says, "there wasn't anyone to replace Negotiations progressed, although Hughes him. We had this fabulous presentation, but says he sensed that ':.\ndy was faking." Warhol there wasn't any other combination of name liked the idea but he confided to Schlaifer and talent that could replace Andy." doubts that Midwesterners would recognize Still, Hughes had been impressed by the his name or his art. More to the point, he soft-spoken but persuasive businessman with worried about losing control of his images. the moustache and glasses. Schlaifer, in turn, Benjamin Liu served as Warhol's assistant enjoyed the company of the native Texan with from 1982 to 1985, a position which included the Noel Coward affectations. The pair often every conceivable task from helping produce dined together at Mortimers, an upper East monthly issues of Interview, Warhol's nightlife Side bistro that was Hughes's favorite haunt, magazine, to accompanying him on daily whenever Schlaiferpassed through New York. shopping sprees and holding the umbrella Inevitably, conversation crept around to The when it rained. Liu, who once worked with Deal. Hughes hadn't closed the door com­ Ralston, would often speak with Warhol about pletely. Schlaifer sensed Hughes was just look­ fashion. Warhol would bring up the proposed ing for more information. Schlaifer deal and talk enthusiastically about was a sweater emblazoned with the eagle from his artwork applied to a clothing line. Mass­ Warhol's Endangered Species series. Schlaifer market exposure for Warhol's work, Liu says, projected five-year sales of roughly $1 billion. N FEBRUARY 22, 1987, ANDY "was his dream." But the indecision persisted. "It got a great response," Schlaifer recalls. Warhol died unexpectedly of a On the verge of receiving a flat refusal, Nevertheless, Hughes turned down the pro­ heart attack in New York Schlaifer played his hand. On June 13, 1986, posal at the last minute, pleading that he and Hospital, following gall bladder his marketing agency formally presented ideas Warhol had their hands full with too many sfirgery. Immediately, attention turned to the to Warhol and his entourage. A film detailed other projects. " [Andy]loved the idea of it," artist and his legacy. Fred Hughes had to work Warhol's life and reputation; a series of sket­ Hughes recalls, "but I could see that it would fast. ches transformed Warhol silkscreens into bother him doing licensing things, so we He transformed Warhol's name into a clothes and bedsheets. The main attraction pulled away." registered trademark, in order to protect his

Schlaifer enjoyed the com· pany of the native Texan with the Noel Coward aHectations. That being Fred Hughes (right), Warhol's longtime business manager and later executor of the artist's will. It was Hughes who eventually struck the licensing agreement with Schleifer Nance.

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artwork and any products using the images; now. It's not going to interfere with Andy." of Visual and Performing Arts. When already pirates were churning out unauthor­ In November 1987, Hughes and Schlaifer Schlaifer attended classes, he did very well, ized goods. Another priority was to fund the finally did what Warhol hadn't-they signed but very often he cut classes to indulge a high Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, a contract. For the second time in less than school pastime: playing pool. a project only vaguely outlined in Warhol's a decade, Roger Schlaifer had scored a land­ Syracuse was pool-crazy at the time. Babe will; to do this he would sell off Warhol's mark deal. Business journals nationwide Cranfield, reigning world champion in pocket assets, including his significant collection of heralded the coup. billiards, lived in the city. His presence at­ art by other notable artists. And, to benefit tracted pool sharks from all over the country the foundation, Hughes would at last consum­ who passed through town with cues in leather mate The Deal. EW PEOPLE COULD HAVE PRE­ cases tucked under their arms. Schlaifer, A few days after Warhol's death, Hughes dicted that Roger Lawrence Schlaifer though not a player of quite that caliber, was back in the office, streamlining the Warhol would clinch the Warhol arrangement haunted the amusement hall once located in Empire. Long-time employees were dis­ or make Cabbage Patch Kids an un­ South Crouse Alley or ventured downtown missed, stocks sold off, and most of the precedented toy industry success story. to polish his combination shot. The way he belongings in Warhol's Upper East Side Schlaifer planned to be an artist. tells it, Schlaifer probably also honed his townhouse categorized, appraised, and Raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, an af­ future business instincts there. "I wasn't out shipped off to Sotheby's for the upcoming auc­ fluent suburb ofWashington, D.C., Schlaifer there hustling anybody. I was playing for tion. Warhol's name was removed from the learned basic business principles as a child money, but I was playing the best players for Interview masthead. In its place: Publisher/ from his father, a manufacturer's repre­ serious competition. The real thrill wasn't Editorial Director, Frederick W. Hughes. sentative for a variety ofgift and souvenir com­ conning somebody but just beating them In April, Hughes sent out invitations to a panies. Norman Schlaifer would take young straight out." Warhol memorial service at St. Patrick's Roger on the trade show circuit when boys Schlaifer found it easier to make money Cathedral, featuring a postcard-sized his age were learning the finer points of from perfect bank shots than from painting reproduction ofWarhol's final piece, an adap­ softball. tationofda Vinci'sl.ast Supper. The cathedral Schlaifer absorbed the information, but was decked out in red tulips and forsythias. deferred it to pursue his artistic career. In 1963 Guests included Grace Jones, Liza Minnelli, he enrolled in Syracuse University's School Ralston, and a group of Warhol disciples not assembled since the early 1960s. Yoko Ono and critic John Richardson were among the eulogists. In a pew near the back sat Roger Schlaifer. Schlaifer and Hughes kept in touch. By late spring, Hughes says, he was flying down to Atlanta to talk business again. "I went back to Roger," Hughes said, "when I felt it was appropriate to say, Let's see if we can't pursue this further. . . . because I need to protect these things and it makes sense

"It was ideal timing for us. Smurfs had had their day. E.T. passed quickly. Strawberry Shortcake was on the wane." When Schleifer's daughter fell in love with her new little People doll, then produced by Xavier Roberts {at right), Schleifer knew he was onto something. He renamed them Cabbage Patch and the rest is loy history.

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canvases. Pushing aside fine-art aspirations, At the peak of the fad, more than ing series. (He had created a number ofanimal Schlaifer explored commercial illustrations characters to flesh out Roberts's original story, and graphic design. He put in time at the including an evil old woman and a protaganist Rhode Island School of Design and, after his 2,000 productsrbore the Cabbage named Xavier.) However, OAA nixed the proj­ graduation in 1967 from SU, at the Art Center ects, and, in Schlaifer's opinion, missed a in Los Angeles. Stints at ad agencies and art major opportunity to revitalize the waning studios followed before Schlaifer decided to appeal of the Kids. start his own shop. Wife Susanne Nance, More contract disagreements followed. whom he married in 1972, became his part­ This year, the tenth anniversary of the birth ner. Schlaifer Nance & Company was born. of Little People, Schlaifer Nance & Company Their first licensing concept was " Hot ended its connection with the Cabbage Patch Rollers," inspired by a $65 pair ofroller skates Kids dynasty by selling its contract to OAA designed to cash in on the late 1970's roller for "a substantial sum." The two companies disco craze. But its success, like the fad, was no longer communicate. short-lived.

HAT MADE CABBAGE HEN, IN 1981, SUSANNE Patch Kids successful," brought home a Little People doll Schlaifer says, " is that we named Lavinia Merle for daughter believed in the concept of Jessica. Schlaifer thought the the Kids and the whole endearing quality, the creature "ugly and expensive." But his child Alfred Kahn, then senior vice-president of positive aspects of adoption, the responsibility cuddled her homely new baby while prettier marketing at Coleco, visited BabyLand and the psychological benefits ofthe kids lov­ playmates gathered dust. Schlaifer was General, the OAA factory and showroom, ing something that was homely, versus some intrigued. where sales clerks are dressed as doctors and pretty, fake kind of thing. Little People were handstitched dolls nurses. Coleco took hold of the reins. They "In the same respect, I think we bring the created by a backwoods craftsman from would develop a mass-market version of the same absolute conviction to Andy Warhol. Cleveland, Georgia, named Xavier Roberts. doll and share in the subsequent profits ofthe We're doing it because we feel so strongly Employing the German art of fabric sculpture, OAA-Schlaifer licensing program. Schlaifer towards the work and its fantastic quality." Roberts had been making the limited edition renamed the dolls Cabbage Patch Kids. In the Schlaifer-Hughes arrangement, com­ dolls since 1977 and selling them for $125 Coleco heralded the February 1983 debut patibility is a plus. Hughes uncharacteristi­ apiece. Each doll came with an individualized ofCabbage Patch Kids with a barrage ofpress cally warms up when evaluating his new birth certificate and adoption papers. conferences where reporters were given dolls business partner. "I just like [Roger] the way Schlaifer pitched an advertising program and asked to take an oath of adoption. But you instinctively like people. That's the only to Roberts's company, Original Appalachian the best exposure came from toy store way I can go about life. He's honest and he Artworks (OAA). OAA turned him down. But stampedes. Product shortages sent the price has taste, which is very helpful in this sort when he outlined a Little People licensing ($34. 99 to 39.99 retail) soaring as high as $100 ofthing. He's just a nice honest guy. And he scheme, OAA bought it. Schlaifer's agency in some cities. Psychologists competed to has a certain charm." peddled the wide-eyed children to toy makers reach the definitive explanation for the ap­ The first product, to appear in late sum­ across the country, suggesting spin-off pro­ peal ofthese homely playthings. Johnny Car­ mer, will be a full-color 1989 Warhol calen­ ducts to build the dolls' regional popularity. son snickered at America's latest obsession dar priced at $9. 95, produced by Harry N. It was a hard sell . Hasbro and Fisher-Price in his monologue. A Cabbage Patch Kids float Abrams. The New York-based publisher also felt youngsters would find them too homely. glided down Fifth Avenue for the Macy's produces a Cabbage Patch Kids calendar, Finally, it was Coleco who saw the dolls' Thanksgiving Day Parade. which has sold well for the past five years. marketing potential. Requests for licenses flooded Schlaifer's The complete licensing program falls into "It was ideal timing for us," Schlaifer says. offices. At the peak ofthe fad, more that 2,000 three categories: "Smurfs had had their day. E.T. passed quick­ products bore the Cabbage Patch Kids name, • "The Andy Warhol Signature Collec­ ly. Strawberry Shortcake was on the wane. from underwear to vitamins, lunch boxes to tion." High-quality designer goods, including We saw a vital opportunity, timing-wise, to swimming pools. Coleco launched many spin­ scarves, ties, and tableware. position Cabbage Patch Kids. All the psycho­ off products, including Cabbage Patch tod­ • "The Warhol Brand." Bedding and logical factors were right. It wouldn't have dlers, twins, babies, preemies, bathtub dolls, housewares. And happened, I don't think, three or four years Kids with cornsilk hair, animal companions, • "The Andy Warhol Out Collection." A earlier." and clothing accessories. In 1985, their sales young contemporary fushion line that includes totaled $600 million. Schlaifer estimates that footwear and accessories. the final tally of five years of business by all Schlaifer says that trademarked Warhol licensees is more than $4 billion. creations will not be typical, "unimaginative" As the craze wound down in 1985, a well­ souvenir shop cups and keychains. Moreover, received Christmas Special hinted that the exposure will not only generate profits, he Cabbage Patch phenomenon could be re­ says, but also increase Warhol's circle of ad­ charged by television, and Schlaifer con­ mirers. "The more people see an artist's work, sidered offers for a regular Saturday morn- the better the likelihood they're going to ap-

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preciate it, understand it, and be influenced Purists may cry foul, but they Don Monroe, who produced Warhol's cable by it, versus something that is squirrelled away television show 15 Minutes (based on Warhol's in corridor of a museum." quote that in the future everybody will be Geldzahler, who introduced the Metro­ overlook Warhol's unabashed famous for fifteen minutes), says the deal, politan Museum to Warhol two decades ago, "is great, great, great, as Andy used to say. agrees: "It could bring some people up I'm sure he's saying it right now." through the ranks [of art appreciation] back Geldzahler says he feels confident that to the actual Andy work." Hughes will exercise both good business judg­ ment and respect for Warhol's memory in his deal with Schlaifer. He testily dismisses the suggestion that marketing demeans an artist's overlook Warhol's unabashed reputation. " I don't think we're back in the love of capitalism, his paintings of 1950s where we're so pure that we're terrified dollar bills and dollar signs, and ofjust a little bit of nastiness in the arts. The the cache of money hidden under his mattress. arts are lustier than that, thank God; they're Warhol was a man whose eccentric persona lustier and they're more vivid. There's more and creations shattered the pretensions ofhigh energy, both to accept and reject. So I'm not art. In a 1973 documentary, Warhol proclaim­ worried about it. I'm actually looking forward ed department stores the new museums ofour to seeing the first new things." age; art museums, he continued, should Even with Schlaifer and Hughes running operate as supermarkets, selling paintings the show, Warhol will have posthumous in­ right off the wall. Warhol's first post-college takes up, whereas Business Art does." put. Before he died, Warhol designed a limited assignments in New York were not silkscreen John Vargo, head of Syracuse University's edition watch. Movado will craft 250 models portraits, but shoe ads and Fifth Avenue win­ illustration program (and Schlaifer's former later this year at $10,000 apiece. dow displays. In his 1975 book, The Philosophy professor), says Andy Warhol was opposed At Warhol's memorial service, one eulogist ofAndy Warhol, he upheld the value of com­ to "this hierarchy of art that prevails through repeated a classical Warholism: When he mercial art, commenting, "Business Art is critics and collectors. He didn't care what term died, he hoped to be reincarnated as a ring a much better thing to be making that Art Art, people used for him- court painter or court on Elizabeth Taylor's finger. Roger Schlaifer because Art Art doesn't support the space it jester. He was certainly an artist of the time." promises to take the idea to Tiffany.

"We bring absolute convic· tion to Andy Warhol. We're doing it because we feel strongly towards the work." The Schleifer Nance team includes (clockwise) design director Tim Dove, account executive Georgia Graves, property development director Marcia Watts, Schleifer, his wife Susanne, and illustrator Marie Jackson. The first fruit of their labors: the 1989 Andy Warhol calendar.

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