Is it too late to be a ski-bum piano player? Because I’m in. Niles is wonderful. He asked me to narrate his dad’s “Blue Movie” for the audiobook, which as an actor I didn’t deserve, but god, I loved the book and I was determined to make my “Teeny Marie” count. Like you, Jack, I started with Red Dirt Marijuana and it just got better.
Ski bum piano player, is so specific! Reminds me of the role of Warren Oates, in "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia," a burned-out pianist in a Mexican bar...Susie, I remember when you first started at Audible, you and I went into a studio and I read portions of "Blue Movie" for....something? I do remember it was quite fun to celebrate that novel.
I got regaled with a few choice stories of editorial work between Terry & Lee Quarnstrom when they were at Hustler, basically using it as a platform for all types of subversive screeds with Larry’s blessing at the time…
Aw, Lee Quarnstrom, I miss him so much. Santa Cruz just went totally downhill when he moved away, although I did truck down to SoCal to visit. He had the best letter writing life, with so many people he stayed in touch with, through pages-long missives.
He was a real treasure, I learned a lot from him in a little bit of time, I got to help publish his autobiography, edited by Shira Tarrant, ‘When I Was A Dynamiter’, got to see him read from it at the last prankster reunion in Santa Cruz/Felton before he passed. I was very grateful for that.
That was a special night, I was a proud publisher that night, but I kept my profile low, I know it meant a lot to him & Shira was there, too, she had made it all possible, I am grateful to have been a part of it, I’m grateful that you & so many of his other friends were able to be there…I know it meant a lot to him…
There is an essay floating around somewhere, that describes Southern and -- it might be Quarnstrom -- skulking about the Larry Flynt mansion, getting high and concocting various schemes, which Flynt was proud to finance. It's an interesting window into this era, where a porn empire was financing American satire!
Lee definitely told a few stories about such shenanigans involving Terry, they ran ideas past each other until they had a good one, Lee was the undercover editor, he was also tasked with editing several of the other magazines, I think outlaw biker & tattoo were a couple of them, if I’m not mistaken, Terry actually wrote pieces for several of the other mags that were never credited to him, I think it was all for fun, they had a huge space on the top floor of the hustler building on Wiltshire, like a giant penthouse office, they were constantly trying to come up with taunts for all the politicians they felt needed a take down & any celebrity type that they felt needed there balloon punctured…
Huge longtime fan of Southern, however, he forced me to change my nickname in junior high to anything but Candy I was 21 when I finally took my formal name back. 😛
Great interview. I reread Now Dig This over Xmas break. The stories about Slim Pickens, especially his inevitable encounter with James Earl Jones on the set of Dr. Strangelove, are mind blowingly funny.
Much as I love Southern, as parent I felt horribly “seen” by that reminiscence from his son: of getting questioned, at 4, about why he liked to sing “Old MacDonald” rather than the far superior “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Ah, the generations-spanning trauma of hipsterdom.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve long been an admirer of Terry Southern—seeing his name on anything has perked up my attention ever since originally watching Dr. Strangelove on VHS in the early ‘80s and learning firsthand what dark pointed satire was. Life-changing, like hearing Bowie for the first time. And I love that his son is/was such an obvious fellow Gen X-er, referencing Bongwater as inspiration, making him instantly relatable. I hope his dreams of securing something for Terry’s grandkids have come at least a little bit true.
Is it too late to be a ski-bum piano player? Because I’m in. Niles is wonderful. He asked me to narrate his dad’s “Blue Movie” for the audiobook, which as an actor I didn’t deserve, but god, I loved the book and I was determined to make my “Teeny Marie” count. Like you, Jack, I started with Red Dirt Marijuana and it just got better.
Yayyyyyy for the Criterion deal. It’s about time.
Ski bum piano player, is so specific! Reminds me of the role of Warren Oates, in "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia," a burned-out pianist in a Mexican bar...Susie, I remember when you first started at Audible, you and I went into a studio and I read portions of "Blue Movie" for....something? I do remember it was quite fun to celebrate that novel.
My memory is terrible. Here’s the audiobook: https://amzn.to/4m0CYqV. But I think it’s just me. God I don’t know now!
I got regaled with a few choice stories of editorial work between Terry & Lee Quarnstrom when they were at Hustler, basically using it as a platform for all types of subversive screeds with Larry’s blessing at the time…
Aw, Lee Quarnstrom, I miss him so much. Santa Cruz just went totally downhill when he moved away, although I did truck down to SoCal to visit. He had the best letter writing life, with so many people he stayed in touch with, through pages-long missives.
He was a real treasure, I learned a lot from him in a little bit of time, I got to help publish his autobiography, edited by Shira Tarrant, ‘When I Was A Dynamiter’, got to see him read from it at the last prankster reunion in Santa Cruz/Felton before he passed. I was very grateful for that.
I was there, too!
That was a special night, I was a proud publisher that night, but I kept my profile low, I know it meant a lot to him & Shira was there, too, she had made it all possible, I am grateful to have been a part of it, I’m grateful that you & so many of his other friends were able to be there…I know it meant a lot to him…
There is an essay floating around somewhere, that describes Southern and -- it might be Quarnstrom -- skulking about the Larry Flynt mansion, getting high and concocting various schemes, which Flynt was proud to finance. It's an interesting window into this era, where a porn empire was financing American satire!
Lee definitely told a few stories about such shenanigans involving Terry, they ran ideas past each other until they had a good one, Lee was the undercover editor, he was also tasked with editing several of the other magazines, I think outlaw biker & tattoo were a couple of them, if I’m not mistaken, Terry actually wrote pieces for several of the other mags that were never credited to him, I think it was all for fun, they had a huge space on the top floor of the hustler building on Wiltshire, like a giant penthouse office, they were constantly trying to come up with taunts for all the politicians they felt needed a take down & any celebrity type that they felt needed there balloon punctured…
Huge longtime fan of Southern, however, he forced me to change my nickname in junior high to anything but Candy I was 21 when I finally took my formal name back. 😛
Ha!
Great interview. I reread Now Dig This over Xmas break. The stories about Slim Pickens, especially his inevitable encounter with James Earl Jones on the set of Dr. Strangelove, are mind blowingly funny.
Much as I love Southern, as parent I felt horribly “seen” by that reminiscence from his son: of getting questioned, at 4, about why he liked to sing “Old MacDonald” rather than the far superior “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Ah, the generations-spanning trauma of hipsterdom.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve long been an admirer of Terry Southern—seeing his name on anything has perked up my attention ever since originally watching Dr. Strangelove on VHS in the early ‘80s and learning firsthand what dark pointed satire was. Life-changing, like hearing Bowie for the first time. And I love that his son is/was such an obvious fellow Gen X-er, referencing Bongwater as inspiration, making him instantly relatable. I hope his dreams of securing something for Terry’s grandkids have come at least a little bit true.