The Hotel Chelsea (sometimes referred to as The Chelsea Hotel) may be one of the greatest landmarks of 20th century pop culture in the world. It has been part of many works created, including the Warhol film Chelsea Girls, the Jefferson Airplane song Third Wee at the Chelsea, an episode of An American Family, the 70's show that pioneered reality television, and many others. But more impressive than the movies and books and songs in which the Chelsea shows up, are the many creators who have shown up in the Chelsea. Many actors, musicians, writers and artists have lived there, and notoriously in a couple of cases died there. Charles R. Jackson who wrote The Lost Weekend committed suicide there in 1968, and Nancy Spungen (girlfriend of Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols) was stabbed to death there in 1978. Other famous residents of the hotel include (and this is not by any means the full and comprehensive list): Mark Twain, Arthur C. Clarke (Who wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey there), O. Henry, Dylan Thomas, Arthur Miller, Thomas Wolfe, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Stanley Kubrick, Alice Cooper, Dennis Hopper, Uma Thurman, Jane Fonda, Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop, Jeff Beck, Bette Midler, Jimi Hendrix, Cher, Robert Crumb, Robert Mapplethorpe, and many many more. Also of note, several survivors of the Titanic stayed there after being rescued.
Arthur C. Clarke, Beatnik
One doesn't usually associate Arthur C. Clarke with the counter-culture, unless it's that trippy scene at the end of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. But it turns out he had a more direct connection. While he was writing the book that the movie is based on, he was staying at the Hotel Chelsea. While there he became friends with both William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. The latter two writers were part of the beatnik scene, a precursor to the hippies. So it turns out that Clarke, besides being a pretty good scientist and an excellent writer, was a far out dude.
Wonder Woman's Solo Cover
Wonder Woman was often treated poorly by DC, such as when she was made the Secretary of the Justice Society and left behind when they went on missions. However she was the only character to get a solo cover in All Star Comics, in issue #44.
Sonny And Cher
Sonny and Cher's second movie, Good Times, was such a flop that their next planned movie, Speedway, was given to Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra instead.
Sonny and Cher had filed a legal separation a few days before they taped the final episode of their show. Everyone knew it was the end, and things were a little tense. Sonny kept goofing off and blowing takes, probably because he didn’t want it to end. Finally actor Freeman King got frustrated and said “Sonny, how’s your marriage?” It got deadly quiet on the set until Sonny replied, “Just as good as your acting, Freeman.” After a beat the set erupted in laughter and then they finished taping the final show.
Vampirella's Almost Made Movie
Vampirella was popular enough at one time that Mattel considered making a Barbie doll version, and production started on a movie. The movie fell through, but photos of actress Barbara Leigh taken for it were used for covers of the comic books.
Comments
Post a Comment