![Vito Paulekas Dancing on the Street in L](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Vito_Paulekas_Dancing_on_the_Street_in_L.A..jpg)
Vitautus Alphonsus "Vito" Paulekas (20 May 1913 – 25 October 1992) was an American artist and
bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
, who was most notable for his leading role in the
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
"
freak scene
"Freak Scene" is a song by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., the opening track on the group's third studio album '' Bug'' (1988). Written and produced by frontman J Mascis, the song was recorded at Fort Apache Studios by engineers Paul ...
" of the 1960s, and his influence on musicians including
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
,
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...
and
Frank Zappa.
Biography
Paulekas was born in
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
, the son of
Lithuanian immigrants. After some time spent in a
reformatory
A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concern ...
as a teenager, he learned wood carving and won competitions as a
marathon dancer in the 1930s. He was convicted of
armed robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
in 1938, but was released in 1942 and joined the
US Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...
. Around 1946, he moved to
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 ...
where, by the early 1960s, he had set up home on
Beverly Boulevard
Beverly Boulevard is one of the main east–west thoroughfares in Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California. It begins off Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills and ends on the Lucas Avenue overpass near downtown Los Angeles to become 1 ...
. There he established an art studio where he "made a living of sorts by giving clay modeling lessons to
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
matrons who found the atmosphere in his studio exciting," and also ran dance classes. He married in 1961; his wife, Szou (b. Sueanne C. Shaffer, 1943) established a clothing boutique which was credited with being one of the first to introduce "
hippie" fashions.
By about 1963, Vito, Szou, and their friend Carl Franzoni (b. 1934 in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
), also known at the time as "Captain Fuck", had begun going to clubs with a growing group of self-styled "freaks", who reputedly "lived a semi-communal life and engaged in sex orgies and free-form dancing whenever they could". According to writer
Johnny Rogan
John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...
, Paulekas' "free thinking lifestyle and artistic passion inspired
beatniks, aspiring existentialists and
Valley girl
A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, ...
s in need of rebellion." In 1964, Paulekas offered rehearsal space to the
Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
, and the following year the troupe of free-form dancers, with Paulekas and Franzoni, accompanied the group on their nationwide tour. Later,
Arthur Lee and Love also used his premises for rehearsals.
In some clubs, Paulekas and the dancers became as big an attraction as the onstage entertainment. The troupe - including several of the young women later to become known as The GTOs
''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 ...
, and members of the Fraternity of Man
The Fraternity of Man were an American blues rock and psychedelic rock group from the 1960s. They are most famous for their song "Don't Bogart Me" (aka Don't Bogart That Joint), which was released on LP in 1968, and subsequently used in the 1969 ro ...
- occupied the Log Cabin in Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neighb ...
formerly occupied by Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...
and later by Frank Zappa. Credited as "Vito and the Hands", Paulekas recorded a single, "Where It's At," which featured some of the Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
Originally an R&B band ...
, with producer Kim Fowley in 1966. He has been credited with first using the terms "freak" and "freak-out" to describe the scene, and with Franzoni and other members of the troupe contributed to the first album by Zappa and the Mothers, ''Freak Out!
''Freak Out!'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's ...
''. He appeared in several documentaries of the period, including ''Mondo Hollywood
''Mondo Hollywood'' is a documentary " mondo movie" by Robert Carl Cohen, released in 1967. Filmed over the preceding two years, it was described by ''Variety'' as a "flippy, trippy psychedelic guide to Hollywood".
Description
The film starts ...
'' (1967) and ''You Are What You Eat
''You Are What You Eat'' is a British dieting programme presented by Trisha Goddard and Amir Khan that broadcasts on Channel 5. The show was originally broadcast on Channel 4, before moving to Channel 5 in 2022 for its revived series. Both t ...
'' (1968).[
After ]Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
's election as US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
in 1968, he moved to Haiti and later Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, before returning to settle in Cotati, California
Cotati (; Miwok: ''Kota’ti'') is an incorporated city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco in the 101 corridor between Rohnert Park and Petaluma. Cotati's population as of the 2020 Censu ...
.[ There, he and Franzoni established the Freestore street theatre and performance group, and built a bandstand for the town as well as contributing sculptures.]
He and Szou divorced in 1975. They had five children, Gruvi, BB, Sky, Phreekus (Mark) and Godot who died as a child. Vito also had another child, Sophia Creme with Yara Mery in 1979. Paulekas died in Cotati in 1992, aged 79.
References
External links
Gallery of Paulekas' sculptures
Interview with Szou Paulekas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulekas, Vito
American male dancers
20th-century American painters
20th-century American sculptors
1913 births
1992 deaths
American people of Lithuanian descent
Hippies
People from Lowell, Massachusetts
People from Cotati, California
Freak scene