American Writer and Culture Icon, Glenn O'Brien Has Passed Away at the Age of 70
The original “Style Guy” leaves a lasting mark in art, music and fashion.
American writer, art and fashion icon Glenn O’Brien has passed away. Better known to most as the “Style Guy” for writing the popular Details/GQ column, O’Brien was also renowned for his involvement with Andy Warhol’s Factory collective. He was for five years the host of Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party where he interviewed guests such as Fab 5 Freddy, David Byrne, Debbie Harry and Jean-Michel Basquiat. He also belonged to the band Konelrad, a “socialist-realist” rock group.
O’Brien (born in 1947) is credited in culture for a long list of things — he covered New York’s punk scene in the late ’70s through the early ’90s and was the first editor of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. Other accomplishments also include becoming editor in chief of High Times magazine, directing the movie Downtown 81 (starring Jean-Michel Basquiat), creative directing advertisements for Barneys New York, and penning critically-acclaimed books such as Soapbox, The Style Guy and How to Be a Man. He also served as CEO and editorial director of Brant Publications from 2008 to 2009 and wrote culturally relevant essays and editorials for a slew of other publications.
RIP Glenn O’Brien, a New York City literary legend: https://t.co/GIA2hpxVGi pic.twitter.com/RgVQi6OLio
— V Magazine (@vmagazine) April 7, 2017
