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Pat Hartley
Pat Hartley
Pat Hartley
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Pat Hartley is a Hungarian-American actress, film director and producer. She was the featured in the Andy Warhol films Screen Test, My Hustler and Prison at Warhol's The Factory in the 1960s.[1][2] Hartley also appeared in the films Rainbow Bridge with Jimi Hendrix[1][2] and Absolute Beginners.[3]

Key Information

She was married to filmmaker Dick Fontaine and together in New York they founded Grapevine Pictures, a film production company, in the 1980s and produced such films as the documentaries I Heard it Through the Grapevine featuring writer James Baldwin about his time in the American South during the civil rights era[4][5] and Art Blakey: The Jazz Messenger.[2]

Hartley and Fontaine are the parents of music critic Smokey Fontaine.[6]

Hartley has also co-directed, choreographed and written music videos for such musical artists as Johnny Rotten and Afrika Bambaataa as well as Keith LeBlanc.[1]

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Pat Hartley

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''Pat Hartley'' is an American actress, film director, and producer known for her early involvement in Andy Warhol's Factory scene during the 1960s and her subsequent career in documentary filmmaking, often in collaboration with Dick Fontaine. She appeared in several Warhol films, including Screen Tests, My Hustler, and Prison, as well as the counterculture film Ciao Manhattan (1972). Hartley transitioned to directing and producing documentaries that explore music, civil rights, and prominent cultural figures. Notable among her works is I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1982), which follows James Baldwin revisiting the Deep South to reflect on the civil rights movement's legacy two decades later. Her collaborations with Fontaine also include films on jazz legends such as Art Blakey and Sonny Rollins. The couple's archive is held at the Harvard Film Archive, reflecting their contributions to observational documentary style. Born on November 19, 1945, in New York City, Hartley began her career as a teenager in the vibrant underground art and film world of the 1960s. Her multifaceted career bridges experimental cinema and socially engaged nonfiction filmmaking.

Early life and background

Birth

Pat Hartley was born on November 19, 1945, in New York City, USA. She grew up in New York City, which positioned her within the vibrant cultural and artistic environment of the city during her formative years.

Entry into modeling and acting

Pat Hartley began her professional life as a New York-based model in the mid-1960s, around the time she entered the city's entertainment scene shortly after completing high school. She had long harbored ambitions to become a movie star rather than an artist or painter. In the summer following her high school graduation, Hartley spent time socializing in Greenwich Village, frequenting bars such as Stanley's Bar and the 9th Circle, where she encountered various figures from the emerging underground scene. It was during this period that she met filmmaker Chuck Wein through mutual connections in the West Village social circle, an encounter that would soon lead her to Andy Warhol's Factory.

Andy Warhol Factory period

Arrival at The Factory

Pat Hartley was introduced to Andy Warhol's Factory in the summer of 1965 by Chuck Wein, a friend of Edie Sedgwick. Having just graduated from high school, Hartley was drawn to the Factory by her aspiration to appear in films, seeking opportunities within the experimental underground film scene that Warhol was pioneering. The Factory represented a central hub in New York City's vibrant 1960s countercultural and artistic underground, where aspiring performers, artists, and socialites converged, often frequenting venues in the West Village and other creative hotspots to connect with like-minded individuals and projects. Her initial presence there marked the beginning of her involvement with Warhol's circle, leading to subsequent appearances in his screen tests and films.

Warhol screen tests and films

Pat Hartley participated in several of Andy Warhol's film projects during her association with The Factory in 1965. Her Screen Test was filmed in the autumn of that year, when she was a New York teenager. This silent portrait followed the standard format of Warhol's screen tests, which typically lasted around four minutes and captured subjects in close-up with minimal direction. She also appeared in the Warhol production Prison (1965), where she starred alongside Bibbe Hansen and Sally Kirkland. The short film is noted as one of Warhol's experimental works from the mid-1960s period. Hartley further featured in My Hustler and its related segment My Hustler II (also known as "Ingrid in Apartment") (1965), appearing with Paul America. These films exemplify Warhol's interest in documenting the social dynamics and personalities around The Factory during that era.

Acting career

Underground and independent films

Pat Hartley featured in a number of underground and independent films during the late 1960s and early 1970s, contributing to the era's experimental cinema scene. She played the role of Yoli in Ciao! Manhattan (1972), directed by John Palmer and David Weisman, an underground production that blended fiction and documentary elements while filming intermittently from 1967 to 1972. She starred in Rainbow Bridge (1972), directed by Chuck Wein, an experimental documentary exploring counterculture and spiritual themes on Maui, where she appeared alongside Jimi Hendrix, who performed in the film. In Double Pisces, Scorpio Rising (1970), an experimental work directed by Dick Fontaine that screened at the New York Film Festival, Hartley appeared as one of three visitors—a "pretty girl"—in a sequence whimsically observing a pig slaughterhouse. Hartley also appeared in the documentary A Film About Jimi Hendrix (1973), further connecting her to projects involving the musician. These roles highlighted her engagement with avant-garde and countercultural filmmaking during this period.

Later film appearances

Pat Hartley made a notable later appearance as an actress in the musical drama Absolute Beginners (1986), directed by Julien Temple and based on Colin MacInnes's novel about youth culture in late-1950s London. She portrayed the supporting role of Ms Cool Snr, a character in the film's ensemble cast that included stars such as Eddie O'Connell, Patsy Kensit, David Bowie, and James Fox. This role marked one of her final on-screen acting credits, as her career subsequently shifted toward directing and producing documentaries and other projects in partnership with Dick Fontaine. No further acting appearances in mainstream or independent films have been widely documented after this period.

Filmmaking and directing career

Partnership with Dick Fontaine

Pat Hartley was married to British documentary filmmaker Dick Fontaine. In the early 1980s, the couple co-founded Grapevine Pictures, a film production company based in New York that specialized in documentary, music, and original drama. Dick Fontaine was a professor of documentary production at the National Film and Television School in the United Kingdom for many years, where he introduced direct cinema techniques to British television. Their long-term professional partnership through Grapevine Pictures produced several collaborative works, including the documentary I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1982).

Documentary films

Pat Hartley co-directed several documentaries with Dick Fontaine, focusing on cultural and social figures. Their notable collaboration includes I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1982), which follows James Baldwin on an epic road trip revisiting key locations from the civil rights struggles of the 1960s in the American South. The film acts as a powerful reflection on the legacy of those struggles and the state of race relations, with Baldwin serving as the guiding witness to historical sites and ongoing issues. It has seen renewed interest in recent years, including screenings and restoration efforts highlighted around James Baldwin's centennial in 2024. Hartley also co-directed Art Blakey: The Jazz Messenger (1988), a portrait of the influential jazz drummer and educator Art Blakey, featuring appearances by musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, and the Marsalis brothers. The film explores Blakey's role in mentoring new generations of jazz talent through his band the Jazz Messengers. In addition, Hartley received a producer credit on Bombin' (1988), which documents the export of hip hop culture from the Bronx to the ghettos of Britain, showcasing early graffiti artists and breakdancers spreading the movement internationally.

Music videos and other projects

In the 1980s, Pat Hartley expanded her filmmaking through Grapevine Pictures to include music video production, where she co-directed, choreographed, and wrote videos for Island Records, Tommy Boy Records, and Blue Note Records. Her work in this area frequently intersected with emerging hip-hop culture, as seen in her contributions to tracks featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Johnny Rotten, and Keith LeBlanc. She co-directed, choreographed, and wrote the music video for "World Destruction" by Time Zone, a collaboration between Afrika Bambaataa and Johnny Rotten. Hartley also directed the video for "Renegades of Funk" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force. Her hip-hop-related credits further include "Malcolm X No Sell Out" by Keith LeBlanc. In jazz, Hartley produced the 1985 music video "The Path of Least Resistance" for Bill Evans. She additionally directed a music video for guitarist Stanley Jordan. Beyond music videos, she wrote, produced, and directed the short film "Hung Up" for Comedy Central, adapted from a short story by Lynn Tillman.

Personal life

Relationships

She later married British filmmaker Dick Fontaine. A 1992 profile described Hartley and Fontaine as husband and wife living together in a New York apartment after moving from London, noting their tendency to collaborate closely in both personal and professional matters.

Family and later activities

Pat Hartley and Dick Fontaine have one child, their son Smokey Fontaine, who has established a career as a writer, music critic, and editor. Dick Fontaine died on October 28, 2023. Public information about Hartley's personal life and activities following her work in the 1980s is limited. In 2024, she appeared in a screening and conversation event for the restored documentary I Heard It Through the Grapevine at Princeton University, reflecting her ongoing involvement with the film's legacy and preservation efforts.
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