Merry Pranksters
Encyclopedia
The Merry Pranksters were a group of people who formed around American author Ken Kesey
in 1964 and sometimes lived communally
at his homes in California
and Oregon
. The group promoted the use of psychedelic drug
s.
Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters are noted for the sociological
significance of a lengthy road trip
they took in the summer of 1964, traveling across the United States in a psychedelic
painted school bus
enigmatically and variably labeled "Further" or "Furthur." Their early escapades were chronicled by Tom Wolfe
in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
. Wolfe also documents a notorious 1966 trip on Further from Mexico through Houston, stopping to visit Kesey's friend, novelist Larry McMurtry
. Kesey was in flight from a drug charge at the time.
Notable members of the group include Kesey's best friend Ken Babbs
and Neal Cassady
, Carolyn Garcia (also known as Mountain Girl), Wavy Gravy
, the Grateful Dead
, Paul Krassner
, Stewart Brand
, Del Close
, Paul Foster
, Kentucky Fab Five authors Ed McClanahan
(also known as "Captain Kentucky"), and Gurney Norman
.
, and set off eastward. Kesey wanted to see what would happen when hallucinogenic-inspired spontaneity confronted what he saw as the banality and conformity
of American society. One author has suggested that the bus trip reversed the historic American westward movement of the centuries.
The trip's original purpose was to celebrate the publication of Kesey's novel Sometimes a Great Notion
and to visit the 1964 World's Fair
in New York City. The Pranksters were enthusiastic users of marijuana
, amphetamine
s, and LSD, and in the process of their journey they are said to have "turned on" many people by introducing them to these drugs.
The psychedelically painted bus had its stated destination as being "further." This was the goal of the Merry Pranksters, a destination that could only be obtained through the expansion of one's own perceptions of reality. They traveled cross-country giving LSD to anyone who was willing to try it (LSD was legal in the United States until October 1966).
Novelist Robert Stone, who met the bus on its arrival in New York, has written that those accompanying Kesey on the trip were Neal Cassady (described by Stone as "the world's greatest driver, who could roll a joint while backing a 1937 Packard onto the lip of the Grand Canyon"), Ken Babbs ("fresh from the Nam, full of radio nomenclature, and with a command voice that put cops to flight"), Jane Burton ("a pregnant young philosophy professor who declined no challenges"), Page Browning ("a Hell's Angel candidate"), George Walker, Sandy Lehmann-Haupt ("dis-MOUNT"), Mike Hagen ("Mal Function"), Ron Bevirt ("Hassler"), Chuck Kesey, Dale Kesey, John Babbs, Steve Lambrecht and Paula Sundstren ("aka Gretchin Fetchin, Slime Queen").
, who were introduced to LSD by Kesey. The details of their relationship are documented both in Wolfe's book and in Hunter S. Thompson
's book, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Poet Allen Ginsberg
also wrote a poem about the Kesey/Angels relationship.
rock festival. The same year, they were also present at the Texas Pop Festival at Lewisville, Texas
.
A collection by Kesey of short pieces, several about the Merry Pranksters, called Demon Box and released in 1986, was a critical success, although a subsequent novel, Sailor Song, was not, with critics complaining it was too spacey for comprehension. In 1994 Kesey toured with the Pranksters, performing a play he wrote about the millennium called Twister.
The Merry Pranksters filmed and audiotaped much of what they did during their bus trips. Some of this material has surfaced in documentaries, including the BBC's Dancing In the Street (1996). Some of the Pranksters have released some of the footage on their own, and a version of the film edited by Kesey himself is available through his son Zane's website. On August 14, 1997, Kesey appeared with the Merry Pranksters at a Phish
concert during a performance of the song "Colonel Forbin's Ascent" from the album The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday
.
Kesey and the Pranksters also helped stage The Enit Festival held on November 22, 1997 with Jane's Addiction
, Funky Tekno Tribe, Goldie, and Res Fest to round out the bill held at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
The original Prankster bus now rests at Kesey's farm in Oregon. The Smithsonian Institution
sought to acquire the bus, which is no longer operable, but Kesey refused. True to form, Kesey attempted, unsuccessfully, to prank the venerable Smithsonian by passing off a phony bus.
Kesey died of complications due to liver cancer
in November 2001. Ken Babbs
attempts to keep the Prankster spirit alive through his Skypilot Club website, which is a spoof of 1950s comic book clubs and which encourages psychedelic ideals and 'mind-expanding' experiences, particularly through immersion in the emotion of love.
On December 10, 2003 there was a memorial to Kesey with String Cheese Incident
and with host Ken Babbs
with various other old and new Pranksters. Held at The Mcdonald Theater in the city of Eugene Oregon. The proceeds helped to raise money for the Ken Kesey Memorial sculpture designed by Peter Helzer. The bronze sculpture depicted a life-size Kesey reading to three children while seated on a curved granite bench covered with quotes from Kesey's novels Sometimes a Great Notion
and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
. (Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Lanker
supplied the image.) Other benefactors for the project include Bob Weir
, Paul Newman
(who starred in the film adaptation of Sometimes a Great Notion
) and Michael Douglas
(who produced the film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
).
In 2005, Kesey's son Zane Kesey asked a friend, Matthew Rick, also known as Shady Backflash, to put on a 40th anniversary of his father's Acid Tests. Matthew got together a small group of promoters, including Rob Robinson from New York, to help him produce the event, which was held on October 31, 2005, in Las Vegas
. It was known as AT40. Rick and Kesey along with Ken Babbs's son Simon, Jon Sebree, Dead On Randy, TK Bi-Polar Bear, Torrey, Mushroom, Lance and Nathan rode to Las Vegas on Further. Original Prankster George Walker was also on hand.
and Alison Ellwood directed a documentary film
Magic Trip (2011) about the Merry Pranksters, released August 5, 2011.
Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
in 1964 and sometimes lived communally
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
at his homes in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The group promoted the use of psychedelic drug
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
s.
Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters are noted for the sociological
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
significance of a lengthy road trip
Road trip
A road trip is any journey taken on roads, regardless of stops en route. Typically, road trips are long distances traveled by automobile.-Pre-automobile road trips:...
they took in the summer of 1964, traveling across the United States in a psychedelic
Psychedelic art
Psychedelic art is any kind of visual artwork inspired by psychedelic experiences induced by drugs such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin. The word "psychedelic" "mind manifesting". By that definition all artistic efforts to depict the inner world of the psyche may be considered "psychedelic"...
painted school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
enigmatically and variably labeled "Further" or "Furthur." Their early escapades were chronicled by Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a work of literary journalism by Tom Wolfe, published in 1968. Using techniques from the genre of hysterical realism and pioneering new journalism, the "nonfiction novel" tells the story of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters...
. Wolfe also documents a notorious 1966 trip on Further from Mexico through Houston, stopping to visit Kesey's friend, novelist Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
. Kesey was in flight from a drug charge at the time.
Notable members of the group include Kesey's best friend Ken Babbs
Ken Babbs
Ken Babbs is a famous Merry Prankster who became one of the psychedelic leaders of the 1960s. He along with best friend and Prankster leader, Ken Kesey wrote the book Last Go Round...
and Neal Cassady
Neal Cassady
Neal Leon Cassady was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic movement of the 1960s. He served as the model for the character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road....
, Carolyn Garcia (also known as Mountain Girl), Wavy Gravy
Wavy Gravy
Wavy Gravy is an American entertainer and activist for peace, best known for his hippie appearance, personality and beliefs. His moniker...
, the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner is an author, journalist, stand-up comedian, and the founder, editor and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine The Realist, first published in 1958...
, Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand is an American writer, best known as editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He founded a number of organizations including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation...
, Del Close
Del Close
Del Close was an actor, improviser, writer, and teacher. Considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater, Close had a prolific career, appearing in a number of films and television shows...
, Paul Foster
Paul Foster (cartoonist)
Paul Foster was a Merry Prankster best known for illustrating the book Ken Kesey's Garage Sale.He is the author of The Answer Is Always Yes and he was also a founding member of Wavy Gravy's Hog Farm commune....
, Kentucky Fab Five authors Ed McClanahan
Ed McClanahan
Ed McClanahan is an American novelist, essayist, and professor.-Biography:Edward Poage McClanahan was born in Brooksville, Kentucky in 1932 to Edward Leroy and Jesse McClanahan. He attended school there and later in nearby Maysville, Kentucky where the family relocated in 1948. McClanahan...
(also known as "Captain Kentucky"), and Gurney Norman
Gurney Norman
Gurney Norman is an American novelist, documentarian, and professor.-Biography:Gurney Norman was born in Grundy, Virginia in 1937...
.
Eastward bus journey
On June 17, 1964, Kesey and 13 Merry Pranksters boarded "Further" at Kesey's ranch in La Honda, CaliforniaLa Honda, California
La Honda is a census-designated place in southern San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 928 at the 2010 census. It is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains between Silicon Valley and the Pacific coast of California...
, and set off eastward. Kesey wanted to see what would happen when hallucinogenic-inspired spontaneity confronted what he saw as the banality and conformity
Conformity
Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people.Conformity may also refer to:*Conformity: A Tale, a novel by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna...
of American society. One author has suggested that the bus trip reversed the historic American westward movement of the centuries.
The trip's original purpose was to celebrate the publication of Kesey's novel Sometimes a Great Notion
Sometimes a Great Notion (novel)
Sometimes a Great Notion is Ken Kesey's second novel, published in 1964. While One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was arguably the more famous of the two novels, many critics consider Sometimes a Great Notion Kesey's magnum opus...
and to visit the 1964 World's Fair
1964 New York World's Fair
The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major world's fair to be held in New York City. Hailing itself as a "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe";...
in New York City. The Pranksters were enthusiastic users of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
s, and LSD, and in the process of their journey they are said to have "turned on" many people by introducing them to these drugs.
The psychedelically painted bus had its stated destination as being "further." This was the goal of the Merry Pranksters, a destination that could only be obtained through the expansion of one's own perceptions of reality. They traveled cross-country giving LSD to anyone who was willing to try it (LSD was legal in the United States until October 1966).
Novelist Robert Stone, who met the bus on its arrival in New York, has written that those accompanying Kesey on the trip were Neal Cassady (described by Stone as "the world's greatest driver, who could roll a joint while backing a 1937 Packard onto the lip of the Grand Canyon"), Ken Babbs ("fresh from the Nam, full of radio nomenclature, and with a command voice that put cops to flight"), Jane Burton ("a pregnant young philosophy professor who declined no challenges"), Page Browning ("a Hell's Angel candidate"), George Walker, Sandy Lehmann-Haupt ("dis-MOUNT"), Mike Hagen ("Mal Function"), Ron Bevirt ("Hassler"), Chuck Kesey, Dale Kesey, John Babbs, Steve Lambrecht and Paula Sundstren ("aka Gretchin Fetchin, Slime Queen").
Hells Angels
Kesey and the Pranksters also had a relationship with the infamous outlaw motorcycle gang the Hells AngelsHells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
, who were introduced to LSD by Kesey. The details of their relationship are documented both in Wolfe's book and in Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
's book, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Poet Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
also wrote a poem about the Kesey/Angels relationship.
Later events
In 1969, Further and the Pranksters (minus Kesey) made it to the WoodstockWoodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
rock festival. The same year, they were also present at the Texas Pop Festival at Lewisville, Texas
Lewisville, Texas
Lewisville is a city in Denton County in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2010 United States Census placed the population at 95,290 within . The city also includes of Lewisville Lake....
.
A collection by Kesey of short pieces, several about the Merry Pranksters, called Demon Box and released in 1986, was a critical success, although a subsequent novel, Sailor Song, was not, with critics complaining it was too spacey for comprehension. In 1994 Kesey toured with the Pranksters, performing a play he wrote about the millennium called Twister.
The Merry Pranksters filmed and audiotaped much of what they did during their bus trips. Some of this material has surfaced in documentaries, including the BBC's Dancing In the Street (1996). Some of the Pranksters have released some of the footage on their own, and a version of the film edited by Kesey himself is available through his son Zane's website. On August 14, 1997, Kesey appeared with the Merry Pranksters at a Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
concert during a performance of the song "Colonel Forbin's Ascent" from the album The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday
The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday was written as the senior thesis study by Trey Anastasio, the guitarist and lead vocalist of the American rock band Phish...
.
Kesey and the Pranksters also helped stage The Enit Festival held on November 22, 1997 with Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
, Funky Tekno Tribe, Goldie, and Res Fest to round out the bill held at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
The original Prankster bus now rests at Kesey's farm in Oregon. The Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
sought to acquire the bus, which is no longer operable, but Kesey refused. True to form, Kesey attempted, unsuccessfully, to prank the venerable Smithsonian by passing off a phony bus.
Kesey died of complications due to liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
in November 2001. Ken Babbs
Ken Babbs
Ken Babbs is a famous Merry Prankster who became one of the psychedelic leaders of the 1960s. He along with best friend and Prankster leader, Ken Kesey wrote the book Last Go Round...
attempts to keep the Prankster spirit alive through his Skypilot Club website, which is a spoof of 1950s comic book clubs and which encourages psychedelic ideals and 'mind-expanding' experiences, particularly through immersion in the emotion of love.
On December 10, 2003 there was a memorial to Kesey with String Cheese Incident
String Cheese Incident
The String Cheese Incident is a band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang , Michael Travis , Bill Nershi , Kyle Hollingsworth , and Keith Moseley...
and with host Ken Babbs
Ken Babbs
Ken Babbs is a famous Merry Prankster who became one of the psychedelic leaders of the 1960s. He along with best friend and Prankster leader, Ken Kesey wrote the book Last Go Round...
with various other old and new Pranksters. Held at The Mcdonald Theater in the city of Eugene Oregon. The proceeds helped to raise money for the Ken Kesey Memorial sculpture designed by Peter Helzer. The bronze sculpture depicted a life-size Kesey reading to three children while seated on a curved granite bench covered with quotes from Kesey's novels Sometimes a Great Notion
Sometimes a Great Notion
Sometimes a Great Notion is a 1964 novel by the American author Ken Kesey.Sometimes a Great Notion may also refer to:* Sometimes a Great Notion , a 1970 film adaptation of the novel...
and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon asylum, the narrative serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind, as well as a critique of Behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles. Written in 1959, the novel was adapted into a...
. (Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Lanker
Brian Lanker
Brian Lanker was an American photographer. He won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for a black-and-white photo essay on childbirth for The Topeka Capital-Journal, including the photograph "Moment of Life". Lanker died at his home in Eugene, Oregon on March 13, 2011 after a brief...
supplied the image.) Other benefactors for the project include Bob Weir
Bob Weir
Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
, Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
(who starred in the film adaptation of Sometimes a Great Notion
Sometimes a Great Notion (film)
Sometimes A Great Notion is a 1971 American drama film directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by John Gay is based on the 1964 novel of the same title by Ken Kesey, the first of his books to be adapted for the screen...
) and Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
(who produced the film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
).
In 2005, Kesey's son Zane Kesey asked a friend, Matthew Rick, also known as Shady Backflash, to put on a 40th anniversary of his father's Acid Tests. Matthew got together a small group of promoters, including Rob Robinson from New York, to help him produce the event, which was held on October 31, 2005, in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. It was known as AT40. Rick and Kesey along with Ken Babbs's son Simon, Jon Sebree, Dead On Randy, TK Bi-Polar Bear, Torrey, Mushroom, Lance and Nathan rode to Las Vegas on Further. Original Prankster George Walker was also on hand.
2011 Documentary by Alex Gibney
Alex GibneyAlex Gibney
Alex Gibney is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, Esquire magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time."...
and Alison Ellwood directed a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Magic Trip (2011) about the Merry Pranksters, released August 5, 2011.
External links
- Ken Kesey & the Merry Pranksters website - with timeline, posters, recordings & Acid Test essay
- Psychedelic 60s: Ken Kesey & the Merry Pranksters at University of VirginiaUniversity of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
library