I never met anyone who actually talked like Kookie. The media
at the time had a serious love-hate relationship with beat
counter culture. In my recollection, none went far enough to
actually explore it. They were a little afraid to be
perceived as condoning or encouraging it. It was closely
linked to Communism, remember. Kookie was a take-off on jazz
trumpet great, Chet Baker, who actually performed in the
clubs on Sunset Strip a decade earlier. He was loved by the
media because he looked and acted like James Dean before
there was a James Dean. But his lifestyle was steeped in hard
drugs and his television and movie appearances were limited
because of this. Steve Allen was probably the one guy with a
weekly show who was most interested and least afraid of what
the beats had to say. He brought Kerouac on his show and let
him read the end of ON THE ROAD, which was perhaps Kerouac's
greatest public moments. but Kerouac's own struggle with
alcohol, etc, prevented most producers from using him
further, while Truman Capote, also an alcoholic and an
outrageous extrovert, became a media darling. Kerouac gave
off a violent vibe, Capote not so much. For the most part,
the beats were looked on in the media as figures of fun, like
Kookie and Maynard Krebbs on DOBIE GILLIS. The actual beat
movement made no effort to court the media, and not much
protest as to how they were depicted. Unlike the hippies, the
punks, and the Xies that came after them, the beats had real
philosophical content and it was anti establishment and anti
commercial. It's only been in the last twenty years that the
genius of the writers and musicians among them has been
acknowledged.
Patrick King
--- Richard Moore <
moorich@aol.com> wrote:
> Oh, I've watched reruns of 77 Sunset Strip
recently
> with enjoyment
> but the enjoyment in the episodes I've seen
is
> primarily nostalgic.
> I enjoy watching all those old WB shows not
because
> they recreate a
> period in America because they don't, other
than
> such things as the
> cars and hairstyles and not because they
are
> particularly good. I
> enjoy seeing the old actors going (usually
rather
> stiffly) through
> their paces and often laugh out loud at how much
the
> writers could
> get away with in those days. I have fonder
memories
> of Peter Gunn
> but I have not watched one in many years. Some
of
> the Johnny
> Staccato episodes are quite good. There is one
with
> Cloris Leachman
> that is stunning.
>
> Do you really think Kookie's dialog is an
accurate
> reflection of the
> patter as spoken by hipsters circa 1960?
>
> Richard Moore
>
> --- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Jeff Vorzimmer"
> <jvorzimmer@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > > wonder if it would hold up? Mysteries too
tied
> to music trends
> or
> > > hipster lingo date very badly. It's
like
> watching a rerun of "77
> > > Sunset Strip" and listening to Kookie go
through
> his patter. Too
> > > gone Daddy.
> >
> > I've been watching reruns of 77 Sunset
Strip
> lately and I'll have
> to say
> > that they're actually as good as I remember
them.
> I disagree with
> your point
> > on slang. To say something is "dated"
suggests
> you're talking about
> a story
> > from the not-too-distant-past, in which their
is a
> lot of slang
> from a
> > period in which it has just recently been out
of
> vogue. If you're
> reading
> > the same story or watching a show like 77SS
50
> years later it helps
> recreate
> > the whole time period and can be nostaglic
(if
> you're old enough),
> fresh
> > again, or new to you (if you weren''t around
then)
> and interesting
> to hear
> > the patter as spoken by hipsters circa 1960.
I
> laugh when I hear
> Kookie
> > again all these years later, just like we
laughed
> at him then. Same
> as
> > hearing Wilbur again in Peter Gunn. It's a
gas,
> man.
> >
> > Haven't read Bloch's Dead Beat, but I
just
> recently read Markson's
> Epitaph
> > for a Dead Beat and the beatnik lingo really
helps
> recreate the
> time period.
> >
> > Jeff
> >
>
>
>
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