Perhaps its a lust for life? A certain je na sais quois . . . the X-factor; whatever you want to call it, these men and women are imbued with a magnetic spirit that entices us to go above and beyond- and invoke our deepest self!
Over the years, we’ve truly learned that cool is absolutely timeless, and classic style never fades, but it never hurts to give your own zest over to showcase why you stand out from the crowd.
Notoriously casted by Sally Dennison during a year long search to find America’s new rebel icon – Dennison spotted Frechette, a handsome 20 year old carpenter, throwing a flower pot at a woman on the streets of Boston (while another account describes him arguing vigorously with a third floor tenant of an apartment building), and the rest is history.
“He’s twenty, and he hates”
Sally Dennison
Bad ass to the core, don’t let this pretty face fool you – this guy’s got attitude for daze.
His effortless cool is emphasized by a distinctly American edge – denim shirts, oxford shirts, khakis, piercing blues, and perfectly unkempt brunette hair all juxtaposed by a rebellious heart. Very much a U.S. incarnation of Alain Delon (another E.O.F. {STYLE IDOL} )!
Mark Frechette quickly became a sensation even before the film was released, with much fuss and anticipation over Antonioni’s take on the counter-culture movement spreading like wildfire throughout the States. Frechette appeared on the cover of LOOK magazine, Rolling Stone, and even shot an editorial for VOGUE magazine in 1969 solidifying him as the next great all-American hero.
However, a wild heart has no bounds, and while Frechette made two films after Zabriskie Point in Europe ( Many Wars (1970) & La Grand Scofa Negra (1971) ) – his acting career was prematurely cut short by his bad ass antics.
Aiming to collect 5 million dollars to produce an American take on Dostoyevsky’s classic Crime and Punishment alongside Hungarian film maker Dezso Magyar, Frechette attempted to rob a Boston bank at gunpoint . . . unsuccessfully.
“[M]y first friend was Mark Frechette, protagonist of the film Zabriskie Point. We wanted to make a film, to adapt a part of ‘Crime and Punishment’ because we felt that America was like a Dostoyevsky-type world. Mark said that he would get the money in Boston. He phoned me every second day and always assured me that he almost had the money. One day he called me and said that he would bring the 5 million dollars the next day. Great! I was watching TV in the evening when it was announced that … Mark Frechette attempted to rob a bank at gunpoint … and was arrested.”
So who knows what could of come from Mark Frechette’s career if he had gotten away with the robbery, and produced his dream film?!
Things unfortunately got even worse for the matinee idol who died in Prison from a tragic weightlifting accident involving a 150 lb barbell that fell onto his neck suffocating him to death, and reminding us all the importance of having a spotter when lifting heavy weights.
He was 27 years old.
Classic, right?!
They say only the good die young…
That just ain’t right.
WHO DO YOU THINK IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP?
LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
+
ITCHING FROM INSPIRATION? GET THE LOOK!
Mark Frechette is all about being effortless and relaxed. To keep it fresh, play with different textures, and look for cool details like embroidery or subtle patterns like stripes.
Pair it with your favourite pair of jeans, and a pair of desert boots and you’re pretty much set.
The most important piece to gather is your bad ass confidence- the most versatile accessory. This will truly elevate the look, and any other spirit you wish to invocate.
Here’s some ideas by yours truly!
+
Vintage Mens Blue Denim Graphic Stripe Long Sleeve Shirt
BRAND: 955 JEANS SIZE {LARGE} MADE IN HONG KONG 100 % COTTON
PIT TO PIT: 23″ LENGTH (FRONT): 29″ LENGTH (BACK): 31″ SHOULDER TO SLEEVE: 32″
It’s a tragedy really that many of our world’s most talented people can go unnoticed for so long. But now, with the advent of the internet, we are constantly rediscovering precious gems of our rich collective history and culture!
Like, Bobby Banas!
Bobby Banas swinging his hips and hair for some major 1960s swag.
You might have noticed this 60s bad ass popping up all over the interweb recently for his wild poppin’, non-stoppin’ style in a 1964 segment of The Judy Garland Show showcasing the latest youth dance craze – the Nitty Gritty!
Go figure that over 50 years after the fact, he would become a viral sensation. Time is funny like that . . .
We say it all the time; style isn’t just what you wear – it’s how you live! And judging from this bad boy’s dance moves, Bobby has enough style to give for all of us.
Tell me after watching this you don’t feel inspired!
We were surprised/not surprised to find out this rebel dancer was also featured in the epitomizing classic masterpiece WEST SIDE STORY in the iconic Jets gang, and also made out with Marilyn Monroe in the 1950 flick “Let’s Make Love”.
To our knowledge, Bobby Banas, a resident New Yorker, is live and well to this day.
Hope he’s enjoying his glory, and hope you are too.
Here at The Eye of Faith we worship the spirit of individuality. Escaping the everyday, and letting your uniqueness shine is something Andy Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis was no stranger to.
Born February 19, 1947 in New York City; Jackie Curtis slayed the scene with a gender bending style and booming persona that should never be forgotten.
That’s why we’re bringing her from the clutches of the past to the forefront, and it’s no better time, really; gender is undergoing quite a shift in this last decade, and many changes are still abound.
Our faithful correspondent John Wisniewski spoke with film maker and author Craig Highberger whose 2005 film “Superstar in a Housedress” explored the star’s groundbreaking art and life!
{ J.W. } What interested you about the life of star Jackie Curtis, Craig?
{C.H.} I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is Andy Warhol’s hometown. My Uncle Sam Highberger had gone to Carnegie Mellon University with Andy and was in some of his classes and talked about him and so I became aware of and I loved Warhol’s art and that whole world. I also loved new wave cinema and without telling my parents I snuck out to these film screenings at Carnegie Mellon of Warhol’s films “Chelsea Girls” and “Flesh”.
And in “Flesh” there is this scene I will never forget, in which Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling, in drag, are sitting on a couch reading a movie magazine and chatting while nearby Joe Dallesandro is getting a BJ from Gerri Miller! I was 16 years old and I mean this was just fabulous to me!
In high school I was very aware of what was going on in New York City, pop art, Max’s Kansas City, the Warhol scene. I knew I wanted to be a part of that. There was a magazine out of New York called “After Dark” magazine that had these really hot photos of Joe Dallesandro, and Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling by photographer Jack Mitchell. I wanted to go to film school in New York and meet Andy Warhol and the Superstars and that is just what happened.
I was a freshman at NYU the fall of 1972, it was just a few years after Stonewall and gay liberation was happening and the first NYU gay student group wanted the University to allow the group to meet officially on campus and the administration did not immediately agree to this so there was a big demonstration announced – a sleep-in, actually in the basement of my dormitory at NYU and Jackie Curtis showed up for it in his signature drag, because Jackie knew that there would be press coverage and maybe TV cameras and Jackie was a publicity hound. And I was just entranced, I recognized him immediately and introduced, told him I was from Pittsburgh, that I loved Andy Warhol, that I loved him (Curtis) in “Flesh” and “Women in Revolt”, that I was majoring in film and television and wanted to film his plays and performances documentary style.
We became instant friends. And I went around with Curtis to parties, to Max’s Kansas City, we hung out with Holly Woodlawn (who is still a great friend), Candy Darling, and I met Andy Warhol a couple of times.
In 1974 Jackie played the starring role in his play “Glamor, Glory and Gold: the Life and Legend of Nola Noonan, Goddess and Star”, it was off-Broadway at the Truck and Warehouse Theater on the Lower East Side across the street from La Mama directed by Ron Link. And I told Ron I wanted to film the entire play and he allowed me to if I would show it at cocktail parties for his prospective backers. So I did that.
Everything about Jackie was amazing and exciting and I really wanted to make a documentary about Curtis’ life from the moment I met him. I loved Jackie.
{J.W.} How and when did Jackie Curtis meet Andy Warhol?
{C.H.} Jackie told me in August 1967 he and Candy Darling were walking in Greenwich Village and Jackie saw Andy Warhol and Fred Hughes coming out of the Leather Man store on Christopher Street.
Warhol had just bought some leather pants. Jackie ran up to Andy and introduced himself and asked for his autograph on the shopping bag Curtis was toting around. Warhol asked Jackie what was in the bag and Curtis told him it was satin shorts for the tap dancing scene in his play “Glamour, Glory and Gold” which was opening in September, Jackie invited him to come.
Jackie told me he went to the Factory with four tickets and gave them personally to Andy Warhol. He came and afterwards congratulated Curtis, the author and the start of the performance, Melba LaRose, Jr. played the lead Nola Noonan, and Candy Darling played Estelle and was reviewed as a woman. Curtis asked Andy Warhol for a review quote and Warhol said of the play: “For the first time, I wasn’t bored” which they used in advertisements!
{J.W.} Jackie starred in the Paul Morrissey directed film “Flesh”. What was that like for Jackie? How did this film come about, Craig?
{C.H.} Warhol’s “Flesh” was Paul Morrissey’s response to “Midnight Cowboy” which was filming on location in New York City in 1968. Morrissey knew that Hollywood would tone down the subject matter and nudity and wanted to do something more gritty about a hustler (played by Joe Dallesandro) working the streets trying to raise money for his wife’s girlfriend’s abortion – talk about controversy in 1968 – that very concept was designed to stir up publicity and fill movie theater seats, especially with Warhol’s name attached to it.
Warhol and Morrissey already knew Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling and so Morrissey came up with an idea to have them sit on a couch and talk extemporaneously about a movie magazine while Joe Dallesandro is getting a blowjob from Geri Miller practically next to them in the same room!
This was Jackie’s dream, to be in a movie in theatrical release on the big screen, and you bet that Curtis went to every screening and that it propelled him into more self-publicity (I believe this was the moment Curtis had 1000 Jackie Curtis shopping bags printed up which were sold in Greenwich Village head shops)!
{J.W.} Could you tell us about The Jack Mitchell Archives, Craig?
{C.H.} When I first began thinking about making “Superstar in a Housedress” I knew I would need lots of archival photographs of Jackie Curtis, and Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling, Andy Warhol and the whole crowd. And I immediately thought I need Jack Mitchell photographs, he photographed them more than any other photographer. But how was I ever going to afford license fees? I got on Google and did some research and found that Jack Mitchell had retired in 1995, he lived in New Smyrna Beach, Florida and he did not have a website. So I thought I will offer to do a website for him and to be his webmaster in exchange for the rights to his photographs. And that is just what happened.
Jack and his partner Bob Pavlik came to the opening night of the film at Film Forum in New York and everyone was there, they were very impressed, and loved the film and seeing his photographs in a feature length film in a theater with a packed audience. And the film toured film festivals and we had a theatrical run and it was broadcast on cable and Jack loved it all. It brought him new attention. And I called him and said I know what my next documentary subject is and it is you!
+Jackie Curtis by Jack Mitchell+
I want to do a film about your life and work. And he was very pleased and excited. He put me in touch with people who were old friends and people he had photographed who loved his work that I could interview on camera, like Broadway diva Patti LuPone, playwright Edward Albee, Alvin Ailey dancer Judith Jamison, famed choreographer Merce Cunningham, and many others.
And I made the film “Jack Mitchell: My Life is Black and White” and Jack said that it was the greatest honor of his life. He and Bob came to the opening in New York and they came to film festival screenings and Jack did Q&A sessions afterwards with me and he loved it so much.
About a year later Jack and Bob called me and told me that they had decided to leave me Jack’s archives, the entirety of his life’s work, all the vintage photographs, his negatives and color transparencies, his files and memorabilia, everything. Bob died in 2009 at the age of 77 during an operation. Four years later on November 7, 2013 Jack died just weeks after his 88th birthday. I was there with him when he passed away and moved his archives to a vault.
A few months later I began the full time work of cataloguing and digitizing everything. It is a huge job. Jack Mitchell’s career as a professional photographer began just after World War II, when he moved to New York City and continued for about the next five decades. The negative files are almost 6000 photo sessions and there are thousands of boxes of color transparencies as well. There are 77 boxes of vintage prints. I have been working on it for almost two years and have many years of work left. It is very exciting and I make new discoveries with every box I open and every negative file that I scan.
{J.W.} What was Jackie Curtis’ finest hour?
{C.H.} Jackie Curtis’ finest hour? Any of the countless hours Jackie performed – whether is was in his hit play Glamour Glory and Gold, or Cabaret in the Sky, Vain Victory, or singing at his grandmother’s Slugger Ann’s Bar – Curtis was an incredible star of amazing brilliance. So many people remarked upon his being a genius: La Mama founder Ellen Stewart and comic icon Lily Tomlin among them.
Jackie Curtis had an electric charismatic magnetism that enthralled and thrilled audiences. I loved Jackie. Jackie put all of himself into every performance for the love of the art, and that is why it is really impossible for me to zero in on one performance, one hour, one moment. Now that he is gone, I think of him and a whole kaleidoscope of incredibly beautiful moments of sublime artistry blossom in my mind. As others have said, he was sui generis – absolutely unique.
{J.W.} What will your next book be about, Craig? Any other projects that you wish to tell us about?
{C.H.} I have been working on the Jack Mitchell Archives (cataloging boxes of vintage prints, and scanning negatives and color transparencies) since Jack’s death two years ago. There is a lot of material for my memoirs including several years I spent running around with Curtis. I am going to work at what may be my memoirs, but potentially could take a new form (film or multimedia) because I have the journals, and visual and audio elements as well.
Best known for his role as the “good” brother in Elia Kazan’s classic 1955 American drama “East of Eden” co-starring the one and only rebel king, James Dean! His handsome face and perfectly coiffed hair rival the iconic mens style idol himself. . .
You can also spot Davalos as Blind Dick in the Paul Newman classic “Cool Hand Luke”. So, lets celebrate some of the classic cool styles he has donned, and his impenetrable friendship with the greatest mens style icon of all time.
“Twenty years after he played Aron to Jimmy’s Cal, Dick Davalos seemed unable to shake off the effects of his contact with Jimmy. In 1973, after interviewing Davalos for The Mutant King, I casually walked him to his car. With terrifying suddenness he turned and shouted at the top of his voice: “YOU FINISHED?” ….It was only later that I realized it was a line from East of Eden, and Davalos was still playing Aron; two decades later he was still delivering that line with the same suppressed fury he’s unleashed on James Dean before Jimmy would knock him to the ground. What a blow that phantom dealt him!“
“I came from a very hardened punk background in the late 80’s and early 90’s and my early films really projected that. Of course there have been aspects of the more mainstream-type stuff I’m currently doing that, at first, have been difficult to navigate due to my past. But I’m learning. It’s a very rewarding process and I’m loving it.”
-Johnny Terris
Johnny Terris is one bad ass dude.
A true Renaissance man, Johnny has engaged in roles as actor, film maker, author, model, photographer and painter. Best known for his transgressive, violent punk-influenced films that were far from mainstream, even in the indie sense; Johnny would distribute his earliest on VHS in the streets of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to strangers. He even went as far to use his own blood in scenes!
Legendary for being asked to be Johnny Depp’s double in the early 90s – Johnny, in true rebel fashion, turned it down. Now he continues his work as an actor (AKA Edward Terris) in the TV miniseries “Sex & Violence”, which co-stars Academy Award winning actress, Olympia Dukakis.
The Eye of Faith is honoured to post this interview with a true pioneer of the subversively cool right here in the True North Strong and Free!
Special thanks to our correspondent John Wisniewski for the interview.
JW: When did you begin making films and and acting, Johnny?
JT: I started doing movies around 1987 when I was 14 years old. Basically out of boredom living in a small town. My cousin, who was also my best friend, would film various things typical boys would do and then just decided to make a movie one day. We were heavily influenced by retro horror and grind house style film and my work of course reflected that. I never fit in with anyone in the small town where I lived and neither did he, so doing films were an outlet for us, an expression. When I left home at 16, I became angrier and had an axe to grind with the world, so they eventually became more graphic and explicit and transgressive.
JW: Why did you decide to write an autobiographical novel?
JT: I started writing Sinister Splendor & Broken Glass back around 2002 but shelved it for many years. I originally started to write it for myself only, basically for therapeutic purposes because in 2001, the love of my life became a missing person and was never found so I thought writing about it would help with dealing with it. From there it just kind of spiraled into writing about my life from childhood, my early years on the street doing underground films and present stuff. The next thing I knew I pretty much had a book.
I compiled it together and released the first draft in 2011. It has since changed direction. Instead of an autobiography, it’s now more of a fictional character story that is set in the 1970’s and 1980’s, about a guy named Aaron, that is heavily based on my life instead of being about my life. That’s the third and final draft and the most recent one.
Nobody really knows who I am, and I’m sure most of the world wouldn’t care anyway so I decided to make it fiction that is based on me with characters based on my friends an family instead of the standard autobiography. It made it more interesting to me that way. And I think to others reading it too. The book is still my life, but the characters are different.
JW: Any artists that have influenced your work?
JT: A few artists have influenced me in big way, Richard Kern and The Cinema Of Transgression were probably the biggest influence on me in terms of my own films. Retro 70’s and 80’s horror played a huge part as well. Early Dario Argento played a huge part. Grindhouse flicks, drive-in movies form that period.
From a very young age I was really influenced by a lot of vintage heterosexual porn too like Devil In Miss Jones, Devil Inside Her, Behind The Green Door etc. All the really strange and surreal X-rated films of that period. Early John Waters of course played an influence, especially in my early work.
Musically I was, and still am, obsessed with the NWOBHM/New Wave Of British Heavy Metal from the late 70’s and early 80’s. Bands like Girlschool, Motorhead, Plasmatics/Wendy O Williams, Saxon, Turbonegro, Judas Priest, bands like that. Tight jeans, white t-shirt, spiked wristband, leather jacket wearing, sneering bands. A lot of punk-tinged heavy metal from that period. Listening to that stuff gets me in writing mode immediately.
JW: Do you enjoy acting?
JT: Yeah of course, I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it. I’m actually more comfortable in front of the camera being someone else than I am in my personal life. It’s always been that way. When I was a little kid I used to memorize scripts at the age of 9 or 10 years old and perform every character in my bedroom by myself for hours on end. Acting has always triggered something in me, as far back as I can remember.
JW: You once doubled for Johnny Depp. What was that like?
JT: I never doubled for Johnny Depp. I was asked to when I was younger and living in Los Angeles but I was moving back to Canada at the time. I wouldn’t have done it anyway. I have no desire to be another actor, or anyone other than myself.
JW: What is your opinion of Hollywood and Hollywood movies?
JT: When I first went to Hollywood it was nothing like I expected it to be. It was actually pretty grimy and trashy. The Rainbow Bar & Grill was always fun. The Whiskey was fun. I don’t have a problem with mainstream cinema or the Hollywood stuff; it’s not exactly my thing, but being older now I’m not as ferocious against it like I used to be.
I used to revolt against it in a really hardcore way. But I’m currently one of the leads in a television series with Olympia Dukakis (who is an Oscar winner) so I’ve obviously tamed a bit in the old age and don’t care about that as much haha.
Most Hollywood films are formula and neatly packed for selling purposes and because of that it’s the same stuff just rehashed over and over again with a different title, and I personally find that very boring. Hollywood is very loud and explosive and action packed. They make and market their films that way. I prefer psychological films that are slower in tone and make you think.
JW: Are you a horror film fan? Any favorite horror films, Johnny?
JT: Yeah I am a huge horror fan, I grew up on them and they are a huge influence. My mother was a huge lover of horror movies and nothing was really ever censored from me so I was watching stuff like ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ when I was just a little kid. I usually prefer the physiological ones over the gore. I have lots of favorite horror films, though my favorite one would have to be the original ‘Carrie’.
JW: Are you working on any screenplays, Johnny?
JT: Nothing really big right now, no. I’m very slowly writing a screenplay/script which is a greaser-style drama film about two brothers and their alcoholic father. But that’s a work in progress and who knows how that will evolve; too early to tell right now. I am though, currently helping a friend of mine shoot his apocalyptic style film.
We had been anticipating watching this one for some time, and finally this past weekend we indulged in a masterpiece called Suspiria! Starring a young Jessica Harper who’s starred in The Phantom of theParadise and Rocky Horror Picture Show II, and keeps us entertained to this very day as the Crabby Cook.
This is tale of an elite european ballet School where collecting on debt is a ‘charming habit’ of the students(insert the very sexy and very shadey Barbara Magnolfi), and the teacher’s and staff know more about the historic ballet school then they’d ever to let on.
From the Blind Pianist, to a creepy little blonde boy, this flick has got it all, including a killer soundtrack!
Drawn in by the Euro-Horror King, Dario Argento’s name alone, we knew we’d be in for some fun gore, sexy girls, and supernatural spooks, but were clueless to where the story may lead us other than reading a brief synopsis before hand. To our delight, every scene was as beautiful as the last!
With a set as beautiful as any work of art, adorned in blue and red velvet wallpaper, labyrinths of stripes, a wide assortment of stained glass windows, shiny black lackerred wood panels and door’s, mile high ceilings, and an opulent Serpent staircase we’d love to climb.
We are introduced to the school through the eyes of a wide -eyed newcomer , played by Jessica Harper, who quickly grows suspicious of the happenings within the domineering school.
Upon her arrival, she witness a leggy buck-toothed blond fleeing from the school in a rainstorm, and learns the next morning of the school escapees dreadful fate (emphasis on the wide assortment of stained glass…).
Odd events lead to odder. Must be more than Voodoo? With everyday shrouded in mysteries, it isn’t until our heroin shares her suspicions with her classmate, played by lovely Stefani Casini, that the puzzle truly begins to come together. Leading Harper to a Psychiatric Convention and conversations of Witches and Covens. Speculation leads to proof when it’s realized the Ballet school was founded by a great and powerful Witch who was said to be killed in a fire at the turn of the century.
If you’re a fan of Black Swan or Rocky Horror Picture Show, this one’s for you!
This is no chick flick by any means despite the gaggle of gals in ballet shoes. Scene after scene, Dario Argento will keep you shocked and in suspense as this tale unravels. Enjoy the Eyeful of opulence but be prepared for some gross yet charming gut-turning death’s.
Well well well, Halloweens nearly here. Just around the corner! And we feel as if we cannot get ahead on posting all the spooky ghoulish goodies that we’d love to bring to our readers. Today we renounce the horror of Halloween and reflect on a time back in the 1940s, we know our retro readers will enjoy.
Starring a vivacious Veronica Lake as Jennifer, a 15th century Witch, brought into the present time with her father Daniel. Both were imprisoned in a tree until a bolt of lightning freed the pair. In an effort to exact revenge, Jennifer sets out in a diabolical plan to find the ancestors of the bigots who burnt her and her father centuries before.
High-jinks ensue in this romantic comedy, as Jennifer tracks down the puritan Jonathan Wooley (played by Fredric March), who is unhappily engaged at present. The ambitious witch crafts a plan to steal and marry the man, but the only way she can entice him to her eccentric ways is by using a Love Potion.
Tensions mounted on the set, and Lake had a rebellious steak. Making a reputation for herself as being difficult to work with, sneaking weight’s under her dress when March was scripted to effortlessly carry her away. And antics such as wedging her heel into the leading actors foot off camera to throw off her co-star. Lake would fade into obscurity as the pictures evolved in the coming years, leaving behind a legacy of luscious side swept blonde hair, and a notorious attitude of a true Witch.
+ + +++ {The Eye of Faith} Follow us on TWITTER and FACEBOOK ++ +
