‘Marginalized by film historians and largely overlooked during his lifetime, the late Curtis Harrington (1928-2007) was a key figure in the West Coast experimental film scene and among the most wholly original directors to work in the Hollywood studio system. An ardent cinephile since his earliest years, Harrington began his film career as an errand boy at Paramount and eventually became a successful A-list director at Universal in the 1960s. An early protégé of Maya Deren and a close friend of Kenneth Anger and Gregory Markopoulos, Harrington’s first works were poetic trance films that revealed his careful eye and distinctive style. During his youth Harrington also befriended two of his greatest idols, iconoclastic studio directors James Whale and Joseph Von Sternberg, uncompromising aesthetes whose refined—and at times, perverse— tastes and wicked sense of humor would remain major influences on all of Harrington’s major films.

‘Harrington ended up being an example of what is likely a typical tale in Hollywood: a director who gladly (and sometimes begrudgingly) took the work that was handed to him as he labored to get pet projects off the ground. His filmography looks like a scattershot run through everything from fractured art house shorts to campy horror to nighttime soap operas of the eighties. But if you start digging into the life of the late artist (he passed away in 2007), you’ll find a fairly incredible story built on a deep love of film, good fortune and a singular vision that shone through even his most commercial work.

‘As you would expect from the tenor of many of Harrington’s work, a lot of it is available for mass consumption: a DVD that pairs up two of his campier efforts, What’s The Matter With Helen? and Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (both starring Shelley Winters), and many other films streaming online including one of his most fully realized horror experiments, Ruby. Another thread that runs through so many of these films is Harrington’s love of Hollywood’s Golden Age, which he tries to inject into even the most unusual projects.

‘He convinced Basil Rathbone to play the majordomo of a group of space explorers in Queen of Blood, while also going against producer Corman’s wishes to put former noir moll Florence Marly in the title role. He cast legendary British actor Ralph Richardson opposite Winters in Auntie Roo. And for a TV movie about a woman in control of a hive of killer bees, he gave the plum lead role to the great Gloria Swanson. “He talks a lot about how he really had a way with egotistical women actresses,” says Lisa Janssen, an archivist and film theorist who is working with Chicago-based imprint Drag City to bring a DVD collection of Harrington’s early experimental works into the world. “Someone called him the next George Cukor because he was so good with those personalities.”

‘“It was a huge heartbreak for him to end up there,” says Janssen. “What he finds is that you don’t just do one show and then go back to directing features. You’re marked for life. He just got stuck there.” During that time, Harrington pleaded with movie executives to help him get films funded and produced. For the better part of thirty years, he tried to get an adaptation of Iris Murdoch’s book The Unicorn brought to the big screen. He also attempted to work on TV adaptations of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and a biopic about Swanson, as well as dozens of other big and small films. Frustrated as he was, Harrington kept soldiering on, able to keep working thanks in no small part to his gregariousness with everyone he encountered along his life’s journey.’ — collaged

 

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Stills

 

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Further

‘The Curtis Harrington Short Film Collection’ @ Drag City
Curtis Harrington @ imdB
Ch obituary @ Fortean Times
‘Curtis Harrington, Restored’
CH interviewed @ The Terror Trap
‘Exploded View’
‘Negotiating the Dangerous Compromise’
‘Curtis Harrington: Living in Dangerous Houses’
CH’s memoir reviewed @ Bookforum
‘Remembering Horror Maestro Curtis Harrington’
The Curtis Harrington Papers @ Margaret Herrick Library
CH obituary @ The Los Angeles Times
The Estate of Curtis Harrington: Grandfather of Avant-Garde Filmmaking in LA
‘CURTIS HARRINGTON: CINEMA ON THE EDGE’
CURTIS HARRINGTON: 2001 INTERVIEW
‘Curtis Harrington on James Whale’
‘Michael Gothard and the Curse of Curtis Harrington’
‘From the Eye of the Storm: Remembering Curtis Harrington and His Films’

 

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House of Harrington (2008)
‘House of Harrington is a short documentary about Curtis Harrington, a filmmaker who amassed a short list of very interesting, arty, plodding horror movies throughout the ’60s and ’70s. Unfortunately, outside factors (bad ad campaigns, dubious distributors, meddling producers, etc.) prevented Harrington from ever having the illustrious film career that he could/should have had. The documentary features one of Harrington’s final interviews in which he reminisces about his early life and fascination with films through his career in Hollywood to his final independently produced short film Usher. Punctuated with clips from most of his movies (including glimpses of his oft-spoken-of but incredibly rare early shorts Fall of the House of Usher, Fragment of Seeking, and The Wormwood Star) as well as some of the television shows he directed, few of his works are discussed in-depth, it’s just sort of an overview of his career.’ — Vinnie Rattolle

 

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Inauguration

 

Kenneth Anger ‘Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome’, featuring the author Anaïs Nin as ‘Astarte’, Marjorie Cameron as ‘The Scarlet Woman’, and the filmmaker Curtis Harrington as ‘Cesare the Sleepwalker’.

 

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Extras

Kenneth Anger, Curtis Harrington, and Larry Jordan Oral History

Curtis Harrington Audio Interview

Curtis Harrington Nice Guys Don’t Work in Hollywood Book Trailer

 

______
Interview
from Halloween All Year

 

When did you know you were a filmmaker?

Curtis Harrington: I wanted to be a filmmaker from about the age of twelve. I got my parents to buy me an 8mm camera out of a catalogue. I then got a job working as an usher at the local theater. I would see films over and over again.

The first film you made was in your early teens, an adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher.

CH: I did a version of The Fall of the House of Usher—a little 8mm film—when I was fourteen. To say that it’s crude is putting it mildly. I don’t like to show it. The only time I’ve shown it in recent years is when I took my new version of The Fall of the House of Usher to the Munich Film Festival about two years ago. They begged me to show the earlier version of it.

And you gave in.

CH: I gave in. People like the idea of seeing a film that I made when I was fourteen, then seeing a different version of it at 104 years of age.

Did you go to film school?

CH: Yeah. I went to USC. For someone like me, it was largely just going through the motions. I made my first films—one of my key films— Fragment of Seeking when I was at USC. My friend at that time, Kenneth Anger, made a film called Fireworks. Both of these films were very personal so USC had nothing to do with them. I remember when I showed Fragment of Seeking to a couple of USC professors, I might as well have shown them a blank screen for all the reaction I got. The film was just meaningless to them. It’s a film that’s created a lot of interest over the years.

Generally speaking, my work has been much better understood and appreciated in Europe than in America. In Europe, I get instant responses to everything I do, even the new version of Usher. No film festival has any interest in it here in America. But in Europe I’ve already been invited to several marvelous film festivals and everybody loves it and they write about it. The separation from the European mentality and the American one is weird. They have no interest in artists in the States. When I went to USC film school, you talked about Citizen Kane; you didn’t talk about Doris Day in The Glass Bottom Boat. Everybody wanted to do something different back then. Now people go to film school to learn how to make very commercial movies, real Hollywood stuff. That’s what most of them are in there for; they want a hot job. And today they have plenty of opportunities to make these utterly inane teenage movies. Do you know what I’m talking about?

The target audience is bored fourteen year olds with too much of their parents’ money.

CH: Yes. Steven Spielberg makes his films for the same audience.

Was it looked down upon by the avant-garde crowd that you wanted to move into films with narratives?

CH: The only question the avant-garde crowd had at the time, specifically Jonas Mekas, was “Is Curtis Harrington selling out to Hollywood?”

My favorite film of yours is What’s the Matter with Helen? How did that picture come about?

CH: I made Games at Universal. I was put under contract there. And then after Games my producer George Edwards and I met with Henry Farrell, who wrote Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and we asked him if he had some other story of that genre. He gave us the outline of a story called “The Box Step,” which was the basis for What’s the Matter with Helen? We had the studio backing, hired him, and he wrote the first draft of the script. But then I could never get a cast to the studio’s satisfaction. We needed an aging actress who had done dancing.

Before I offered it to Debbie Reynolds, I offered it to Shirley MacLaine, but she wouldn’t do it. I had the idea of Joanne Woodward, who was a friend of mine. She also wouldn’t do it. She always got advice from her husband Paul Newman who advised her against doing it. I have no idea why. At one point we had a friend who knew Rita Hayworth and we had a meeting with her, which was one of the most heart-wrenching moments I’ve ever had with anyone. Of course we all know that she finally developed Alzheimer’s disease. I don’t know at what point she was at when we had this meeting, but we met at her house and we had a wonderful time. We were thrilled to meet her. She still looked very good and we sat out by her pool and chatted with her and then finally George and I left. We were both very pleased with the meeting, but suddenly at the doorway she just collapsed. She crumpled and said, “You’re laughing at me aren’t you? I know you’re laughing at me.” It was a horrendous moment…so that obviously didn’t work out. Debbie Reynolds liked the script, one thing led to another, and she agreed to do it. And that’s how it came about. We made it independently.

Are there any recent filmmakers that interest you?

CH: Yes, but very few. The only American is David Lynch. I’ll tell you my personal favorite film of the last—I don’t know, it may have been made more than twenty years ago now—time goes so quickly. My favorite big commercial movie of the last twenty or twenty-five years is Blade Runner. I really love it and I’m so disappointed in the director. I don’t think he has any high ambitions, it’s not that, but he certainly hasn’t made anything close to Blade Runner since it was made… One whose work I hate, a lot of young people think he’s really cool. I can’t remember his name. I can never remember the names of people I don’t like.

What did he do?

CH: Magnolia.

Oh, Paul Thomas Anderson. I don’t like him either.

CH: I think his work is pretentious.

What do you think about the state of the horror film today? Is there even a future for horror?

CH: [laughs] Well, it all depends on the evolution of special effects. [laughs] I don’t think we’re going to get over that anytime soon. I just wish they were put to better use. I like character-driven horror and that’s very old fashioned. I think the only slightly interesting thing in the horror genre, and I’ve just read about them, are these Japanese horror films that are being remade in America. I thought The Ring was interesting, but I have a feeling I’d like the Japanese version a lot better. I always like Japanese horror films. I remember them from years ago. I used to go to the Japanese theater downtown. There were no subtitles or anything but they were always wonderful. The Japanese have a real wonderful sense of horror.

I think it’s very hard for an individual filmmaker to get anything done. They’re all committee-made films. And most films are just animated demographics. The casting is all demographic and it’s nothing to do with the integrity of the film. I’m not interested in seeing films that are for built-in demographics. For example, films that have to have fourteen-year-olds who solve the world’s problems, you know? Spielberg was always doing that in his films; it’s always a kid who comes in with a computer. If I see that scene one more time I will puke. The worst director currently is Joel Schumacher. He’s the total pits.

 

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14 of Curtis Harrington’s 37 films

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Fragment of Seeking (1946)
‘“I went to USC. For someone like me, it was largely just going through the motions. I made my first film —one of my key films — Fragment of Seeking when I was at USC. My friend at that time, Kenneth Anger, made a film called Fireworks. Both of these films were very personal, so USC had nothing to do with them. I remember when I showed Fragment of Seeking to a couple of USC professors, I might as well have shown them a blank screen for all the reactions I got. The film was just meaningless to them.”

‘When it first came out, Fragment of Seeking might not have received the kind of attention Harrington had hoped for, but it is now recognised as an important addition to the corpus of New Queer Cinema. Utilising the stylish noir aesthetics of the decade to create a surreal non-verbal experience, Fragment of Seeking is a short that transcends its own limitations. It would be wrong to dismiss it as a student film because it breaks new ground.’ — Swapnil Dhruv Bose

the entire film

 

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On the Edge (1949)
‘In this fragile, yet frightening poetic fantasy, set against a dark industrial landscape, Harrington casts his own mother and father in the lead roles. On the Edge comes perilously close to feeling like a throwaway gag: Set amid the burbling mud pits of some post-apocalyptic wasteland (in actuality the Salton Sea), this short is almost entirely inscape: An elderly man sneaks up on an old woman (who may or may not be one of the three Fates) hard at work knitting in her rocking chair. In a trice, he snatches the sewing out of her hands and scampers off. You can probably guess the rest: When the thread runs out, his time is up.’ — collaged

the entire film

 

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The Assignation (1953)
‘Long considered lost, The Assignation was Curtis Harrington’s first color film. It was shot in Venice, Italy, and follows a masked figure through the labyrinthine canals of the city, building to a spectacular climax. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2006.’ — Letterboxd

Watch the film here

 

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The Wormwood Star (1956)
‘It’s certainly no slight to the late director Curtis Harrington to describe The Wormwood Star, his visually arresting 1956 portrait of occult artist/beatnik weirdo Marjorie Cameron as being “Anger-esque” considering that he’d served as the cinematographer for Kenneth Anger’s Puce Moment and that it stars Cameron, one of Anger’s most well-known cinematic avatars (Cameron famously played “The Scarlet Woman” in Inauguration of The Pleasure Dome and Harrington himself portrayed “Cesare the Somnambulist” in that film. Additionally, Paul Mathison, who played “Pan” in Anger’s druggy occult vision was the art director of The Wormwood Star). What you should know as you watch this is that the vast majority of Marjorie Cameron’s paintings were destroyed by her—burned—in an act of ritualized suicide. There are very few pieces by Cameron that have survived—a few paintings and some sketches—and The Wormwood Star is the only record of most of them (outside of the astral plane, natch. What does survive of her estate is represented by longtime New York gallerist Nicole Klagsbrun). Cameron has long been a figure of fascination for many people and I think I can say with confidence that this film meets or even far exceeds any expectations you might have for it.’ — Dangerous Minds

the entire film

 

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Night Tide (1961)
‘Seaman Johnny Drake (Dennis Hopper), on shore leave, finds a “Mermaid” sideshow attraction at the marina, operated by Captain Murdock (Gavin Muir). The “Mermaid” Mora (Linda Lawson), who lives in a hotel above the marina merry-go-round (the movie was filmed at the Santa Monica pier) and Johnny fall for each other. Everyone around them is wary of the romance, as her previous lovers have died mysteriously. The film is an oddball cheapie that’s a lot of atmospheric fun for about an hour or so, then kind of just peters out with a weak ending. Still, there is a nice tone to the off hand, low key acting, and it is wonderful for an L.A. Lover to see Santa Monica and Venice as they looked in this period. This film, along with Welles Touch Of Evil and John Parker’s Dementia aka Daughter of Horror, form a sort of dark trilogy of Venice Beach Noir. The unmistakable Bruno Ve Sota (the poor man’s Orson Welles?) is in two of them. Anyway, it’s a must for any fan of the “Pyschotronic” film underground, you’ll be glad you checked it out.’ — collaged

the entire film

 

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Queen of Blood (1966)
‘Queen of Blood is a 1966 horror/science fiction film released by American International Pictures. The director, Curtis Harrington, crafted this B-movie with footage from the Soviet films Mechte Navstrechu and Nebo Zovyot. It was released as part of a double bill with the AIP movie Blood Bath. The film features John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, Judi Meredith and Dennis Hopper. Basil Rathbone was paid $1,500 to act for a day and a half on this film, and $1,500 for half a day on Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965), which was another film based on Russian footage. Rathbone ended up working overtime and missed a meal. The Screen Actors Guild demanded overtime pay plus a fine for the meal violation but producer George Edwards produced footage showing that the delay was because Rathbone did not know his lines and insisted on skipping lunch.’ — collaged

Trailer 1

the entire film

 

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How Awful About Allan (1970)
‘Curtis Harrington teams with screenwriter Henry Farrell (Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte) for this quietly disturbing tale of a man driven to psychosomatic blindness by a horrific family tragedy. Unable to cope with the fact that he has been blamed for the fire that killed his father and disfigured his sister (Julie Harris), psychologically unsound Allan (Anthony Perkins) is committed to a mental institution. Some time later, Allan is deemed fit for release and sent to live at his sister’s house. But Allan’s sister is far from happy to have her brother back home, and begins to sadistically toy with his fragile psyche to the point that he starts hearing disembodied voices and sensing an ominous presence. Could it be that Allan’s father is actually reaching out for revenge from beyond the grave, or have Allan’s sister’s continued attempts to wear at her ailing brother’s fragile psyche finally had the intended results.’ — B&N

the entire film

 

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What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971)
‘The layers of pastiche that fuel What’s the Matter with Helen? multiply like Shelly Winters’s titular character’s fat white rabbits. In fashioning a flapper-era psycho-shocker with muted sepia tones and two histrionic performances from slumming movie starlets, director Curtis Harrington (then also involved in the filming of Orson Welles’s lost project The Other Side of the Wind) was some years too early for the big ’70s nostalgia fad for the American Depression years, and it was far too late to stand shoulder with the trend-setters Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte as a representative example of “diva-bitch Hollywood gothic” cinema. Shelly Winters and Debbie Reynolds star as Helen and Adelle, the mothers of two murderers — two Leopold & Loeb-esque types, probably, considering their high maintenance mothers — who run away to Hollywood to escape the high profile life of flashbulbs and psychotic reporters begging for interviews. (Yeah, Hollywood would’ve been my first choice, too.) Adelle opens a dance studio for little Shirley Temples-in-training and Helen accompanies on the piano, otherwise spending most of the film clutching a ratty Bible and gradually losing her marbles while Adelle makes like the next Jean Harlow. Whereas Debbie loses major points for trying to play her role straight, Shelly would appear to be using the film as a feature-length audition for her role as a whiney fatshit in the following year’s disaster epic The Poseidon Adventure.’ — Slant Magazine

Trailer

Excerpt

the entire film

 

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Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971)
‘In its combination of childlike wonder, black psychosis, nail-biting terror and florid fantasy, the film is exemplary. In terms of photography, atmosphere and pacing, it is equal to, if not superior to, any of Hammer or Amicus’ greatest moments. Then again, we’re talking about British AIP here, the same studio that gave us The Masque of the Red Death –– so why shouldn’t we expect a masterpiece? Whoever Slew Auntie Roo has admittedly never received the acclaim it deserves, possibly because of its chronological placing at the end of a series of similarly titled, similarly-themed “batty old actress” horrors that include Whatever Happened To Baby Jane, What’s The Matter With Helen and Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice, and also possibly because, straddling as it does two decades, it has its foot placed firmly in the camp of neither- but even one casual viewing should be enough to convince viewers of its power.’ — britmovie.co.uk

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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Killer Bees (1974)
‘The invasion of a community by a swarm of deadly bees was, for a time, a popular commodity in genre cinema: this was preceded by Freddie Francis’ THE DEADLY BEES (1966) and followed by THE SAVAGE BEES (1976; TV), its sequel TERROR OUT OF THE SKY (1978; TV) and Irwin Allen’s inflated all-star fiasco THE SWARM (1978). Frankly, I never understood this situation’s appeal, as the sight of people fleeing for their lives from badly-processed insects (as in the film under review) was always prone to elicit laughter as opposed to the intended terror! Anyway, here we get the added – but equally dubious – treat of having the leading family of the locale (after whom it is named!) as the bees’ keepers…or, rather as one of them opines, it is the other way round! In fact, matriarch Gloria Swanson (in her much-publicized TV debut) is constantly surrounded by them – until it is time to pass the baton to another, younger woman and, since her direct relations all happen to be male, her successor ends up being one of their number’s girlfriend (played by Kate Jackson, later one of TV’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS)! Still, the fact that the reason behind the African killer bees’ mass migration to the U.S. – apart from the declaration that their particular honey gives the “Van Bohlen” wine an extra sweet taste! – is never properly delineated hurts the overall effort (to say nothing of its credibility quotient).’ — Mario Gauci

Excerpt

the entire film

 

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Ruby (1977)
‘Ruby was one of the last horror films by Curtis Harrington, who directed several notable “horror of personality” films in the 1960s (e.g., Games, What’s the Matter with Helen) and the atmospheric piece Night Tide. Although Ruby is not up to that level of achievement (thanks to interference from a producer who wanted an exploitation horror film), the film does feature a fine lead performance by Piper Laurie as the titular character, Ruby Claire, a one-time gangster’s moll who has old mob members toiling at her drive-in in the ‘50s. Ruby’s paramour, Nick (Sal Vecchio), was murdered by his fellow mobsters, and now his spirit comes back to wreak its revenge. Harrington worked with his long-time collaborator George Edwards, who ensured that the film has a rich visual look, reminiscent of Harrington’s inspiration, Joseph von Sternberg, despite having only a roughly $600,000 budget.’ — Cinema Fantastique

Trailer

the entire film

 

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Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978)
‘Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell is a 1978 television movie directed by Curtis Harrington. The story centers on a suburban family and the harrowing experiences they endure from a possessed dog they innocently adopt. The film stars Richard Crenna as Mike Barry, the father, Yvette Mimieux as Betty, the mother, and Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann as Bonnie and Charlie, their children. The latter two starred in Disney’s Witch Mountain series, but were not intentionally cast based on that fact, just on that they looked believable as siblings.’ — collaged

Trailer

the entire film

 

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Mata Hari (1985)
‘Sylvia Kristel adds her sexual allure to the story of Mata Hari (Margaretha Geertruida Zelle), executed by the French in 1917 at the age of 41 for being a double agent. In reality, “Mata Hari” had been married, had children, and performed as a dancer around Europe — not the normal background for a spy. And according to the man who requested her execution, Captain Ladoux, she was a lousy spy indeed. But Kristel and director Curtis Harrington capture one aspect of Mata Hari that made her most infamous — her willingness to bed down with just about any military man she found attractive, and none were not. As Kristel jumps into bed with both Germans and French, and others in-between, something of the spirit of Mata Hari may live on in this ostensible biography. Viewers may definitely want to compare versions with Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, or Jeanne Moreau in the lead.’ — Rovi

Excerpt

Watch the film here

 

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Usher (2000)
‘Curtis Harrington’s last movie. A little piece of time travel, where Harrington’s house becomes a fog-shrouded oasis of old Hollywood ghosts and fragments of his own imagery. Shot by the great Gary Graver with lots of soft lighting and gentle pans across the vast cramped estate, very much of an aesthetic piece with Harrington’s earlier shorts but now a little slower and a little faded. Harrington himself plays both Usher twins (as he did in his 40s adaptation of the same story), and his wide, androgynous features had aged into a perfect canvas for all his pancake makeup and a perfect reflection of his beautiful old decaying house. Unheralded!‘ — Kai Perrington

Excerpt

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Dominik, Hi!!! It really seems to be. Creative. French is more creative than English, for sure, but Hungarian seems kind of eccentric even, which is really nice. Okay, backburner for ‘Lamb’. Thanks for being a literary scout. So Hungary is less lovely when it comes to doctors. Plus for Austria. Love looking into the costs of a nervous system transplant, G. ** _Black_Acrylic, Thank you! It was high time. Has anyone ever seen Sotos and Sidebottom in the same room? I liked the Devo doc too, especially the early part when they were working out their project at university. ** Steve, Well, if he is angry, he won’t pick up the phone maybe? I don’t know. Tricky, I get it. Well, with a title like that, your song will surely be well worth the wait. ** Carsten, Yes, a plain baguette being chomped on and digested with total satisfaction. I never take naps unless I am massive jet-lagged and have no choice. My sleep patterns are horribly authoritarian. Makes long distance traveling partly dread-filled. I just tested the imbedding possibility re: that PeerTube video, and it seems to work fine. Thanks about the Duende post. I look greatly forward to it. I am exhausted from the film screening chase, and it’s a lot, but it has to be done, otherwise the film won’t live, you know. ** jay, I don’t think Sidebottom is known in the US whatsoever. I’m not sure about France. I could see the French cozying up to him. You are on a great roll, or life in your vicinity is on quite the roll. Great, so deserved, my pal. Do you know what kinds of books the elderly couple is into? Best news of all maybe about your writing, although having good sight isn’t too shabby either. Keep a tight grip on that awesome life rolling. Or at least stay justifiably giddy. xo, me. ** Steeqhen, Hi. Life’s a bit stressful at the moment, but I’m hanging in there. Or maybe somehow miraculously your close forced proximity will turn you into fast chums. Not impossible (unless it is). I’ve only heard a song or two by Sabrina Carpenter and they seemed sort of fun. Cool that you and James can meet. I’m sure that event will be excellent. The muse will sneak back. It always does. Nothing sneakier than the Muse. ** HaRpEr //, I think ‘Kensington’ might be her best. It’s way up there at least. Yeah, her tone is something else. I feel like I can really relate to how you’re writing. It feels very familiar and a path to success, whatever ‘success’ entails. Great! ** Uday, Good old Ponge. And, yeah, his materiality is catnip. Congrats on the collage. And RIP to that sadly nice sounding shirt. Back when I did drugs, drugs made me silly. Now … I would say dessert menus. ** Nicholas., Enjoy being able to throw yourself around in an ocean without hurting yourself while you’re young and your body is largely cooperative. I saw the ocean when I went to theme park on the ocean a few weeks ago, but it was a ways off. I don’t like the sun very much, so I mostly only like oceans/beaches after sunset. Prize the soreness while it lasts. ** Okay. Today you have the choice to investigate the really cool and varying films of the late, singular filmmaker Curtis Harrington if you so choose. See you tomorrow.

* (restored)

 

Welcome to a day devoted to someone whose work was somehow indefinable yet would often touch the giddy heights of greatness. Please give it up for the one, the only, Frank Sidebottom.

 

 

Christopher Mark Sievey (25 August 1955 – 21 June 2010) was an English musician and comedian known for fronting the band The Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom from 1984 onwards.

Sievey, under the guise of Sidebottom, made regular appearances on North West television throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, even becoming a reporter for Granada Reports. More recently he had presented Frank Sidebottom’s Proper Telly Show in B/W for the Manchester-based television station Channel M. Throughout his career, Sidebottom made appearances on radio stations such as Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio and on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5, alongside Mark and Lard.

The character was instantly recognisable by his large spheroidal head, styled like an early Max Fleischer cartoon. This was initially made from papier-mâché, but later rebuilt out of fibreglass.

Frank, usually dressed in a 1950s-style sharp suit, was portrayed as an aspiring pop star from the small town of Timperley near Altrincham, Greater Manchester. His character was cheerfully optimistic, enthusiastic, and seemingly oblivious to his own failings. Although supposedly 35 years old (the age always attributed to Frank irrespective of the passage of time), he still lived at home with his mother, to whom he made frequent references. His mother was apparently unaware of her son’s popularity. Frank sometimes had a sidekick in the form of “Little Frank”, a hand puppet who was otherwise a perfect copy of Frank.

He reached cult status in the late 1980s/early 1990s thanks to extensively touring the country. Performances were often varied from straightforward stand-up comedy and featured novelty components such as tombola, and a lot of crowd interaction. Sometimes the show also included lectures. Contrasting against the alternative comedians of the time, Frank Sidebottom’s comedy was family-friendly, if a little bizarre for some.

Sievey was diagnosed with cancer in May 2010, and died at Wythenshawe Hospital on 21 June 2010 at the age of 54 after collapsing at his home in Hale, Greater Manchester. After it was reported that Sievey had died virtually penniless and was facing a pauper’s funeral provided by state grants, a grassroots movement on various social networking websites raised £6,500 in a matter of hours. The appeal closed on Monday 28 June with a final balance of £21,631.55 from 1,632 separate donations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Sievey

 

 

Frank is, of course, just that: an invention, an artistic, musical and comedic outlet for the man who dwelled underneath the hardened paper and paste. Chris Sievey was the unnamed narrator to Frank Sidebottom’s Tyler Durden, a man who slept very little to achieve more, who cared not for money but for what he could make, and whom he could make happy. Mostly himself. Though sharing one body, Frank and Chris were always seen as two completely different people, even by those who knew them best. Frank’s former manager, bandmate and roadie, Dave Arnold, played bass in Frank’s band for some time before his first meeting with Chris: “Frank made you suspend all belief,” he says. “Even after I saw the transformation, it was still Frank.”

Sievey was an immersive performer so committed to his act that it took on a life of its own – he made all his props and artwork by hand, and even worked on animated shows such as Pingu and Bob the Builder during his times away from Frank’s head to keep his creative juices flowing in any way he could. But he was at his happiest when reaching for that showbusiness star in his ill-fitting suit and disproportional mask, and his output was matched by his disregard for it. Arnold describes him as the “ultimate punk” in that he gave most things away for free or destroyed them (knowing he himself would have to remake everything). In his column in the anarchic comic Oink!, Sidebottom would publish his home phone number for people to ring him whenever they wanted; a free chat with a man who just loved to perform. Even at the height of his popularity during the late 80s, Frank would hire out his services to come to your house to entertain and in turn be entertained by whoever hired (£35 Manchester area only, an extra £2.11 if you wanted Little Frank as well). “He would stay for an hour or so, but if the conversation was good, i.e. space, then he would stay for longer,” discovered Sullivan after finding one of the old newsletters Sidebottom would hand-write and send to fans.

John Stansfield
http://www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy/features/307084-can_we_frank_searching_for_frank_sidebottom

 

 

What got you started?
Getting a packet of pound-shop felt-tip pens in a Christmas stocking. I used them to draw pictures of the American civil war.
What was your big breakthrough?
Winning £8 worth of art materials in a competition at school. I did a picture of Scotland, with some trees and a lake. The next thing I knew, I had an exhibition at Stockport art gallery.
Who or what have you sacrificed for your art?
Pink felt-tip pens. When I do self-portraits, I wear a pink tie. So I’m always running out of pink.
What one song would feature on the soundtrack to your life?
Guess Who’s Been on Match of the Day? I wrote it after I went on Match of the Day. I document my life in music.
Are you fashionable?
Very.
Have you done anything cultural lately?
I’m preparing to go on The Culture Show on BBC2 to talk about surrealism. It’s like the Blackpool Hall of Mirrors, but in paintings.
Do you suffer for your art?
Yes, when my mum tells me to tidy up and go to bed at half-past 10. But sometimes I climb down the drainpipe and carry on downstairs. I’m a rebel.
What’s your favourite film?
Dr Who and the Daleks. TheDaleks are the best design of the 20th century.
What’s the greatest threat to art today?
The Germans coming back and stealing it all, and then burning it.
What advice would you give a young artist just starting out?
Get some paper and pens. And forget the beret and the attic. You can do art just as well in a shed.
Is the internet a good thing for art?
Yes, because it tells people about it, but art doesn’t look as good on a screen: you’ve got to see it up close. None of my artworks have frames, so people can touch them.
What work of art would you most like to own?
Peter Blake’s cut-outs for the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album cover. I’d line them up in my living room to look like I had loads of mates.
Complete this sentence: At heart I’m just a frustrated …
Peter Blake.
In the movie of your life, who plays you?
I don’t know. Film4 is making one and they haven’t cast it yet.
What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?
My mum told me to get a proper job. I ignored her.

In short
Born: Timperley, Greater Manchester, 1972
Career: The comic creation of artist/ musician Chris Sievey, Frank released his debut EP, Frank’s Firm Favourites, in 1985. His drawings, models and animations are on show at the Chelsea College of Art and Design, London (020-7514 6000).
High point: “Supporting Bros at Wembley in front of 56,000 Bros-ettes. They didn’t know who I was, but I won them over.”
Low point: “Performing in front of 56,000 Bros-ettes who didn’t know who I was.”

Interview by Laura Barnett
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2007/jul/17/art1

 

 

There can have been few funnier sites than a middle aged man with a bulbous papier mache head arguing with a small puppet version of himself before treading on a microbe version of himself. Not only hilarious but also skewed and weirdly surreal.

Frank Sidebottom was one of the last of a breed- operating outside the rules and with a mind so brilliant that its restless genius was never appreciated. He put most modern comedians to shame. And now he is no more.

It’s hard to believe that Frank Sidebottom is dead. He seemed too surreal, too childlike, too cartoon strip to be bothered with tedious, boring stuff like dying. But it’s true: Frank is no more because his creator Chris Sievey died of complications caused by cancer on June 21st.

Of course we must not mix the two of them up. There is no truth in the scurrilous rumour that Chris Sievey was Frank Sidebottom. I interviewed the pair of them on the phone for The North Will Rise Again, my oral history of Manchester book, and after about an hour of brilliant stuff from Chris I asked him about Frank, figuring he must know something about the nasally comic genius.

The phone went click.

Dead.

A few minutes later the phone rang and, oddly, it was Frank, coincidentally ringing to sort out an interview. Where Chris was full of funny stories from the fringes of the music scene, Frank was plain weird and hilarious, like a psychotic child running amok in showbiz and using his humour to tear apart the stupidity of that world that had snubbed him for so long.

His tales of Timperley – the Manchester suburb where Ian Brown and John Squire had lived in their youth – were brilliantly skewed piss-takes of the mundanity of the rainy day. I was once in a TV studio and watched him do this utterly mental, but utterly brilliant, musical set in Timperley with a pick up band of lunatics in cheap suits. It was like the One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest bus trip.

The bizarre tension when you confused the pair of them was something that unwitting journalists had often mentioned, and I wasn’t the only one with this experience.

Sievey hated talking about Frank.

There seemed to be some sort of rivalry between the two of them. Altrincham obviously wasn’t big enough for the pair of them, or maybe they were the same person.

Now we will never know.

Sievey did the publicity for Rabid records in Manchester; he was also produced by Martin Hannet very early on and did some artwork for John Cooper Clarke. He was already a key figure on the fringes of the scene, with his wild imagination and brilliant pop mind just too far ahead of everyone else plodding along in his wake. In pop, though, there are no awards for being great or first, and Sievey was eternally frustrated.

His band, The Freshies, were perfect pop-punk whose sole semi hit ‘I’m In Love With The Girl On A Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk’ got to number 54 in the charts in February 1981 and was lined up for a Top Of the Pops appearance. Sievey was denied his dream opportunity when there was a BBC technicians strike – the story of his life.

The single is nowhere near their best song. His cassettes, which I have a bunch of, were stuffed full of great songs. Classic melodic pop-punk, the kind of stuff that sells millions these days but, back then, was too pop for punk and too punk for pop.

He even invented a very early computer game, but no-one know what he was going on about. Yet again, he was too far ahead. His fervent pop mind was a good decade in advance of everyone else: he also invented board games, songs, musical ideas, schemes and scams before eventually he invented Frank Sidebottom, his curious alter ego whose papier-mâché head, shabby suit and nasal twang were a perfect vehicle for a series of bizarre and weird gags that were dark, strange and utterly hilarious.

We heard about his cancer a couple of months ago, which was shocking, and were cheered by his never-ending gigs that continued and his Tweets that dared to take the piss out of his illness – including joking about his papier-mâché head losing its hair!

Two weeks ago Frank Sidebottom popped up at Bruce Mitchell’s (Durutti Column drummer and real Manchester legend) 70th birthday party at the Manchester town hall. He looked as fresh faced as ever with those big round eyes, showing little sign of the cruel disease. To be honest, Frank had remained unchanged since he burst onto the showbiz scene a quarter of century ago.

He even did a gig in my local pub the Salutation about a week ago. Funny as fuck to the end.

Manchester mourns another legend.

John Robb
http://johnrobb77.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/frank-sidebottom-rip/

 

 

Sometimes life’s poetry and pathos can be embodied by the most unlikeliest of things. Such was the case with Chris Sievey’s masterful comic creation Frank Sidebottom. So complete was Sievey’s command of the character that, on hearing the news on Monday of his death at the age of 54, I couldn’t help but think of poor Little Frank; what will become of him?

Sievey’s perennially daft boy-man with the oversized papier-maché head was so likeable and witty that a part of you really wanted him to be real. That desire to suspend disbelief and inhabit Frank’s world of garden sheds and tea with his mum was testament to Sievey’s considerable comic talent.

I didn’t know Sievey, but I did meet him once without his Frank head. He was recording something for a radio show I was working on. He put a clip on his nose – the sort you’d use for diving, I think – and for some reason I found that most simple of props fascinating. It was obvious really, but I guess I’d never thought about how or why Frank’s voice was the way it was – it was just the voice he’d been ‘born’ with, the voice you’d expect a head such as his to emit.

Again, you can only put that down to Sievey’s skill as a character comedian; as unlikely as it may sound, what he did was a kind of method acting, more Marlon Brando than Mike Yarwood. Sievey was, of course, renowned for only being interviewed in character when talking about Frank.

So, there I was, listening to Frank while what I could see was a very ordinary, scruffy-looking bloke in jeans and a T-shirt who’d obviously popped for a pint on his way to the studio (it was early evening). I can’t remember what Frank was saying, but I do remember smiling a lot.

But Frank Sidebottom – by accident or design – was able to do more than just make you laugh. By the sheer ludicrousness of what Sievey did, he managed to bring the po-faced down a peg or two as well, to cut through the way that so much that is really pretty trivial in our culture is treated far too seriously. When he parodied the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy In The UK as Anarchy In Timperley it was hilarious, not just because the notion of anarchy in a sedate, middle-class village in Cheshire is inherently comic, but because it also made you realize that the original was rather silly as well.

And so it is with Three Shirts On My Line, his just released World Cup charity record which takes Frank Skinner, David Baddiel and Ian Broudie’s Three Lions and wrings some humour out of an event and a sport that has a habit of thinking rather too highly of itself. Yet at the same time it feels like a celebration of being a perpetually disappointed England fan. Fantastic.

“The song just rolled off my tongue, faster than a fast-speed washing machine,” Frank told the Manchester Evening News to launch the record. “I asked my mum where my England shirts were and she said that she had washed them. I looked outside and there were three shirts on the line. I thought, that is a brilliant idea for a song. Thirty-five years of dirt washed out by my mum.”

There’s a Facebook campaign been set up to try and get the song to number one during the World Cup as a tribute to Sievey. The same group is also raising funds for his funeral; Sievey died virtually penniless and his family were struggling to raise the cash to give him the kind of send off he deserves. A substantial amount has already been raised.

Not that anyone can say that Sievey leaves nothing behind. There’s all those witty songs, all those YouTube clips, all that laughter and silliness. We’ll miss you, Frank. And Little Frank too.

Chris Sharratt
http://www.creativetimes.co.uk/articles/frank-sidebottom-remembered

 

 

In the summer 0f 2010 I conducted what was, to my knowledge, the last ever interview that Frank ever gave. This appeared in our art zine Yuck ‘n Yum:

A singular presence on the stand-up comedy and cabaret circuit, Frank Sidebottom can rightly be called an institution. His act takes in popular Manchester standards (his rendition of Love Will Tear Us Apart really is quite something), some traditional showbiz patter and also puppetry with his cardboard alter ego Little Frank, all performed by a man with a giant spherical papier-mâché head. Once seen, Frank will surely not be forgotten by anyone in a hurry. Emerging around the late eighties/ early nineties Madchester music scene, he spent many years appearing on regional TV and treading the boards at northern comedy gigs. After making something of a comeback around the turn of the 21st century, Frank has recently performed in a few art spaces such as Tate Britain to great acclaim and a viewing of his routine by some as a form of outsider- performance art. In May this year Frank shocked his fans with the “bobbins news” that he has cancer, but this he has borne with characteristic valour. A self-portrait titled ‘me as me after chemotherapy’ was posted on eBay, raising £480 for Cancer Research, and in an exclusive Yuck ‘n Yum interview we learned all about the world according to Frank Sidebottom:

During your fantastic showbusiness career you have performed at the CHELSEA art space and even at Tate Britain. Do you consider yourself an artist?

************ anyone can be for as little as a pound !!! that’s how much my felt-tip pens cost from the pound shop !

This year you’ll be playing shows across the world. Is there any place that you’re looking forward to the most?

*** new york is ace,… but then so is the isle of man !

In June you’ll appear at Glasgow’s Puppet Cabaret festival. What can your audience expect?

**************** a medium rate of semi-professional puppetry,… as long as little frank (my ventrilloquist puppet) doesn’t ruin it !

Do you ever argue with Little Frank when you’re both on tour?

*** don’t be swept along,… he’s only cardboard !

Who is your favourite artist?

*** myself,… and paul macca and billy childish are quite good at painting too !

Are you planning any more TV appearances in the future?

***** i’m planning loads,… it’s just a case of if the telly companies are planning that too !

We all know how much you’re looking forward to the world cup, but who do you think will win?

**** in the ideal world,… it would be “timperley bigshorts f.c.” (my sunday football team… but it will probably be 10 men from somewhere else !

During your long glittering showbusiness career what do you think have been the high points?

**** meeting the queen was o.k.,.. and supporting bros at wembley in front of 54,000 was quite good too !

Who would be your dream special guest on Timperley TV?

**** ringo ,… (only joking !!! i mean paul!)

Yuck ‘n Yum will be holding a karaoke contest for artists in September. What is your ultimate karaoke tune?

“see you later crocodile” (in swahilli)

Many thanks and all the best… Ben Robinson, Yuck ‘n Yum

and a big thank you to you ,.. and all at yuck ‘n yum
best regards
frank sidebottom

http://www.yucknyum.com/the-zine/?read=summer2010&pp;=3

 

 

THE END… you know it is, it really is.

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** jay, Hey. Super interesting thoughts on Sotos, not to mention the boyfriend doppelgänger thing. Coincidence? Haha. Nice photo project too. Nice to visualise. Dev is the dude who gets the credit for getting me to get Sotos forefronted. May your day expand infinitely in all directions. ** _Black_Acrylic, That time may come, yes, and much sooner than we wish. So, surprise, your Sidebottom post is alive again! Thanks again and again. ‘Dangerous Animals’: I’ll check it out. Thanks for everything. ** Alice, Hi, Alice! I’ve been pretty good. Really interesting thoughts about Sotos vis-a-vis that theme. I think my favorite Bakshi is his really odd, trippy reboot of the ‘Mighty Mouse’ cartoon series back in the 80s. Wonderful about the happy novel progress. What classes will you be taking for your masters, or how is that going to work? Wish you even weller. ** Dominik, Hi!!! That Peter does indeed. The Hungarian version is so much better, wow. American are so basic and homespun, which is their charm at times. Hmmm … how? Love having caught the pesky mouse in his apartment and now hoping it enjoys the apartment building next door where it has been sneakily relocated, G.** Sypha, I remember your Sotos-adhering days. Back when Lady Gaga wasn’t even a twinkle in your eye yet. The good old days, haha. ** Steve, I’ve never read Dworkin’s fiction. Historically, at least, I haven’t been much of a fan of her, so I guess I haven’t been very interested in what she’d do in fiction. But I should correct that. Everyone, Here’s Steve: ‘In The Arts Fuse’s September “Short Fuses” column, I reviewed the latest albums by the Beths and Marissa Nadler here. (Scroll down to “popular music.”)’ I don’t know the ins and outs, obviously, but why not just call your friend? ** julian, Peter not letting you know where he’s coming from is part of his work’s strength, for sure. And that’s quite difficult to do with his subject matter. Another feather in his cap. Peter’s a lovely guy, very shy and kind and a real pip. Not sure what the deal is between him and William Bennett. He’s obviously on great terms with Philip Best. Wasting food … haha, the lengths people will go to not to have to deal with something they can’t admit they don’t get. ** Hugo, Merely gray and slightly wet and calm here. I don’t personally know what Peter thinks of ‘Pure’. Sorry about the grant. I’ve never gotten a grant I applied for other than for the films if that helps. Yes, your email is in my box waiting for me. Thanks, man. And WordPress was benevolent yesterday. ** Carsten, 15 to 22 isn’t bad at all. I was just gnawing happily on an unadorned baguette, speaking of simple. Enjoy the adjusting and all the sunlight since it’s your thing. ** Mari, Hi. I like the idea of the blog being the morning paper. Eek: the 100 degrees and the pebble. ‘Discrete Math’ is really good, another good title. Your classes are like a book of poetry. I hope. Oh my goodness, awesome, about the yarn intended for me. As long as it’s just an expensive little fender bender, you’re got my crossed fingers. Oh, it depends on the city, I guess, in terms of how long we stay. And finances, primarily. I think maybe we’ll spend 4 or 5 days in Chicago since Zac went to university there and misses it, and maybe 2 or 3 days in Toronto. Again, finances depending. We’re having to cover the cost of that trip. Surely once you’ve married your billionaire you can spare a brief moment to pop in and say hi. Haha. Have a swell week yourself. ** Jeff J, Hi. I’ve never read Dworkin’s fiction, so I should do that, I guess. Will do, on the eps. Enjoy Sparks and the whole trip, which I feel pretty confident you will. ** Dev, Yes, all credit for yesterday’s triumph is yours, albeit with some grunt-work on my end. Agreed, agreed re: Sotos. Me neither on Dworkin’s fiction. Geoffrey Hill … not that I can remember. Wow, okay, I’ll try to make a beeline to something of his. Thanks, pal. ** HaRpEr //, Technically I suppose you were kind of a criminal given where you reside. Yeah, I like that the blog is a kind of distant outpost, barely on any map. Good thinking, I think. Write a note and put it on your refrigerator with a little magnet? ** Bill, Well, even if you were inclined to run out and snag a Sotos book, you wouldn’t be able to. Have I ever been to the Kadist gallery in Paris? I don’t think so. I don’t even know where it is. But I will as of soon. Paris really goes dead in August, well, except for things geared to tourists. This is a city where for centuries or something all stores closed for three hours in the middle of the afternoon. Practice and hack! ** horatio, Hi. Understood. I’ve never stopped wondering if there is something wrong with me. Or maybe if my wrongness is actually wrong. I would think that subject would be of interest to Peter and may long have been even. But I don’t know. Peter is definitely good with Philip. People say not so much with William. No, I don’t think I know those tracks. I’ve made a note to rectify that. And see what ‘The Darkest Web’ is too. Peter used to be kind of panda bear-like but he’s slim and almost suave now or was the last time I saw him. Thank you for the very insightful comment! I wish the best for your day ahead too for sure. ** Nicholas., 10/10! I remember how the ocean could make one feel the best one ever had felt afterwards. I’ve never played chess. Sexy? I’ll try to see it being played and do a possible reassessment. ** Darby🐋, Nope, you made it. Wow, I’m hearing from you in and from Las Vegas. That’s exotic. Fun! Remember everything. Oh, yeah, the Paris hotel. I want to stay there the next time I go and do a detailed comparison. Jeff Jackson has a new trilogy of novels that will come out at some point in the future. Cool, I’ll look for the email/photo. Uh, it’s called Universal Horror Unleashed. Do everything around you as totally up as you can! ** Uday, Not bigly inclined towards Sotos is totally understandable. It’s what it is. You can’t cry in America. That sounds kind of profound. ** DonW, Hey, Don! Good, where are you in the project now? I liked ‘Do Not Expect Much …’ too. I hear the new one is kind of a big mess, but I’ll see it wherever it lands. So nice to talk with you. You take care too, bud. ** James BL Hollands, Hey there! I haven’t seen Peter in ages, but, when I do, I will, I promise. ** Okay. I thought it would be fun to segue out of Peter Sotos into Frank Sidebottom courtesy of an old, retired post made by our mighty mutual pal _Black_Acrylic. Figure it out. See you tomorrow.