Rotten Rita (real name Kenneth C. Rapp) (May 6, 1938 - February 26, 2010)[1] was an influential denizen of Andy Warhol's The Factory and was sometimes referred to as "The Mayor".
[2] Although he worked by day in a fabric store, he spent many nights at the Factory bringing his unique influences to encourage others to become artists.
[3] He was an opera aficionado, and also an alleged amphetamine dealer and user,[4] and he touched the lives of many members of Warhol's artist collective.
In one mention, Warhol recalled asking a mutual friend, Duchess, why Rita was known as "The Mayor" and received the reply 'Because he screws everybody in town'.
[5] Rapp's alleged death in late 1991 (together with that of songwriter Doc Pomus by cancer) inspired Lou Reed, another famous Factory denizen, to compose his 1992 album Magic and Loss.