The name John Lilly might conjure many images: scientist; physician; the inspiration behind William Hurt’s character in the psychedelic cinema classic Altered States; don’t forget dolphin whisperer. John Lilly contained multitudes and I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this look back at the man and his work from the Stuff To Blow Your Mind podcast at the How Stuff Works site…

The figure of John C. Lilly as psychedelic dolphin communicator burns in the collective memory as a counterculture avatar, yet his legacy embodies far more than the mythologized and/or vilified figure that most of us know. Join Robert and Christian as they examine the life, career and ideas of Lilly the scientist, Lilly the counterespionage researcher and Lilly the psychonaut. Welcome to the province of the mind.

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Russell had a penchant for taking sexual and religious themes head-on and he courted controversy with every film. His over-the-top production style was declared pretentious by some and genius by others, but it never failed to generate attention and to provoke.

A number of Russell’s early television projects revolved around his love of classical music, offering creative, biographical studies of composers he admired. Perhaps of more interest to readers of this blog are a number of Russell’s films that championed sexual freedom while often embracing a psychedelic aesthetic, establishing him as a visionary voice of the counterculture: Women in Love, The Boyfriend, The Who’s Tommy, The Devils, Altered States and The Lair of the White Worm.

Here is a great little primer on the man and his work that was put together by BBC 2.

Russell’s autobiography Altered States is another great place to learn more about this man and his movies.

Stay awake!

Watch this performance of my OccupySong at Occupy Congress in DC!