Drive-by Design: Phyllis Morris, ‘SuperStar’

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‘What would Phyllis do?’ That’s the question printed on the showroom windows of the late, legendarily over-the-top West Hollywood designer Phyllis Morris (1925-1988), a blond bombshell who built her business by peddling pink plaster poodle lamps from her pink Cadillac in the 1950s.

The answer: She’d paint her pets to match her outfits and really put on a show. Actually, this display at 655 N. Robertson Blvd. is meant to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Morris’ Pop Art creation ‘SuperStar.’ Created as a poster in 1964 by Morris, the one-eyed beauty queen (equal parts Andy Warhol and Mary Quant) has now become a graphic wall covering designed by Morris’ daughter and torchbearer, Jamie Adler.

‘No Botox, no Rejuvaderm, not even Photoshopping,’ says Phyllis Morris rep Greg Frilotte. ‘That’s the staying power of an alluring face.’

See photos of the original poster and a recent installation of the wallpaper after the jump.

Photos: Above, the 1964 original in a room by Phyllis Morris and the wallpaper in a three-story Dallas stairwell, 2009.

At right, Chicago Cubs outfielder Joe Pepitone, circa 1971, with a ‘SuperStar’ poster.

-- David A. Keeps

Photos credits: Phyllis Morris