Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American author, journalist, and comedian. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

magazine ''

The Realist ''The Realist'' was a Humor magazine, magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of Mad (magazine), ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and ...

'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key figure in the

counterculture of the 1960s The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...

as a member of

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

's Merry Pranksters and a founding member of the Yippies, a term he is credited with coining. He died on July 21, 2019, in Desert Hot Springs, California.

Early life

Krassner was a child violin prodigy and was the youngest person ever to play

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

, in 1939 at age six. His parents practiced

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

, but Krassner chose to be firmly secular, considering religion "organized superstition". He majored in journalism at Baruch College (then a branch of the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

) and began performing as a comedian under the name Paul Maul. He recalled:

While in college, I started working for an anti-censorship paper, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
''. After I left college I started working there full time. So, I never had a normal job where I had to be interviewed and wear a suit and tie. I became their managing editor and also did freelance stuff for '' Mad'' magazine. But ''Mad'' was aimed at a teenage audience, and there was no satirical magazine for adults. So it was a kind of organic evolution toward ''The Realist'', which was essentially a combination of satire and alternative journalism.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he was active in politically edged humor and satire. Krassner was a founder of the Youth International Party (Yippies) in 1967, even credited with coining the word "Yippie," and a member of

's Merry Pranksters, famous for prankster activism. He was a close protégé of the controversial comedian

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

, and the editor of Bruce's autobiography, ''

How to Talk Dirty and Influence People ''How to Talk Dirty and Influence People'' is an autobiography by Lenny Bruce, an American satirist and comedian, who died in 1966 at age 40 of a drug overdose. At the request of Hugh Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote th ...

''. With the encouragement of Bruce, Krassner started to perform standup comedy in 1961 at the

Village Gate The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Streets in Greenwich Village, New York. Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 160 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago school (architec ...

in New York. In 1963, he created what

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

described as

"a miracle of compressed intelligence nearly as admirable for potent simplicity, in my opinion, as
Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
's e=mc2." Vonnegut explained: "With the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
going on, and with its critics discounted and scorned by the government and the mass media, Krassner put on sale a red, white and blue poster that said FUCK COMMUNISM. At the beginning of the 1960s, FUCK was believed to be so full of bad magic as to be unprintable. ... By having FUCK and COMMUNISM fight it out in a single sentence, Krassner wasn't merely being funny as heck. He was demonstrating how preposterous it was for so many people to be responding to both words with such cockamamie
Pavlovian Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learn ...
fear and alarm.
Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
's Foreword to Krassner's ''The Winner of the Slow Bicycle Race''

In 1971, five years after Lenny Bruce's death,

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

said, "I predict that in time Paul Krassner will wind up as the only live Lenny Bruce."

''The Realist''

'' was published on a fairly regular schedule during the 1960s, then on an irregular schedule after the early 1970s. In 1966, Krassner published ''The Realist''s controversial "

Disneyland Memorial Orgy ''The Realist'' was a magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and published by Paul Krassner, a ...

" poster, illustrated by

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

, and made this famed black-and-white poster available in a digital color version. Krassner published a red, white and blue poster that read "Fuck Communism", and enclosed copies with an issue of ''The Realist''. He also mailed one to FBI Director

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

with a note that said "I hope you get a chuckle out of the enclosed patriotic poster." Krassner's hope was that he would be arrested for sending obscene material through the mail, which would allow him to get publicity for his magazine. He was disappointed when no prosecution resulted. Krassner's most notorious satire was the article "

The Parts That Were Left Out of the Kennedy Book ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

", which followed the censorship of

William Manchester William Raymond Manchester (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004) was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the ...

's 1967 book on the

John F. Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle wi ...

, ''

The Death of a President ''The Death of a President: November 20–November 25, 1963'' is historian William Manchester's 1967 account of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. The book gained public attention before it was published when Kennedy' ...

''. At the climax of the

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

-genre short-story,

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

is described as having sexually penetrated the bullet-hole wound in the throat of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's corpse.''The Parts That Were Left Out of the Kennedy Book''
– ''The Realist'', Issue No. 74 – May 1967, cover page an

/ref> According to Elliot Feldman, "Some members of the mainstream press and other Washington political wonks, including

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the ''Pent ...

Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States' political and military ...

fame, actually believed this incident to be true." In a 1995 interview for the magazine ''

Adbusters The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia. Adbusters describes itself as "a global network of artists, activis ...

'', Krassner commented: "People across the country believed – if only for a moment – that an act of presidential necrophilia had taken place. It worked because

Jackie Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

had created so much curiosity by censoring the book she authorized – William Manchester's ''The Death Of A President'' – because what I wrote was a metaphorical truth about LBJ's personality presented in a literary context, and because the imagery was so shocking, it broke through the notion that the war in Vietnam was being conducted by sane men."
Cat Simril Interviews Paul Krassner
' by CAT SIMRILin from " Adbusters Quarterly" Journal of the Mental Environment (Winter 1995 Vol. 3 No. 3). In 1966, he reprinted in ''The Realist'' an excerpt from the

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

the ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of bio ...

'', but presenting it as original material. The article dealt with drinking glasses, tennis balls and other foreign bodies found in patients' rectums.
Here Lies Paul Krassner
' Reprinted from AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, vol.18, no. 2, 2000. Some accused him of having a perverted mind, and a subscriber wrote "I found the article thoroughly repellent. I trust you know what you can do with your magazine." Krassner revived ''The Realist'' as a much smaller newsletter during the mid-1980s when material from the magazine was collected in ''The Best of the Realist: The 60's Most Outrageously Irreverent Magazine'' (Running Press, 1985). The final issue of ''The Realist'' was #146 (Spring, 2001).

Books

Krassner was a prolific writer. In 1971, he published a collection of his favourite works for ''The Realist'', as ''

How A Satirical Editor Became A Yippie Conspirator In Ten Easy Years How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seid ...

''. In 1981 he published the satirical story '' Tales of Tongue Fu'', in which the hilarious misadventures of the Japanese-American man Tongue Fu are mixed with a wicked social commentary. In 1994, he published his autobiography '' Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut: Misadventures in Counter-Culture''. In July 2009,

City Lights Publishers City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected ti ...

released '' Who's to Say What's Obscene?'', a collection of satirical essays that explore contemporary comedy and obscenity in politics and culture. He published three collections of drug stories. The first collection, '' Pot Stories for the Soul'' (1999), is from other authors and is about

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

. '' Psychedelic Trips for the Mind'' (2001), is written by Krassner himself and collects stories on

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

. The third, '' Magic Mushrooms and Other Highs'' (2004), is by Krassner too, and deals with

magic mushrooms Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, are a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain psilocybin which turns into psilocin upon ingestion. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include ''Psilocybe'', ...

, ecstasy, peyote,

mescaline Mescaline or mescalin (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a naturally occurring psychedelic protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, known for its hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin. Biological sou ...

THC Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) describes multiple isomers, the term ''THC' ...

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

, belladonna,

ketamine Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug. It is one of the safest anesthetics, as, in contrast with opiates, ether, and propofol, it suppresses ne ...

, PCP,

STP STP may refer to: Places * São Tomé and Príncipe (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code, IOC country code, and FIFA country code STP) * St Pancras railway station, London St Pancras (Domestic) railway station (National Rail code STP) * St. Paul Downtown Air ...

, " toad slime", and more.

Other activities

In 1962 Krassner published an anonymous interview with Dr Robert Spencer detailing his involvement in illegal but safe abortions. Subsequent to the publication, he received calls from women asking to be put in contact with the interviewee. Krassner was later subpoenaed to appear before

grand juries A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

investigating abortion crime. In 1965 he contributed to the

Free University of New York The Free University of New York (FUNY) was an educational social enterprise initiated by Allen Krebs, Sharon Krebs and James Mellen in July 1965. as reproduced in FUNY began as a home for professors dismissed from local universities for protes ...

a lecture entitled "Why the New York Times is funnier than Mad Magazine". In 1968, Krassner signed the "

Writers and Editors War Tax Protest Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse of ...

" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In the 1960s, Krassner was a regular contributor to several men's magazines including ''

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

'' and ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

''. ''Cavalier'' hired Krassner for $1,000 per month to write a column called "The Naked Emperor." In 1971, Krassner worked as a weekend radio personality and disk jockey at San Francisco's ABC-FM radio affiliate, KSFX, (subsequently KGO-FM). Under the pseudonym "Rumpelforeskin", he satirized culture and politics while espousing his atheism. He was also a contributor to early issues of ''

Mad magazine Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several r ...

''. He often appeared as a stand-up comedian, and he was among those featured in the 2005 documentary '' The Aristocrats''. Krassner was also a prolific lecturer and was a frequent speaker at both the Starwood Festival and the WinterStar Symposium. In 1998 he was featured at the

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

with

Wavy Gravy Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. (born May 15, 1936), known as Wavy Gravy, is an American entertainer and peace activism, activist best known for his role at Woodstock, as well as for his hippie persona and counterculture of the 1960s, countercultural be ...

during their exhibit entitled ''

I Want to Take You Higher "I Want to Take You Higher" is a song by the soul/ rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, the B-side to their Top 30 hit "Stand!". Unlike most of the other tracks on the ''Stand!'' album, "I Want to Take You Higher" is not a message song; inst ...

: The Psychedelic Era 1965–1969''. He was a columnist for ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'', '' AVN Online'' and ''

High Times Magazine ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade.Danko, Danny"Norml Founder Retires – Exhale ...

''. He also blogged at ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' and '' The Rag Blog''. Krassner wrote about the Patty Hearst trial and possible connections between the

Symbionese Liberation Army The United Federated Forces of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a small, American far-left organization active between 1973 and 1975; it claimed to be a vanguard movement. The FBI and American law enforcement considered the SLA to be the ...

and the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI). Krassner's legs appeared in

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

's 1971 film ''

Up Your Legs Forever ''Up Your Legs Forever'' is a 1971 film by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The film was made on 14 December 1970 on West 61st Street in Manhattan, New York City, though the couple did not have permits to work in the United States at that time. The fi ...

''.

Singer Cass Elliot greatly admired Krassner. In a 1968 interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' she expressed her desire for Krassner to write the liner notes for her new solo album. "I met him with

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

," Elliott said, "and I fell instantly in love with his entire mind and body, and I would do anything for him. He's a hopeless idealist. I asked him to write my liner notes and he was delighted. He asked me what to write. I said write about the

Yippies The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded on D ...

or write about anything; just write what you would like people to read, it doesn't have to do with the album."

Awards

Krassner is the only person to have won awards from both ''

'' magazine (for satire) and the Feminist Party Media Workshop (for journalism). He was the first living man to be inducted into the

Counterculture Hall of Fame The Counterculture Hall of Fame, managed by ''High Times'' magazine, is a hall of fame primarily dedicated to celebrating the counterculture and the people who helped shape it. The hall was created in 1997 by ''High Times'' editor Steven Hager. I ...

, which took place at the

Cannabis Cup The ''High Times'' Cannabis Cup is a cannabis festival sponsored by ''High Times'' magazine. The event features judges from around the world who sample and vote for their favorite marijuana varieties, with cups (trophies) being awarded to the ove ...

in Amsterdam. He received an

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

Uppie (

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

) Award for dedication to freedom of expression, and, according to the FBI files, he was described by the FBI as "a raving, unconfined nut".Krassner bio
at paulkrassner.com

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

commented: "The FBI was right, this man is dangerous – and funny; and necessary." In 2005 he received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination for Best Album Notes for his essay on the 6-CD package ''

: Let the Buyer Beware''.

Criticism

Krassner was criticized, along with many males on the Left, in

Robin Morgan Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the ...

's feminist manifesto, "Goodbye to All That":

Goodbye to lovely "pro-Women's Liberationist" Paul Krassner, with all his astonished anger that women have lost their sense of humor "on this issue" and don't laugh any more at little funnies that degrade and hurt them: farewell to the memory of his "Instant Pussy" aerosol-can poster, to his column for the woman-hating men's magazine ''Cavalier'', to his dream of a Rape-In against legislators' wives, to his Scapegoats and Realist Nuns and cute anecdotes about the little daughter he sees as often as any properly divorced Scarsdale middle-aged father; goodbye forever to the notion that a man is my brother who, like Paul, buys a prostitute for the night as a birthday gift for a male friend, or who, like Paul, reels off the names in alphabetical order of people in the women's movement he has fucked, reels off names in the best locker-room tradition—as proof that he's no sexist oppressor.

Personal life and death

In 1985, Paul Krassner moved to Venice, CA where he met his wife of 32 years, artist and videographer, Nancy Cain, one of the original

Videofreex The Videofreex were a pioneering video collective who used the Sony Portapak for countercultural video projects from 1969 to 1978. They were founded in 1969 by David Cort, Mary Curtis Ratcliff and Parry Teasdale, after Cort and Teasdale met each ot ...

and founder of Camnet. They moved to Desert Hot Springs, CA in 2002. Krassner suffered for several years from a neurological disease, and died on July 21, 2019, at age 87. He had one daughter, Holly Krassner Dawson, from a previous marriage.

Writings

Books

* 1981: ''Tales of Tongue Fu'' (

And/Or Press And/Or Press was an independent small press publisher based in the San Francisco Bay Area that operated from 1974 to 1983. The company published books on personal development, guides to the countercultural lifestyle, and consciousness expansion. ...

) * 1994: ''Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut: Misadventures in the Counter-Culture'' (Touchstone) * 2000: ''Sex, Drugs, and the Twinkie Murders'' (

Loompanics Unlimited Loompanics Unlimited was an American book seller and publisher specializing in nonfiction on generally unconventional or controversial topics. The topics in their title list included drugs, weapons, survivalism, anarchism, sex, conspiracy theories ...

) * 2005: ''One Hand Jerking: Reports From an Investigative Satirist'', Foreword by

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

, Introduction by

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...

( Seven Stories Press)

Collections of drug stories

* 1999: ''High Times Presents Paul Krassner's Pot Stories for the Soul''. Various authors. Compiled by Krassner with a foreword by

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

(

High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade.Danko, Danny"Norml Founder Retires – Exha ...

) * 2001: ''Paul Krassner's Psychedelic Trips for the Mind'' (High Times Press) * 2004: ''Magic Mushrooms and Other Highs: From Toad Slime to Ecstasy'' (

Ten Speed Press Ten Speed Press is a publishing house founded in Berkeley, California in 1971 by Phil Wood. Ten Speed Press was bought by Random House in February 2009 and is now part of their Crown Publishing Group division. History Wood worked with Barnes & ...

)

Articles collections books

* 1961: ''Paul Krassner's Impolite Interviews'' (

Lyle Stuart Lyle Stuart (born Lionel Simon; August 11, 1922June 24, 2006) was an American author and independent publisher of controversial books. He worked as a newsman for years before launching his publishing firm, Lyle Stuart, Incorporated. A former pa ...

) * 1971: ''How a Satirical Editor Became a Yippie Conspirator in Ten Easy Years'' (Putnam) * 1985: ''The Best of the Realist: The 60's Most Outrageously Irreverent Magazine'' ( Running Press) * 1996: ''The Winner of the Slow Bicycle Race: The Satirical Writings of Paul Krassner'' Introduction by

(Seven Stories Press) * 2002: ''Murder at the Conspiracy Convention: And Other American Absurdities'' introduced by

(

Barricade Books Barricade Books is an independent publishing company specializing in non-fiction titles and featuring biography, memoir, including holocaust memoirs, and true crime and Mafia titles. History The genesis for Barricade Books was Lyle Stuart Inc. ...

, Inc.) * 2009: ''Who's to Say What's Obscene? Politics, Culture and Comedy in America Today'' (

)

Articles

*
Woody Allen Meets Tongue Fu
January 11, 2008 (preface of the book ''Tales of Tongue Fu'') *
Life Among the Neo-Pagans
in ''

'', Aug. 29, 2005. *
The Blame Game
in ''The Huffington Post'', August 26, 2005. *

originally published in ''High Times'', Feb. 1981, retrieved at ''Sir Bacon'' blog. *
Summer of Love: 40 Years Later
in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', May 20, 2007 *
"The Nature of Protest: Then and Now", ''High Times'', July 2, 2004
*
"Lenny & the Law, Together Again", ''High Times'', June 10, 2004
*
"Steve Earl: Sticking to His Principles", ''High Times'', May 19, 2004
*
"The Trial of Vivian McPeak", ''High Times'', February 13, 2004
*
"The Witch Hunt Ain't Over Yet", ''High Times'', December 24, 2003
* "Stoner Stand-ups: Pot Comics Speak Out", ''High Times'', October 2011

Interviews

* 1999: ''Paul Krassner's Impolite Interviews'' (Seven Stories Press) * 2004: Sept. 23, WBAI 99.5 FM New York City, Radio Unnameable: host Bob Fass interviews Paul Krassner * 2006
RU Sirius Show #53 (7/17/2006), guest Paul Krassner (podcast, .mp3)
* 2006
''Pranks! 2'' Interview with Paul Krassner
* 2006
The Legacy of Timothy Leary", ''High Times'', October 20th, 2006
* 2006: '' Generation on Fire: Voices of Protest from the 1960s'' by Jeff Kisseloff * 2007
Beatdom's Interview with Paul Krassner
* 2009
''In the Jester's Court: Paul Krassner On The Virtues Of Irreverence, Indecency, And Illegal Drugs'' by David Kupfer (Sun Magazine Jan. 2009)
* 2009
''In Praise of Indecency: Paul Krassner Interviewed by Carol Queen'' (CarnalNation, July 27 2009)
* 2010
''Interview With Paul Krassner''
from ''SexIs Magazine'' * 2010–2011: Thorne Dreyer's thre
Rag Radio interviews with Paul Krassner.
* 2011
Interviewed by Marc Maron
* 2012

Interview by Jonah Raskin, ''The Rag Blog'', June 7, 2012

Discography

Stand-up comedy recordings: * 1996: ''We Have Ways of Making You Laugh'' (Mercury Records) * 1997: ''Brain Damage Control'' (Mercury Records) * 1999: ''Sex, Drugs and the Antichrist: Paul Krassner at MIT'' (Sheridan Square Entertainment) * 2000: ''Campaign In the Ass'' (Artemis Records) * 2002: ''Irony Lives'' (Artemis Records) * 2004: ''The Zen Bastard Rides Again'' (Artemis Records)

Filmography

* 1972: ''

Dynamite Chicken ''Dynamite Chicken'' is a 1971 American comedy film. Described in its opening credits as "an electronic magazine of American pop culture," it presents a series of interviews, stand-up comedy, countercultural sketches, documentary segments, and agi ...

'' * 1983: ''Cocaine Blues'' * 1987: '' The Wilton North Report'' (TV series) * 1990: ''Flashing on the Sixties: A Tribal Document'' * 1998: ''Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth'' * 1999: ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' * 2003: ''Maybe Logic: The Lives and Ideas of Robert Anton Wilson'' * 2005: '' The Aristocrats'' * 2006: ''Gonzo Utopia'' * 2006: ''

The U.S. vs. John Lennon ''The U.S. vs. John Lennon'' is a documentary film about Lennon's transformation from member of the Beatles to anti-war activist opposing the reelection of Richard Nixon as president in 1972. The film also details the attempts by the Nixon admini ...

'' * 2006: ''

Darryl Henriques Darryl Henriques is an author, satirist, stand-up comedian, and actor on stage and radio, and in TV and film. Career Henriques, a Cheese Board Collective worker, coined the phrase '' Gourmet Ghetto''. Darryl Henriques joined the '' San Francis ...

Is in Show Business'' * 2008: '' Sex: The Revolution'' (TV mini-series) * 2008: ''Looking for Lenny'' * 2009: ''Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America'' (PBS)

References

External links

* *
Art Buchwald, Barry Crimmins, Paul Krassner, Kurt Vonnegut – Beating Around the Bush: An Evening of Satire
recorded on 10/06/05 at The New York Society for Ethical Culture, 63 min., mp3 format

at ep.tc
''The Realist'' website

*

' from ''Confessions of a Raving Unconfined Nut: Misadventures in the Counter-Culture''
Articles by Paul Krassner at ''The Rag Blog''

Interview with Paul Krassner
by Stephen McKiernan, Binghamton University Libraries Center for the Study of the 1960s, March 10, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Krassner, Paul 1932 births 2019 deaths 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American male writers American anti–Vietnam War activists American male essayists American male journalists American psychedelic drug advocates American satirists American tax resisters HuffPost writers and columnists Jewish American writers Jewish American comedians Kabarettists Mercury Records artists New York Press people People from Fire Island, New York People from Greenwich Village Secular Jews Writers from Brooklyn Yippies

Early life

''The Realist''

Books

Other activities

Awards

Criticism

Personal life and death

Writings

Books

Collections of drug stories

Articles collections books

Articles

Interviews

Discography

Filmography

See also

References

External links