Patty Hearst
Encyclopedia
Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954), now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber.
The granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst
and great-granddaughter of millionaire George Hearst
, she gained notoriety in 1974 when, following her kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army
(SLA), she ultimately joined her captors in furthering their cause. Apprehended after having taken part in a bank robbery
with other SLA members, Hearst was imprisoned for almost two years before her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter
. She was later granted a presidential pardon by President Bill Clinton
in his last official act before leaving office.
and Catherine Wood Campbell. She grew up primarily in the wealthy San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Hillsborough
. She attended Crystal Springs School for Girls
in Hillsborough and the Santa Catalina School in Monterey
. Among her few close friends she counted Patricia Tobin, whose family founded the Hibernia Bank, a branch of which Hearst would later aid in robbing.
On February 4, 1974, the 19-year-old Hearst was kidnapped from the Berkeley, California
apartment she shared with her fiancé Steven Weed by a left-wing urban guerrilla group called the Symbionese Liberation Army
. When the attempt to swap Hearst for jailed SLA members failed, the SLA demanded that the captive's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian – an operation that would cost an estimated $400 million. In response, Hearst's father arranged the immediate donation of $6 million worth of food to the poor of the Bay Area
. After the distribution of food, the SLA refused to release Hearst because they deemed the food to have been of poor quality. (In a subsequent tape recording released to the press, Hearst commented that her father could have done better.) On April 3, 1974, Hearst announced on an audiotape that she had joined the SLA and assumed the name "Tania" (inspired by the nom de guerre of Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider
, Che Guevara
's comrade). For this reason, she is a well-known and often referenced example of a victim of Stockholm Syndrome
.
On April 15, 1974, she was photographed wielding an M1 carbine
while robbing the Sunset District branch of the Hibernia Bank at 1450 Noriega Street in San Francisco. Later communications from her were issued under the pseudonym Tania and asserted that she was committed to the goals of the SLA. A warrant was issued for her arrest and in September 1975, she was arrested in a San Francisco apartment with other SLA members.
, a noted authority on prisoner of war
and other victims including Maryknoll
priests released from the People's Republic of China
in the 1950s, this is not unusual in such cases. Singer strongly pleaded for understanding in Hearst's behalf before, during and after the trial. Court appointed doctor Louis Jolyon West
as well as interviewers Drs. Robert Jay Lifton
and Martin Theodore Orne
agreed. Lifton went so far as to state after a 15 hour interview with Hearst that she was a "classic case," about two weeks being needed for almost all persons undergoing that level of mind control
to shuck off a good deal of the "gunk" that has filled the mind, as happened in his opinion with Hearst's case. "If (she) had reacted differently, that would have been suspect" and Hearst was "a rare phenomenon (in a first world nation)... the first and as far as I know the only victim of a political kidnapping in the United States
" were direct quotes from Hearst's autobiography attributed to the doctor. Dr. West firmly asserted that while Donald "Cinque" DeFreeze
and other movement members had used a rather coarse version, they did employ the classic Maoist formula for thought control; Hearst was young and apolitical enough to be at extreme risk and, in his professional experience, that it would have even broken many experienced soldiers.
In her trial, which commenced on January 15, 1976 (and in her dozens of previous interviews by FBI agents Charles Bates and Lawrence Lawler—any reference to which was not allowed by the presiding judge to be included in the trial), Hearst's attorney F. Lee Bailey claimed that Hearst had been blindfolded, imprisoned in a narrow closet and physically and sexually abused. Hearst's defense claimed that her actions were the result of a concerted brainwashing program.
The prosecution countered with two experts: Dr. Joel Fort, who, unsolicited, had previously offered favorable testimony in paid service to the defense team, which was refused; and Dr. Harry L. Kozol, noted expert on brain disorders, sex offenders and high-profile mentally ill criminals. He formerly had been the long term doctor for Eugene O'Neill
and evaluated the confessed Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo
, a case defended in 1967 by Bailey. Kozol claimed Hearst was "a rebel in search of a cause" and that the robbery had been "an act of free will." During a pre-trial interview, Hearst accurately described the apartment where the SLA was captured, but neglected to mention the narrow closet where she was allegedly confined. In Kozol’s view, Hearst’s omission confirmed the prosecution’s thesis: returning the embrace of the SLA, she had ceased to be a victim. The rebel had come out of the closet. When Kozol testified, Hearst turned “the dead white color of a fish’s belly,” according to journalist Shana Alexander
. "Harry never lost the spirit of the law," Dr. Harold W. Williams, then a psychiatrist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, told The New York Times in 1976, when prosecutors asked Dr. Kozol to examine Hearst. "Harry is very much in personality a lawyer."
Bailey argued that she had been coerced or intimidated into taking part in the bank robbery. However, she refused to give evidence against the other captured SLA members. This was seen as complicity by the prosecution team.
Hearst was convicted of bank robbery on March 20, 1976. She was sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment, but her sentence was later commuted to seven years. Her prison term was also eventually commuted by President Jimmy Carter, and Hearst was released from prison on February 1, 1979, having served 22 months. She was granted a full pardon by President Bill Clinton on January 20, 2001.
, and reside in Garrison
, New York
. Hearst has occasionally granted interviews to national media regarding the SLA incidents and taken minor acting parts.
The granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
and great-granddaughter of millionaire George Hearst
George Hearst
George Hearst was a wealthy American businessman and United States Senator, and the father of newspaperman William Randolph Hearst.-Early life and education:...
, she gained notoriety in 1974 when, following her kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
(SLA), she ultimately joined her captors in furthering their cause. Apprehended after having taken part in a bank robbery
Bank robbery
Bank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
with other SLA members, Hearst was imprisoned for almost two years before her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
. She was later granted a presidential pardon by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in his last official act before leaving office.
Early life
Hearst was born in San Francisco, California, the third of five daughters of Randolph Apperson HearstRandolph Apperson Hearst
Randolph Apperson Hearst was the fourth and last surviving son of William Randolph Hearst. His twin brother, David, died in 1986. He was the father of Patty Hearst.-Biography:...
and Catherine Wood Campbell. She grew up primarily in the wealthy San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Hillsborough
Hillsborough, California
Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest communities in America and has the highest income of places in the United States with populations of at least 10,000...
. She attended Crystal Springs School for Girls
Crystal Springs Uplands School
Crystal Springs Uplands School is an independent, coeducational, college prep day school with 350 students located in Hillsborough, California...
in Hillsborough and the Santa Catalina School in Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
. Among her few close friends she counted Patricia Tobin, whose family founded the Hibernia Bank, a branch of which Hearst would later aid in robbing.
Kidnapping and the SLA
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
apartment she shared with her fiancé Steven Weed by a left-wing urban guerrilla group called the Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
. When the attempt to swap Hearst for jailed SLA members failed, the SLA demanded that the captive's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian – an operation that would cost an estimated $400 million. In response, Hearst's father arranged the immediate donation of $6 million worth of food to the poor of the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. After the distribution of food, the SLA refused to release Hearst because they deemed the food to have been of poor quality. (In a subsequent tape recording released to the press, Hearst commented that her father could have done better.) On April 3, 1974, Hearst announced on an audiotape that she had joined the SLA and assumed the name "Tania" (inspired by the nom de guerre of Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider
Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider
Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider , better known as Tania or Tania the Guerrilla, was an Argentine-born East German communist revolutionary and spy who played a prominent role in the Cuban government after the Cuban Revolution and in various Latin American revolutionary movements...
, Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
's comrade). For this reason, she is a well-known and often referenced example of a victim of Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm syndrome
In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...
.
On April 15, 1974, she was photographed wielding an M1 carbine
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
while robbing the Sunset District branch of the Hibernia Bank at 1450 Noriega Street in San Francisco. Later communications from her were issued under the pseudonym Tania and asserted that she was committed to the goals of the SLA. A warrant was issued for her arrest and in September 1975, she was arrested in a San Francisco apartment with other SLA members.
Trial and imprisonment
While being booked into jail, she listed her occupation as "Urban Guerilla" and asked her attorney to relay the following message: "Tell everybody that I'm smiling, that I feel free and strong and I send my greetings and love to all the sisters and brothers out there." However, according to Hearst interviewer Margaret SingerMargaret Singer
Dr. Margaret Thaler Singer, was a clinical psychologist and a part-time Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, U.S....
, a noted authority on prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
and other victims including Maryknoll
Maryknoll
Maryknoll is a name shared by three organizations that are part of the Roman Catholic Church and whose joint focus is on the overseas mission activity of the Catholic Church in the United States...
priests released from the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in the 1950s, this is not unusual in such cases. Singer strongly pleaded for understanding in Hearst's behalf before, during and after the trial. Court appointed doctor Louis Jolyon West
Louis Jolyon West
Louis Jolyon West was an American psychiatrist, human rights activist and expert on brainwashing, mind control, torture, substance abuse, post traumatic stress disorder and violence....
as well as interviewers Drs. Robert Jay Lifton
Robert Jay Lifton
Robert Jay Lifton is an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of war and political violence and for his theory of thought reform...
and Martin Theodore Orne
Martin Theodore Orne
Martin Theodore Orne, M.D., Ph.D., emeritus professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, died February 11, 2000 at the age of 72. He was a professor in the School of Medicine for 32 years before becoming emeritus professor in 1996. Born in Vienna, Austria in 1927, Dr....
agreed. Lifton went so far as to state after a 15 hour interview with Hearst that she was a "classic case," about two weeks being needed for almost all persons undergoing that level of mind control
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
to shuck off a good deal of the "gunk" that has filled the mind, as happened in his opinion with Hearst's case. "If (she) had reacted differently, that would have been suspect" and Hearst was "a rare phenomenon (in a first world nation)... the first and as far as I know the only victim of a political kidnapping in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
" were direct quotes from Hearst's autobiography attributed to the doctor. Dr. West firmly asserted that while Donald "Cinque" DeFreeze
Donald DeFreeze
Donald David DeFreeze , also known as Cinque Mtume, was the leader of the American guerilla group Symbionese Liberation Army, a group operating in the mid-1970s, under the nom de guerre "Field Marshal Cinque."...
and other movement members had used a rather coarse version, they did employ the classic Maoist formula for thought control; Hearst was young and apolitical enough to be at extreme risk and, in his professional experience, that it would have even broken many experienced soldiers.
In her trial, which commenced on January 15, 1976 (and in her dozens of previous interviews by FBI agents Charles Bates and Lawrence Lawler—any reference to which was not allowed by the presiding judge to be included in the trial), Hearst's attorney F. Lee Bailey claimed that Hearst had been blindfolded, imprisoned in a narrow closet and physically and sexually abused. Hearst's defense claimed that her actions were the result of a concerted brainwashing program.
The prosecution countered with two experts: Dr. Joel Fort, who, unsolicited, had previously offered favorable testimony in paid service to the defense team, which was refused; and Dr. Harry L. Kozol, noted expert on brain disorders, sex offenders and high-profile mentally ill criminals. He formerly had been the long term doctor for Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
and evaluated the confessed Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo
Albert DeSalvo
Albert Henry DeSalvo was a criminal in Boston, Massachusetts who confessed to being the "Boston Strangler", the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area. DeSalvo was not imprisoned for these murders, however, but for a series of rapes...
, a case defended in 1967 by Bailey. Kozol claimed Hearst was "a rebel in search of a cause" and that the robbery had been "an act of free will." During a pre-trial interview, Hearst accurately described the apartment where the SLA was captured, but neglected to mention the narrow closet where she was allegedly confined. In Kozol’s view, Hearst’s omission confirmed the prosecution’s thesis: returning the embrace of the SLA, she had ceased to be a victim. The rebel had come out of the closet. When Kozol testified, Hearst turned “the dead white color of a fish’s belly,” according to journalist Shana Alexander
Shana Alexander
Shana Alexander was an American journalist, born Shana Ager in New York City on October 6, 1925. Although she became the first woman staff writer and columnist for Life magazine, she was best known for her participation in the "Point-Counterpoint" debate segments of 60 Minutes with conservative...
. "Harry never lost the spirit of the law," Dr. Harold W. Williams, then a psychiatrist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, told The New York Times in 1976, when prosecutors asked Dr. Kozol to examine Hearst. "Harry is very much in personality a lawyer."
Bailey argued that she had been coerced or intimidated into taking part in the bank robbery. However, she refused to give evidence against the other captured SLA members. This was seen as complicity by the prosecution team.
Hearst was convicted of bank robbery on March 20, 1976. She was sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment, but her sentence was later commuted to seven years. Her prison term was also eventually commuted by President Jimmy Carter, and Hearst was released from prison on February 1, 1979, having served 22 months. She was granted a full pardon by President Bill Clinton on January 20, 2001.
Personal life
After her release from prison, she married her former bodyguard, Bernard Shaw. She and Shaw have two children, Gillian and Lydia Hearst-ShawLydia Hearst-Shaw
Lydia Marie Hearst-Shaw is an American actress, fashion model, columnist, socialite and heiress to the publishing fortune established by her maternal great-grandfather William Randolph Hearst. The 2008 Michael Awards recognized her as their Model of the Year...
, and reside in Garrison
Garrison, New York
Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown and is on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Hearst has occasionally granted interviews to national media regarding the SLA incidents and taken minor acting parts.
Documentaries about Hearst
- Hearst's 1982 autobiography, Every Secret Thing, was made into the biopic Patty HearstPatty Hearst (film)Patty Hearst is a 1988 biographical film directed by Paul Schrader and stars Natasha Richardson as Hearst Corporation heiress Patricia Hearst and Ving Rhames as Symbionese Liberation Army leader Cinque...
by Paul SchraderPaul SchraderPaul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
in 1988, with Natasha RichardsonNatasha RichardsonNatasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
portraying Hearst. - Robert Stone in 2004 directed Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst, which focuses on the media frenzy surrounding the Symbionese Liberation Army, and includes new footage and interviews. (The film was released in some countries under the title Neverland: The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army.)
Material produced by Hearst
- Dissatisfied with other documentaries made on the subject, Hearst produced a special for the Travel ChannelTravel ChannelThe Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
entitled Secrets of San Simeon with Patricia Hearst in which she took viewers inside her grandfather's mansion Hearst CastleHearst CastleHearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to...
, providing unprecedented access to the property. (A video and DVD were later released of the special.) - Hearst co-authored a novel with Cordelia Frances Biddle titled Murder at San Simeon (Scribner, 1996), based upon the death of Thomas InceThomas H. InceThomas Harper Ince was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer of more than 100 films and pioneering studio mogul. Known as the "Father of the Western", he invented many mechanisms of professional movie production, introducing early Hollywood to the "assembly line"...
on her grandfather's yacht.
Acting roles
Hearst has cultivated a career as an actress.- Her notoriety intersected with the criminal obsessions and campCamp (style)Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
sensibilities of filmmaker John WatersJohn Waters (filmmaker)John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
, who has used Hearst in numerous small roles in films including Cry-BabyCry-BabyCry-Baby is a 1990 American teen musical film written and directed by John Waters. It stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel "Cry-Baby" Wade Walker, and also features an expansive ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, Iggy Pop, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Kim McGuire, David Nelson, Susan Tyrrell, and...
, Serial MomSerial MomSerial Mom is a 1994 American dark satire written and directed by John Waters, starring Kathleen Turner as the title character, Sam Waterston as her husband, and Ricki Lake and Matthew Lillard as her children. Despite statements to the contrary in the movie, the story is completely fictional...
, PeckerPecker (film)Pecker is a 1998 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Waters and starring Edward Furlong and Christina Ricci. Like all Waters' films, it was filmed and set in Baltimore; this film in the Hampden neighborhood....
, Cecil B. DeMentedCecil B. DementedCecil B. Demented is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers who force her to star in their underground film...
, and A Dirty ShameA Dirty ShameA Dirty Shame is a 2004 satirical sex comedy written and directed by John Waters, and starring Tracey Ullman, Selma Blair, Johnny Knoxville, Chris Isaak, Suzanne Shepherd, and Mink Stole.-Plot:...
. - Hearst appeared in the films Bio-DomeBio-DomeBio-Dome is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Jason Bloom. Bio-Dome was produced by Motion Picture Corporation of America on a budget of $15 million and was distributed theatrically by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer....
and Second Best. - Hearst supplied the voice for the character Haffa Dozen, an ex-stripper appearing on the October 19, 2005, episode of the Sci-Fi Channel's animated TV series Tripping the RiftTripping the RiftTripping the Rift is a CGI science fiction comedy television series. It is based on two short animations published on the Internet by Chris Moeller and Chuck Austen. The series was produced by CineGroupe in association with the Sci Fi Channel...
. - She appeared in an episode of The Adventures of Pete & PeteThe Adventures of Pete & PeteThe Adventures of Pete & Pete is an American children's television series produced by Wellsville Pictures and broadcast by Nickelodeon. The show featured humorous and surreal elements in its narrative, and many recurring themes centered on two brothers both named Pete Wrigley, and their various...
as Mrs. Krechmar, the nicest housewife in the world. - Notably playing against type, Hearst played a crack-addicted prostitute on an episode of the comedic Son of the BeachSon of the BeachSon of the Beach is an American sitcom that aired from 2000 to 2002 on the FX network. The series was a spoof of Baywatch, with much of the comedy based on sexual jokes, innuendo and the like. The studly David Hasselhoff character is instead an average, pot-bellied, out-of-shape bald man but...
. - Hearst's voice was used as a caller in the FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
episode, Frasier Crane's Day Off in 1994. - She appeared as Anthony ClarkAnthony Clark (actor)Anthony Higgins Clark , is an American actor and comedian who starred in the television series Yes, Dear, in which he played the character Greg Warner.-Early life:...
's mother on the sitcom Boston CommonBoston Common (TV series)Boston Common is a television sitcom that ran on NBC from 1996–1997. It starred Anthony Clark and took place in the city of Boston. It was one of the 10 highest rated shows in its first season as it ranked 8th in the yearly ratings and was viewed by an average of 14.96 million households per episode...
. - She appeared in a season 3 episode of Veronica MarsVeronica MarsVeronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
portraying Selma Hearst, the granddaughter of the founder of Hearst College and college board member, who had faked her own kidnapping. Although Hearst College is fictional, it strongly echoes the real Stanford family history, with the founder being a railroad tycoon rather than a media baron.
Musical references
- Patti SmithPatti SmithPatricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
's 1974 cover of the popular 1960s song, "Hey JoeHey Joe"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
", is recast as a comment on Hearst's ordeal at the hands of the SLA—portraying her as Joe "with a gun in her hand". This recording, which begins with a salacious monologue by Smith about Hearst's kidnapping and the SLA terror spree, was made when Hearst was still a captive and several members of the SLA were still at large. - Juliette LewisJuliette LewisJuliette Lewis is an American actress and musician. She gained international fame for her role in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear for which she was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress...
pays homage to Patty Hearst in the music video "Terra Incognita" (2010). - Warren ZevonWarren ZevonWarren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
's song "Roland the Headless Thompson GunnerRoland the Headless Thompson Gunner"Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" is a song composed by Warren Zevon and David Lindell and performed by Zevon. It was first released on his 1978 album Excitable Boy. It is the last song he ever performed in front of an audience, on the Late Show with David Letterman, before his death in...
" makes a reference to Hearst in the lyric "Patty Hearst / heard the burst / of Roland's Thompson gun / and bought it". - The Misfits song "She" is about Hearst. The lyrics reference Hearst's participation in the San Francisco bank robbery of 1974: "She walked out with empty arms, machine gun in her hand/She is good and she is bad, no one understands/She walked in in silence, never spoke a word/She's got a rich daddy, she's her daddy's girl".
- Ice CubeIce CubeO'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
references Patty Hearst in his song Cave Bitch on his album Lethal Injection. - Camper Van BeethovenCamper Van BeethovenCamper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...
honors Patty Hearst in both the song Tania and the album on which it appears, Our Beloved Revolutionary SweetheartOur Beloved Revolutionary SweetheartOur Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart is a 1988 album by Camper Van Beethoven, released on Virgin Records. It was the band's first major-label album, and was produced by Dennis Herring, the first time the band had used an outside producer....
. - Black Box Recorder released a song in 2003 called "Kidnapping an Heiress" in their album "England Made Me" about the kidnapping of Patty Hearst.
- Frank TurnerFrank TurnerFrank Turner is an English folk/punk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Winchester. Initially the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. To date, Turner has released four solo albums, two rarities...
's song, "I am Disappeared," from England Keep My BonesEngland Keep My BonesEngland Keep My Bones is the fourth studio album by London-based singer-songwriter Frank Turner, released on June 6, 2011, on Xtra Mile in the United Kingdom, and on June 7, 2011, on Epitaph Records worldwide...
references Hearst in the lyrics, "Dreams of pirate ships and Patty Hearst/Breaking through a life over rehearsed/She can't remember which came first/The house the home or the terrible thirst/She keeps having dreams." - Smoke Or FireSmoke or FireSmoke or Fire is an American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts.The band originally formed in 1998, when western Massachusetts native Joe McMahon got together with Chris Brand , Bill Ironfield , and Nick Maggiore , hailing from New Hampshire...
's song, "The Patty Hearst Syndrome," a single from their 2007 album; This Sinking Ship, obviously references Hearst in the title, as well as the SLA in the song's lyrics. The song is about rebellion of rich youth. - The alternative rock band, Sonic YouthSonic YouthSonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
talks about Patty Hearst and her connection to the SLA on the deluxe edition of their 1990 album Goo. They also feature the famous photo of Patty Hearst standing posed with a gun in their recent music video Sacred Trickster. - Franco-German indie group Stereo TotalStereo TotalStereo Total is a Berlin-based multilingual, French-German duo comprising Françoise Cactus and Brezel Göring . Both Cactus and Göring sing and play multiple instruments...
included a song called "Patty Hearst" on their 2007 album "Paris-Berlin". In it, they sing about being pursued by government agents and ask Patty Hearst for help. - American stoner rockStoner rockStoner rock or stoner metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features a bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and 'retro' production...
band Karma To BurnKarma to BurnKarma to Burn, sometimes known as K2B, is a desert rock/stoner metal band from Morgantown, West Virginia comprising guitarist William Mecum, bassist Rich Mullins, and drummer Rob Oswald...
have a song on their self titled debut entitled Patty Hearst's Closet Mantra.
External links
- CNN Patty Hearst Interview Transcript
- Who2? Bio
- The story of Patty Hearst on Crime Library
- Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst PBS web site
- An excerpt from Patty’s Got a Gun: Patricia Hearst in 1970s America by William Graebner