Andy Warhol ‘wouldn’t visit Pittsburgh’ but is buried there; prof found him ‘least likely to succeed’ at Carnegie Mellon
Andy Warhol, a “Pop Artist,” according to the New York Times and others, died of a heart attack at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan on Sunday, Feb. 22, 1987.
He was believed to be 58 years old, though the New York Times noted that “three known versions of his life” indicate he was born either in 1928, 1929 or 1930. The Times said the “most commonly accepted” birthdate is Aug. 6, 1928.
That is the birthdate given by Warhol’s hometown newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in its obituary.
A United Press International obituary, however, said “it is believed he was born in 1927.”
Warhol died hours after undergoing gall bladder surgery the previous day and was in “stable” condition after the operation, the Times reported, citing a hospital spokesperson.
New York City’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Elliot M. Gross, said an autopsy would be conducted because a death occurring during or after surgery is considered to be in an “unusual manner.” Gross said, “It was an unexplained death of a relatively young person in apparently good health.” What the autopsy determined apparently was not reported in the Times or other newspapers.
Warhol was the third and youngest son of Ondrej and Julia Warhola. They were immigrants of Czechoslavakian descent who arrived in Pittsburgh around the turn of the century, according to the Post-Gazette.
The Post-Gazette spoke to Warhol’s two older brothers, Paul Warhola (the oldest) and John Warhola, who both lived in Pittsburgh. Paul Warhola said that every Sunday morning for 20 years, he would make a call to Andy. “I called this morning, and for the first time in 20 years, someone else answered the phone. It was my brother’s publicist,” saying that Andy had died.
“People got the idea that he was a wild character, but he was the nicest person in the world,” said Paul Warhola.
John Warhola, a manager at a Sears store, said, “I looked at him as my brother, not a famous man. He was the kindest, nicest brother you could have.”
According to the Post-Gazette obituary, Warhol exhibited talent as a young person — but nothing indicated he would become a superstar artist.
Robert Lepper, then a professor emeritus of art at Carnegie Mellon University, said Andy (then “Warhola”) faced expulsion numerous times and “didn’t come to class,” according to the Post-Gazette.
“If anybody would’ve asked me who was least likely to succeed, I would’ve said Andy Warhola.”
Warhol received a bachelor of arts degree from the university in 1949.
Mary A. McKibbin recalled teaching Andy at Pittsburgh’s Schenley High School and observed, “He never used color much in his class.”
The Post-Gazette obituary states that Andy Warhol “maintained close ties to his family in Pittsburgh, especially with his mother,” who died in 1972 (Andy’s father died in 1942, per the Post-Gazette). The paper said Andy “seldom” came to Pittsburgh and “wouldn’t visit Pittsburgh.” Paul Warhola suggested, “After you get to New York, I guess Pittsburgh is a small town.”
According to The New York Times on Feb. 26, 1987, Andy Warhol’s estate was worth $15 million, and his will called for the appointment of Frederick Hughes as executor and “empowering him to provide $250,000 each to Warhol’s two older brothers, John and Paul.” The bulk of the estate was to create a foundation “for the advancement of the visual arts.”
Andy Warhol is buried near his parents in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery in Bethel Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
According to the Post-Gazette, Paige Powell, a staff member of Warhol’s Interview magazine, put a copy of the magazine into the artist’s grave before the coffin was lowered. Wilfredo Rosado, a photographer for Interview, took photographs of the gravesite.
The New York Times reported that more than 2,000 people attended a Memorial Mass for Andy Warhol on Wednesday, April 1, 1987, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York. Guests included Richard Gere, Liza Minnelli, Claes Oldenburg, Halston and Klaus von Bulow. Yoko Ono spoke at the hourlong service. After the service, 400 people, including Tom Wolfe, Julian Schnabel, Roy Lichtenstein, Terry Southern, Fran Lebowitz, Mary McFadden, Lou Reed and Consuelo Crepsi, attended a luncheon at the Paramount Century Hotel on West 46th Street. The article does not mention if Warhol’s brothers attended those events.
Schnabel told UPI after Andy’s death, “He was absolutely one of the greatest we ever had in this country.”
(July 2026)
