From "Magpie 2: The Whimsical Issue"

If there was one man that I would think of as summing up whimsical, it would have to be my hero, Andy Warhol.
Andy Warhol came from Pittsburgh and went on to become one of the most famous artists, as well as icons, of the entire world. He was an odd character who challenged a lot of people's ideas about what an artist should be like or what a celebrity should do. I am here to shed a little light on the elusive man and also to sing many of his praises. Here are some facts.
1. No one is entirely sure of when he was born. A fantastic storyteller, Andy claimed one date as his birthday, while others searched for the exact date on his birth certificate. However, the birth certificate has been disputed, being claimed as a forgery from his parents' during their trip over from Czechoslovakia in 1912.
2. Andy got his new last name, Warhol, when he submitted some drawings for a magazine and they accidentally cut off the last "A" of his name: Warhola.
3. He often had a friend pose as him in public wearing a wig and glasses and just not saying a lot.
4. He went to church every Sunday of his life until he died, never did any sort of drug, and lived with his mother.
5. Andy wrote to several celebrities when he was young. He had to stay home in bed due to St. Vitus Dance, a disease.
6. When he met David Bowie, the length of their conversation was as follows: "I like your shoes." "Thanks."
7. Although he would become one of the wealthiest individuals in America, Mr. Warhol never carried any money and recorded his spending habits everyday.
8. He referred to his tape recorder as his "wife."
9. His mother often signed his work.
10. Andy Warhol thought of himself as a business or commercial artist first and foremost.
This crazy platinum wig wearing man is quite possibly the most fascinating creatures of modern life. Not only did he get his start in the art world by drawing cats and shoes but he made everyday products like Coke and Brillo soap seem like da Vinci's "Last Supper." (Which he did a remake of.) Andy was painfully shy and hated the attention he got. In interviews, he would ask the reporter to tell him what to say. (Ironically, Warhol founded "Interview" magazine.) His studio, the Factory, was a constant party scene crammed with people. However, he felt that "all [those] people aren't trying to hang out with him but rather he is trying to hang out with them.
Andy Warhol died in 1987 due to surgery complications.
"If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, there I am. There's nothing behind it." --Andy Warhol.