Popular Culture Review Vol. 8, No. 1, February 1997 | Page 22

HIM: TIMOTHY FRANCIS LEARY, 1920• Ihe brilliant young psychologist, breaking
new theoretical and clinical ground,
• the Harvard professor conducting
research into a promising new psych
drugs,
• the media’s LSD guru and President
Nixon’s Hmost dangerous man in
America,"
• the candidate for governor of California
(his friend John Lennon wrote and
erformed his campaign song, "Come
ogether"; Ron Reagan won),
• the man arrested by future Watergate
burglar G. Gordon Liddy, convicted
(possession of marijuana), incarcerated
at Folsom Prison (where he talked with
'neighbor,' Charles Manson), escaped
from San Louis Obispo Men’s
Detention Center (enabled by his score
on a psychological test given to him by
the California Prison system, a test Dr.
Leary had written),
• the counterculture hero, legend, and
fugitive on the run, aided by the
W eatherm en... escaped to Algiers,
where he was held captive (at gun
point) by the Black Panthers...
escaped to Switzerland, captured and
returned to the USA to have his
conviction overturned by the United
States Supreme Court.
• the advocate: space migration and
cryonic suspension; computer
evangelist, cyberpunk and chaos
engineer.___________________________

H is in flu e nc e o n A m e ric a n
a nd glob a l co un t e rcult ur e will b e
felt long a ft er his h e a d is s e v e r e d
a n d fro z e n in liquid nitrog e n.
T h e y e a rs I sp e n t with Tim o t h y
a s his p a l a n d p artn e r a n d,
a cc ord ing to him, “s o n I a lw a ys
w a n t e d ” g a v e m e s o m e insight,
h o w e v e r limit ed, into this
historica lly a n d cultura lly
significa nt figure. Th o s e y e a rs
includ e d th e j a ilh o us e suicid e of
his d a u gh t e r, s e v e r e financi al
difficulties a m id s o a ring popul arity,
th e e nd of his fifth m a rri a g e .
A N IN TE R -P E R S O N A L INTE R-V IE W .
Tim o t h y h a t e d it w h e n s o m e o n e
re f erred to him a s a n “a u thority,”
e v e n o n things h e was a n a uthority.
In t ho s e m o m e n t s I a lw a ys tho ugh t
of Ein st e in. Alb ert l a m e n t e d that,
h a ving b e e n a n o p p o n e n t of
Au th ori ty all his life, a s th e ultimat e
jo k e th e Un iv e rs e m a d e him
Authority.

DR. TIMOTHY LEARY, PERFORMANCE. All soci e ti e s a n d all
cu lt ure s of f er th e rol e. W e n e e d s o m e o n e to JUST SAY KNOW! T o
t hro w th e Tic k t o c k m a n off s c h e d ul e , a s did th e H a rl e q u in in H a rl a n
Ellis o n’s story “‘R e p e n t H a rl e q u in!’ S a id th e Tic k t o c k m a n .” Tim o t h y
L e a ry p