Vito Paulekas
Encyclopedia
Vitautus Alphonsus "Vito" Paulekas (20 May 1913 - 25 October 1992) was an American
artist and bohemian
, who was most notable for his leading role in the Southern California
"freak scene
" of the 1960s, and his influence on musicians including The Byrds
, Love
and Frank Zappa
.
Paulekas was born in Lowell, Massachusetts
, the son of Lithuanian immigrants. After some time spent in a reformatory
as a teenager, he learned wood carving and won competitions as a marathon dancer
in the 1930s. He was convicted of armed robbery in 1938, but was released in 1942 and joined the US Merchant Marine. Around 1946, he moved to Los Angeles
where, by the early 1960s, he had set up home on Beverly Boulevard
. There he established an art studio where he "made a living of sorts by giving clay modeling lessons to Beverly Hills matrons who found the atmosphere in his studio exciting," and also ran dance classes. His wife, Szou (b. Sueanne 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
), 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
, Paulekas' "free thinking lifestyle and artistic passion inspired beatnik
s, aspiring existentialists and Valley girl
s in need of rebellion." In 1964, Paulekas offered rehearsal space to the Byrds, 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
, and members of the Fraternity of Man
- occupied the Log Cabin in Laurel Canyon formerly occupied by Tom Mix
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, 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!
. He appeared in several documentaries of the period, including Mondo Hollywood
(1967) and You Are What You Eat
(1968).
After Richard Nixon
's election as US President in 1968, he moved to Haiti
and later Jamaica
, before returning to settle in Cotati, California
. 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 the mid-1970s. They had four children, at least one of whom, Godo, died as a child. Paulekas died in Cotati in 1992, aged 79.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist and bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
, who was most notable for his leading role in the Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
"freak scene
Freak scene
The freak scene was a term used by a slightly post-hippie and pre-punk style of bohemian subculture. It referred to overlaps between politicised pacifist post-hippies, generally non-political progressive rock fans, and non-political Psychedelic music and Psychedelia fans...
" of the 1960s, and his influence on musicians including The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, Love
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
and Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
.
Paulekas was born in Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, the son of Lithuanian immigrants. After some time spent in a reformatory
Reformatory
Reformatory is a term that has had varied meanings within the penal system, depending on the jurisdiction and the era. It may refer to a youth detention center, or an adult correctional facility. The term is still in popular use for adult facilities throughout the United States, although most...
as a teenager, he learned wood carving and won competitions as a marathon dancer
Dance marathon
A dance marathon is an event in which people stay on their feet for a given length of time. It started as a popular fad in the 1920s and 1930s, when organized dance endurance contests attracted people to compete to achieve fame or win monetary prizes...
in the 1930s. He was convicted of armed robbery in 1938, but was released in 1942 and joined the US Merchant Marine. Around 1946, he moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where, by the early 1960s, he had set up home on Beverly Boulevard
Beverly Boulevard
Beverly Boulevard is one of the main east-west thoroughfares in Los Angeles, California. It begins off Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills and ends on the Lucas Avenue overpass near Downtown Los Angeles to become 1st Street...
. There he established an art studio where he "made a living of sorts by giving clay modeling lessons to Beverly Hills matrons who found the atmosphere in his studio exciting," and also ran dance classes. His wife, Szou (b. Sueanne Shaffer, 1943) established a clothing boutique which was credited with being one of the first to introduce "hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
" fashions.
By about 1963, Vito, Szou, and their friend Carl Franzoni (b. 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
), 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
Johnny Rogan
Johnny Rogan is an author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He has written influential biographies of The Byrds, The Smiths and Van Morrison. His writing is characterised by "an almost neurotic attention to detail", epic length and a sometimes hostile...
, Paulekas' "free thinking lifestyle and artistic passion inspired beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
s, aspiring existentialists and Valley girl
Valley girl
Valley Girl is a stereotype leveled at a socio-economic and ethnic class of American women who can be described as colloquial English-speaking and materialistic...
s in need of rebellion." In 1964, Paulekas offered rehearsal space to the Byrds, and the following year the troupe of free-form dancers, with Paulekas and Franzoni, accompanied the group on their nationwide tour. Later, Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee may refer to:*Arthur Lee , U.S. envoy to France*Arthur Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham , British soldier and diplomat*Arthur Lee , American psychedelic-rock musician...
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 GTOs
The GTOs were a "groupie group" that consisted of Miss Pamela , Miss Sparky , Miss Lucy , Miss Christine , Miss Sandra , Miss Mercy and Miss Cynderella...
, and members of the Fraternity of Man
Fraternity of Man
The Fraternity of Man is an American blues rock and psychedelic rock group from the 1960s. They are most famous for their 1968 song "Don't Bogart That Joint," which was featured in the 1969 road movie Easy Rider...
- occupied the Log Cabin in Laurel Canyon formerly occupied by Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
and later by Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
. Credited as "Vito and the Hands", Paulekas recorded a single, "Where It's At," which featured some of the Mothers of Invention, with producer Kim Fowley
Kim Fowley
Kim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
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!
Freak Out! is the debut album by American band The Mothers of Invention, released June 27, 1966 on Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, the album is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture...
. He appeared in several documentaries of the period, including Mondo Hollywood
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:...
(1967) and You Are What You Eat
You Are What You Eat (film)
You Are What You Eat is a 1968 American counter culture semi-documentary movie that attempts to capture the essence of the 1960s flower power hippie era and the Haight & Ashbury scene...
(1968).
After Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's election as US President in 1968, he moved to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and later Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, before returning to settle in Cotati, California
Cotati, California
Cotati is an incorporated city in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., located about north of San Francisco in the 101 corridor between Rohnert Park and Petaluma....
. There, he and Franzoni established the Freestore street theatre
Street theatre
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves and street corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are...
and performance group, and built a bandstand for the town as well as contributing sculptures.
He and Szou divorced in the mid-1970s. They had four children, at least one of whom, Godo, died as a child. Paulekas died in Cotati in 1992, aged 79.