Apart from his acting roles, many people don’t know that Bowie was also an artist and painter. He moved to Switzerland in 1976 and lived in a chalet in the foothills of Lake Geneva. There, his dependency on medication diminished, and he found time for other pursuits outside of music and began painting.
His favorite paintings were post-modernist, and he would take his sketchbook with him and photograph scenes to paint later. In 1990, one of his pieces sold at auction for only $500 – much less than what a lock of his hair was valued at…
The Elephant Man
Bowie played Joseph Merrick in Broadway's "The Elephant Man," which he did wearing no stage make-up. His powerful performance earned him much praise. After all, he played the part over 150 times between 1980 and 1981.
But Bowie declined the role of the villain Max Zorin in "James Bond: A View to a Kill" in 1985. His other roles consisted of the hitman Colin in the 1985 John Landis film "Into the Night" and Goblin King in Jim Henson's dark symphonic fantasy "Labyrinth."
Blade Runner
In 2017, director Denis Villeneuve mentioned that his original plan was to cast Bowie in his movie "Blade Runner 2049" as the lead villain, Niander Wallace. But since Bowie passed, Villeneuve was compelled to look for another actor with similar "rock star" qualities and chose Jared Leto.
Villeneuve said that Bowie actually influenced Blade Runner's character in many ways — that he embodied the Blade Runner spirit. David Lynch, the director, also wanted Bowie to reprise his role from "Fire Walk with Me" for his film "Twin Peaks: The Return," but Bowie's illness prevented it. His character was consequently portrayed through archival footage.
The Only Thing He Wanted
Bowie once asserted in an interview that art was “seriously, the only thing I’d ever wanted to own.” One year later, in another interview, he said the only thing he buys “obsessively and addictively” is art. His artwork collection, which included Frank Auerbach, Damien Hirst, Henry Moore, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, was valued at over £10 million in 2016.
Following his passing, his family sold most of his collection. Why? Because they “didn’t have enough space” to file it all. The auctions took place in London and attracted 51,470 visitors along with 1,750 bidders. The auctions earned a total of £32.9 million.
What Are Bowie Bonds?
"Bowie Bonds" served as an early example of celebrity bonds – asset-backed securities of current and future revenues of David Bowie's 25 albums (287 songs) that were recorded before 1990. These bonds were issued in 1997 and were bought for $55 million by the Prudential Insurance Company of America.
Have you ever heard of BowieNet? As strange as it may seem, Bowie launched his own Internet service provider and dubbed it BowieNet. The dial-up service was developed with Robert Goodale and Ron Roy in 1998. BowieNet patrons were offered the BowieNet email address, and, of course, internet access. Not surprisingly, the service was closed by 2006.