Today we celebrate the 1931 birthday of author Tom Wolfe who became a hero of the counterculture with the 1968 publication of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test — an experimental report on the drug culture surrounding Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. Wolfe is a New Journalism pioneer whose use of fictional devices in his non-fiction reporting represented a literary breakthrough that found Wolfe aligned with lions like Hunter S. Thompson, Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Terry Southern and Norman Mailer.

Here’s The Word According to Tom Wolfe…

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Comic genius and all-around super strange dude, Peter Sellers was born 90 years ago on September 8, 1925, and he died 35 years ago on July 24, 1980. Now that we’re somewhere right between these auspicious dates, it seemed like a good time to remember the great jester with this bizarre film about his bizarre life. It’s a weird 1969 Peter Sellers documentary, made to promote The Magic Christian. Sellers starred opposite Ringo Starr in that Joseph McGrath-directed film. Sellers portrayed Sir Guy Grand, an eccentric billionaire who plays elaborate practical jokes on people. The critic Irv Slifkin remarked that the film was a reflection of the cynicism of Peter Sellers, describing the film as a “proto-Pythonesque adaption of Terry Southern’s semi-free-form short novel”, and “one of the strangest films to be shown at a gala premiere for Britain’s royal family.” The film, a satire on human nature, was in general viewed negatively by critics. Roger Greenspun of The New York Times believed that the film was of variable quality and summarised it as a “brutal satire”.

This documentary features appearances by Ringo, Paul and Linda, and John. The documentary was never repeated by the BBC, possibly due to the fact that Peter Sellers thought he came across as depressed — and he’s really got something there. Spike Milligan narrates and dissects Peter’s persona in the process. An online blurb warns that this documentary includes strong scenes (bullfight, open heart surgery, nudity) and language.

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People who know me know I love to read and during the holidays I look forward to the books I’m inevitably gifted almost as much as I look forward to the fun, food, family and friends. I’ve been plowing through some of the books St. Nick sent my way and am planning on mentioning some of them here as I finish them up.

The first book I’ve read in 2013 is a biography of writer/director/actor/painter/photographer and art collector Dennis Hopper. Hopper started acting as a teenager in movies like Rebel Without a Cause, and he became famous as the director and co-star of Easy Rider – the film that more or less marks the beginning of the New American Cinema that was to take over movie screens in the 1970′s. Of course, Hopper famously imploded into a spiral of drugs and drink before rebounding as an actor in movies like Blue Velvet and Speed, and as a director with flicks like the Los Angeles gang drama Colors.

I enjoyed Dennis Hopper: The Wild Ride of a Hollywood Rebel and I’d definitely recommend it for anyone who is curious about the man, his remarkable career and crazy personal life. That said, I’ve read a ton about Hopper and his films and I’ve watched every documentary about him and his work that I’ve been able to find. If you are a student of Hopperdom, you may find Peter L. Winkler’s prose a bit hacky. He lifts lots of quotes and interviews wholesale from various Hopper documentaries and television appearances and seems to race through his subject with little unique exploration or insight. The book’s cover brags about its being the first full accounting of Hopper and his work published since his death in 2010 and Wild Ride sometimes feels like a race to the store bookshelves instead of a journey through a remarkable life. That said, there’s plenty of information about the man and the movies here, and it looks to be the best place to start for folks interested in Hopper’s considerable contributions to acting, directing and photography. If you’re looking for the deeper exploration the subject deserves, it seems we’re still waiting for that book.

In 1983, following his lecture at Rice University in Houston, Texas, Hopper and busloads of audience members set off for a local speedway where he proceeded to strap himself into a special contraption rigged with dynamite. With luminaries like Terry Southern and Wim Wenders along for the ride, Hopper proceeded to set-off a pretty massive explosion before staggering out of the smoke and soon after checking into rehab.