The Committee: Watts Translator 1965

November 24, 2020November 24, 2020 The Committee Movie

John Brent and Mel Stewart. Photo by Fred Ross.

A while ago Alan Myerson lent us some reel to reel tapes and audio cassettes for use in our documentary project. WIth the help of the Bay Area Video Coalition, we digitized a number of reel to reel recordings from 1965-1967. We’ve found many gems, including recordings of workshops with Del Close, live shows, live sets, and rehearsal recordings.

One piece of material was particularly relevant in a year that was marked by a summer of uprisings against systems of white supremacy. We’re proud to present you The Committee from December 1965, looking back on the Watts uprisings from the previous summer. With John Brent, Mel Stewart, Jessica Myerson, and Scott Beach – and music by Ellsworth Milburn and an introduction by Garry Goodrow – we give you: The Committee: Watts Translator 1965.

We hope this brings you a smile or two.

Have a safe and healthy holiday season.

Sam Shaw and Jamie Wright

John Brent’s “Bibleland”

January 19, 2019March 7, 2019 The Committee Movie

Before he joined The Committee, John Brent was poetry director at The Gaslight in Greenwich Village (alongside future Committee player Hugh Romney aka Wavy Gravy). Brent’s 1960 broadside “Bibleland”, which arrived at our doorstep this week, is exceptional piece of beat satire. And dig the packaging! And here’s the man himself reading the poem onstage at The Gaslight, from the 1961 film Greenwich Village Story. Portrait by Jerry Wainwright.

Another One from The Vault.

February 1, 2016February 12, 2016 The Committee Movie

From the vaults – found some great new footage of The Committee from their storied trip to Manhattan, KS (home town of Del Close). Really great stuff of them off stage and just enjoying the ride – super-excited to have found this!

Pictured here: Del Close, Jim Cranna, and John Brent.

Dan Barrows aka Beans Morocco.

December 29, 2015February 10, 2016 The Committee Movie

7512_637126953094909_2848571951092162105_n

Resplendent in his John Brent for Mayor campaign tee. Photo by Sam Willard.

Jerry Wainwright’s Trunk

October 21, 2015 The Committee Movie

There are two separate strands of inquiry that lead us to this trunk.

The first was inspired by Larry Hankin’s reference to a Tarot Card deck that featured members of The Committee. He couldn’t remember the name of the photographer. We chased this around for a while, but hit dead-ends and abandoned the search.

Our second, more direct, route was revealed via the tapes that we received from John Brent’s son Jeremy Paz. These tapes consisted of recorded interviews conducted by Peter Elbling in 1985 with members of The Committee, in remembrance of John Brent, who died that year.

Elbling’s interview with Howard Hesseman shed light on a production company that Howard ran with photographer Jerry Wainwright in 1970-71. Dubbed “Narcissistic Purposes Productions”, the company’s output included a series of theatrical still-lifes, featuring Committee members, that were used as artwork for the theater lobby. (We already had an example of this work on-hand: an 8×10 image of John Brent as mad scientist Dr. Servo de la Lune which was provided to us by Ruth Silveira. For some time we mistakenly took this image as an ad for a John Brent solo performance. This link from a year ago also shows how off the mark we were.)

Jerry Wainwright (1926-1997) was a prolific photographer who documented The Committee extensively. Wainwright later helped to bring to life the ethnic/hippie fashions trends of the day with his and Alexandra Jacopetti Hart’s book Native Funk and Flash.

To make a long story short, after a great visit with Jerry’s widow Ann, we left with the trunk pictured above.

Ann has entrusted us with a significant piece of history.

The trunk holds an overwhelming amount of negatives, a few printed photographs, a few contact sheets here and there. All are from the late 1960s/early 1970s.

Most of the negatives are 35mm, in paper sleeves. A few negatives are 4×5, and one appears to by 7×9. After crudely separating Committee-related material from his other work, here are some highlights.

19 4×5 negatives of Narcissistic Purposes stills, featuring Don Sturdy, John Brent, Ruth Silviera, Gary Austin, Julie Payne, Morgan Upton, Alan Myerson, and many more. The stills read like silent movie posters, with titles, loglines, etc. These are from 1970. (example)
The Tarot Card photo series, featuring members of The Committee.
studio portraits of John Brent, Larry Hankin, Morgan Upton, Ruth Silveira, Diann Hendrickson from the early ’70s.
Action shots of The Committee 1983 reunion/Bread and Roses benefit.
Action shots of The Committee at 622 Broadway
Country Joe and the Fish photographs, including Narcissistic Purposes Productions album cover
Congress of Wonders photos.
fashion photography

We took the Narcissistic Purposes negatives to the lab to be scanned immediately.

For the archive, our priority to make sure the material is safely stored (smaller boxes, new sleeves). We are determining the cost of developing the Committee-related negatives to contact sheets, but will soon start developing the material that intrigues most.

We intend to work closely with Ann and Wainwrights’ estate as we move forward to make use of the treasures in this trunk. If you have question or tips email samshaw@sfimprovfestival.com.