0 Comments

Photo of Robin Johnson by Peter Strongwater  Text:  ROBIN JOHNSON  A native New York skeptic, ROBIN JOHNSON thought she was being handed another line when a talent scout for ROBERT STIGWOOD’s TIMES SQUARE approached her on the steps of Brooklyn Technological High School and said, “Hey kid, ya wanna be in pictures?” Winning the role away from hundreds of professionals, Robin was instantly immersed in twelve weeks of movie star training—all singing, all dancing, all talking. Now, Robin and co-stars TIM CURRY and TRINI ALVARADO have hit it big as TIMES SQUARE draws rave reviews and long lines. ... Photograph by PETER STRONGWATER. . . .Hair by STEPHANE LEMPIRE. . Makeup by MARIA MACHEDA.. . Clothes by MARIO VALENTINO. . . Earring by ROBERT LEE MORRIS/ARTWEAR. . . . Cuff by TED MUEHLING/ART- WEAR.. . Styling by GALE SMITH

Here, in the December issue of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine, is Robin getting her fifteen minutes. A gorgeous glamor photo by photographer Peter Strongwater, and a stunningly non-realistic description of Times Square’s success… Robin was truly the toast of New York, for at least as long as it took to read the text on page 15:

 

ROBIN JOHNSON

A native New York skeptic, ROBIN JOHNSON thought she was being handed another line when a talent scout for ROBERT STIGWOOD’s TIMES SQUARE approached her on the steps of Brooklyn Technological High School and said, “Hey kid, ya wanna be in pictures?” Winning the role away from hundreds of professionals, Robin was instantly immersed in twelve weeks of movie star training—all singing, all dancing, all talking. Now, Robin and co-stars TIM CURRY and TRINI ALVARADO have hit it big as TIMES SQUARE draws rave reviews and long lines. … Photograph by PETER STRONGWATER. . . .Hair by STEPHANE LEMPIRE. . Makeup by MARIA MACHEDA.. . Clothes by MARIO VALENTINO. . . Earring by ROBERT LEE MORRIS/ARTWEAR. . . . Cuff by TED MUEHLING/ART- WEAR.. . Styling by GALE SMITH

 

And, that’s all I have to say about this. The photo speaks for itself. Despite Times Square’s failure, she would have been one of the biggest stars of the 1980s had Robert Stigwood not put the brakes on her career just as it was getting started. Whether that would have been a good or bad thing for her, well, who’s to say, but it would have been terrific for Us Her Fans. But, I’m getting ahead of myself… Times Square has only just opened, and she still has a publicity tour to do.
Cover of Interview, Vol. 10 No. 12, December 1980

Photo of Robin Johnson by Peter Strongwater from Interview Vol. X No. 12, Dec, 1980, p. 15.  (Detail)

 

 

Interview, Vol X No 12
11 in (W) x 17 in (H) (work)

 

Robin Johnson – Photograph by Peter Strongwater
Interview, Vol X No 12, p. 15
11 in (W) x 17 in (H) (work)
1080 px (H) x 680 px (W), 96 dpi, 357 kb (image)

 

Detail of Robin Johnson – Photograph by Peter Strongwater
Interview, Vol X No 12, p. 15
601 px (W) x 800 px (H), 96 dpi, 256 kb (image)

 

Interview, Vol X No 12, p. 1 (cover)
11 in (W) x 17 in (H) (work)
1080 px (H) x 684 px (W), 96 dpi, 432 kb (image)

 

©1980 Interview Enterprises

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Allan Moyle at work

Way back in October 2014, I posted a photo of Robin and Trini getting ready to shoot a scene that was later cut from the film, and complained that although the vast majority of Times Square publicity stills don't actually come from shots of takes used in the film, there…

Robin steppin’ out in London, January 1981

  Robin doesn't remember exactly where this photo was taken, but it was during her publicity tour of the UK for Times Square, and probably in London. She also doesn't think much of it as a photograph, but I think there's something enchanting and 1940s-glamorous about it.   It was…

Times Square UK Lobby Cards, 1st Set (post 4 of 4)

[gallery columns="1" size="medium" link="file" ids="5131,5132,5133,5130"] The final cards from the first set of UK lobby cards. These are the last of the items I have that were released contemporaneously with Times Square's original release, so I'm going to take a bit of a break after this before continuing with the…