In the final segment of Jarmusch’s Coffee & Cigarettes, the infamous Taylor Mead, an icon of the NY Downtown scene since the 60s, falls asleep while chatting with Bill Rice – something he had a lot of trouble with until last week when he left this planet and passed away: good news for his asshole landlord who had been trying to evict Taylor from his Lower East Side apartment for a while now. It was endlessly inspiring to see the artist, writer/poet, and “first underground movie star” – known for starring in various Warhol movies like Tarzan and Jane Regained… Sort Of, though he’s proud that he’s “B.A.: Before Andy”, referring to the 1960 beat classic The Flower Thief he starred in before even meeting Warhol – still hustling at age 88, reading poetry, and doing his thing in the L.E.S. Rip, Taylor, you’ll be missed.
