''The Staff'' was an

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

published in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in the 1970s, printing many anti-war articles, and also covering the music scene and popular culture.

Publication history

''The Staff'' came into existence as a result of the temporary demise of the ''

Los Angeles Free Press The ''Los Angeles Free Press'', also called the "''Freep''", is often cited as the first, and certainly was the largest, of the underground newspapers of the 1960s. The ''Freep'' was founded in 1964 by Art Kunkin, who served as its publisher un ...

'', which had been founded and published by

Art Kunkin Arthur Glick Kunkin (March 28, 1928 – April 30, 2019) was an American journalist, community organizer, machinist, and New Age esotericist best known as the founding publisher and editor of the ''Los Angeles Free Press''. Early life and educa ...

; much of the staff of the ''Free Press'', led by managing editor Brian Kirby and art director Phil Wilson, left to form their own newspaper, calling it ''The Staff''."Bonhams Auction October 16 To Feature Rare William Faulkner Scripts: A Brief Look at the Collector, Dealer, and Book Scout Who Brought Scripts into the Big Money of Collectibles,"
''What Up Hollywood'' (Oct. 7, 2013). They first moved into quarters on

Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard is a major west–east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County. It runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean to Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction in Los Angeles. It passes through Beverly Hills and West ...

near

Cahuenga Boulevard Cahuenga Boulevard () is a major boulevard of northern Los Angeles, California, US. The “Cahuenga” name is a Spanish, phonetic derivative with no actual Spanish language meaning that is attributed to the Tongva village of Kawengna, meaning "p ...

, in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. They later relocated to

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

, just west of Western Avenue, in offices above a movie theater that was at that time showing

softcore pornography Softcore pornography or softcore porn, is commercial still photography or film that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. Sof ...

''The Staff'' staff and contributors

* Brian Kirby, editor * Philip Wilson, art director/publisher * Mark Oberhofer, advertising sales/circulation * Bob Chorush, columnist * Mark Coppos, photographer * Ridgely Cummings, writer *

Clay Geerdes Clay Geerdes (May 25, 1934 – July 8, 1997) was a writer, photojournalist, publisher, and teacher, who covered various events from anti-Vietnam war demonstrations in Berkeley, to productions of Freestore and The Cockettes, to the underground comi ...

, photographer and writer — wrote regularly for the paper on the

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

industry, as well as supplying some photographs"Clay Geerdes Database"
Retrieved on 29 December 2013 * Lenny Marcus, writer * Tom Moran, writer * Bill Morrison, writer * Thomas Warkentin, cartoonist * Joyce Widoff, photographer

References

{{Reflist

External links

''The Staff'' page at Zappa Books
Newspapers published in Greater Los Angeles Newspapers established in 1970 Underground press

Publication history

''The Staff'' staff and contributors

See also

References

External links