Jon Gould

Jon Jewell Gould (born May 7, 1953 – September 17, 1986) was an American studio executive and producer. He held senior roles at Paramount Pictures, including director of marketing administration and vice president of corporate communications, before transitioning into film production.

Gould was also the companion of Pop artist Andy Warhol from 1981 to 1985. Following his death from AIDS in 1986, his collection of Warhol's works was exhibited at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center in 2004.

Early life and education Jon Jewell Gould was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts, on May 7, 1953. He was born into a prominent Yankee family that has owned a 900-acre dairy farm and estate since the 1700s. Through his mother, Harriet H. Gould (née Woodsom), he was related to Nathaniel Currier of Currier and Ives fame.

He had a twin brother, Jay Gould, who worked with their father, Robert P. "Bud" Gould, in the Gould Insurance Company family business. He is now a restaurateur and investor.

Gould graduated from Amesbury High School in 1971.

Career In 1977, Gould was hired by Straight Arrow Press as the East Coast sales manager for Rolling Stone and Outside magazine. In 1979, Gould became the executive assistant to Frank Mancuso, the executive vice president of distribution and marketing. When Mancuso was promoted to president of distribution, Gould remained his executive assistant. In 1980, Gould was appointed vice president of corporate communications for Paramount Pictures Corp. He specialized in marketing films such as The Warriors (1979), Urban Cowboy (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Flashdance (1983).

Sexuality and relationship with Andy Warhol In November 1980, Gould met artist Andy Warhol through a mutual friend, photographer Christopher Makos. Warhol was initially interested in Gould for professional reasons—hoping to secure advertising from Paramount Pictures in Interview—but soon began pursuing a romantic relationship in 1981, despite Gould insisting he was not gay. The two grew close, and Warhol created a silkscreen portrait of Gould that same year.

Gould's background—old-money roots, a Harvard education, and a Hollywood career—strongly appealed to Warhol, who documented his fascination by extensively photographing him. As former Interview editor Bob Colacello observed, it was "a résumé that Andy couldn't resist," adding that Gould, like Warhol's former boyfriend Jed Johnson, had a twin brother named Jay, which further intrigued him. Colacello later wrote that to "those of us who were working with Andy at the time, it was obvious that he was suppressing the hurt of losing Jed—'Oh, Bob, it's just one less problem,' he told me unconvincingly the night Jed left, Christmas Eve of 1980—by going completely gaga over Jon Gould."

Although Gould became Warhol's "romantic obsession," accounts indicate their relationship was not sexual. Gould told his close friend Katy Dobbs that his relationship with Warhol was "asexual." Designer Halston similarly downplayed their intimacy, remarking that "the most that ever happened in Montauk was while Jon was taking a shower, Andy probably looked at him and got, you know, some satisfaction." Christopher Makos, who spent weekends with them, was even more direct: "I just don't think that they ever did anything. That was what Andy was moaning and groaning about." Warhol even offered Makos a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch if he could get Gould to sleep with him. "He said, if you get me a boyfriend, I will get you the watch. So I got him the boyfriend, and I said, time to pay up. He said, well, nothing's happened yet," said Makos.

Another complicating factor in their relationship was that Gould remained closeted and didn't disclose his sexuality to his family. While visiting his brother at Warhol's townhouse, Jay Gould asked him about the nature of their relationship. "He said there was no sexual contact, that they were just good friends," Gould recalled. Despite Warhol's efforts to mirror Gould's lifestyle changes, the increasing distance between them became apparent by late 1984. That December, Bob Colacello ran into Gould at E.A.T., a gourmet shop on Madison Avenue, where he appeared healthy and was buying dried fruits. Gould said he was considering moving to the West Coast following his friend Frank Mancuso's appointment as president at Paramount. Allegedly, Gould was dating Mancuso's daughter and telling friends he wanted to start a family.

In an effort to keep Gould close, Warhol gave him the cover story on Shirley MacLaine in the March 1985 issue of Interview. That year, Gould was also the subject of a portrait by Warhol's collaborator Jean-Michel Basquiat. By March 1985, however, Gould had purchased a home in Beverly Hills formerly owned by Joan Hackett and did not give Warhol a key. He soon sold his Manhattan apartment and relocated to California, gradually distancing himself. At the time of his death, Gould was reportedly "down to seventy pounds and he was blind," while continuing to deny even to close friends that he had AIDS. He was survived by his parents, twin brother Jay Gould, and sister Dale Gould. The show consisted of 45 paintings and drawings, 20 prints, and 50 photographs taken by Warhol. Jay Gould contributed $500,000 in memory of his brother, and the building's lobby was named in Jon Gould's honor.