Howard Smith

Hear Jim Morrison Talk About Why Being Fat is Beautiful

From Blank on Blank, animators of historical tapes and interviews, and PBS, comes this engorging 1969 interview with Jim Morrison. Former Voice writer Howard Smith visited Morrison at the Doors offices in November, 1969. While there, they got on the subject of food and, well, watch the video for you ... More >>

"Access: Use It to Give Voice to the Voiceless (and Hell to the Powerful)," An Address to the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association

Video courtesy of James Schmitz/Inner City Media. On Friday, August 3, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association named me NLGJA Journalist of the Year 2012. The above video shows CNN's Miguel Marquez presenting the award to me in Las Vegas before I addressed NLGJA's annual gala with my acc ... More >>

Marlon Brando's Stink-Bomb at the 1973 Oscars

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. April 5, 1973, Vol. XVIII, No. 14 films in focus by Andrew Sarris OSCAR WILES (IX): In all the years I have been covering Oscar orgies for The Village Voice, I have never known a single incident to dominate with such paralyzing irrele ... More >>

'The Devil in Miss Jones' a 'Fascinating Snapshot About Where We're At'

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. March 8, 1973, Vol. XVIII, No. 10 Scenes by Howard Smith & Tracy Young CUT JUST ONE "THROAT"... and the body grows another head. So it goes with Gerard Damiano whose million dollar porno-baby was buried last week and whose new picture, ... More >>

"You're So Vain" a Comeback to Mick?

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. November 30, 1972, Vol. XVII, No. 48 Scenes by Howard Smith and Tracy Young THROUGH THE YEARS Mick Jagger has sung a lot of nasties about women. Just some of the titles, like "Stupid Girl" and "Under My Thumb," have been enough to rais ... More >>

"The First Annual Convention of 'Star Trek' Freaks"

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. January 27, 1972, Vol. XVII, No. 4 Scenes By Howard Smith & Sally Helgesen PLASTER CASTS of Leonard Nimoy's head crowded one display table. Life-sized posters of William Shatner striking various heroic poses covered the walls. The air ... More >>

The American Virgin Liberation Front!

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. April 22, 1971, Vol. XVI, No. 16 Scenes By Howard Smith AT ONE POINT while I was talking to the Chairman of the American Virgin Liberation Front, I asked her, "Are you a virgin?" Wendy Robin answered, "Would you ask a member of the NAA ... More >>

Can a Transvestite Be a Women's Libber?

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. April 1, 1971, Vol. XVI, No. 13 Scenes By Howard Smith RELEVANCY hasn't exactly been Warhol-Morissey's driving interest, but in "Pigs," their latest epic drama, they go engage. Although the title stands for Politically Involved Girls, ... More >>

Maysles Brothers Release 'Gimme Shelter,' One Year After Altamont

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. November 19, 1970, Vol. XV, No. 47 Scenes By Howard Smith IT WAS A LONG WAY from Woodstock to Altamont. Knowing upfront what happened at Altamont gave a grim undertow to "Gimme Shelter," the Maysles Brothers' documentary about the Ston ... More >>

Janis Joplin, 1942-1970

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. October 8, 1970, Vol. XV, No. 41 Scenes By Howard Smith LAST WEDNESDAY I TAPED a phone interview with Janis Joplin from California. I played it Sunday night on my radio show, only to wake up the next morning and find she had died that ... More >>

Jimi Hendrix Finishes His Electric Lady Studio on 8th Street

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. June 25, 1970, Vol. XV, No. 26 Scenes By Howard Smith WHEN THE CONSTRUCTION of Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studio was first announced, costs were cheerfully estimated at $350,000 to convert the old square dance premises of the Village ... More >>

George Harrison post-Beatles: "It's very selfish if the Beatles don't record together"

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. May 7, 1970, Vol. XV, No. 19 Scenes by Howard Smith WHEN I INTERVIEWED George Harrison last week for ABC-FM radio, we of course got to talking about the big Beatles blow-up. Here are some key excerpts that give Harrison's view of what ... More >>

John Lennon and Yoko Ono in Toronto

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. December 25, 1969, Vol. XIV, No. 63 Scenes by Howard Smith I WAS IN TORONTO last week to do an interview for WABC-FM with John and Yoko Ono Lennon; one of the reasons the Lennons were there, as you probably already know, was to announc ... More >>

ALTAMONT: An Eyewitness Account of the 'Day of the Angels'

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. December 11, 1969, Vol. XIV, No. 61 Day of the Angels: Let It Bleed! by Grover Lewis ALTAMONT SPEEDWAY, Alameda County, California -- All across the scalded brown hills looming above this seedy, out-at-the-elbows drag strip located 50 ... More >>

H. Rap Brown, Sheep Meadow Quarterback

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. September 11, 1969, Vol. XIV, No. 48 Scenes by Howard Smith SHEEP MEADOW in Central Park is one of the most used pieces of real estate in Manhattan, and now that fall is here the football players have appeared on the horizon. They have ... More >>

Woodstock Hangover: Let's Do It Again!

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. September 4, 1969, Vol. XIV, No. 47 Scenes by Howard Smith AS EVERYONE has probably heard by now there is going to be a Woodstock Music and Art Fair Part Two next August. There has to be. Its backers need another one for financial vind ... More >>

Rip Torn, Sally Kirkland, and the Sexual Revolution on Stage and Film

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. March 13, 1969, Vol. XIV, No. 22 Scenes by Howard Smith "IF ART REFLECTS LIFE, then it should reflect every aspect of life," explains Milton Moses Ginsberg about his new feature motion picture, "Coming Apart." Starring Rip Torn and Sal ... More >>

John Lennon and Yoko Ono Nudity Seriously Freaking People Out

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. January 23, 1969, Vol. XIV, No. 15 Scenes by Howard Smith VALERIE [SOLANAS] was back in court last Friday. This time to find out whether the court psychiatric clinic report agreed with Mattawan State Hospital's verdict when it release ... More >>

Queens of the Night: What Really Happened at the Stonewall Inn?

The Neverending Search for a Legal Herbal High

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. December 5, 1968, Vol. XIV, No. 8 Scenes by Howard Smith WITH A LITTLE HELP from my readers, I've been compiling a legal list of herbs that improve a high. The latest additions -- Kava kava, Rat Root, and Rue -- get you there all by th ... More >>

Andy Warhol Shot by Factory Actress Valerie Solanis

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. June 6, 1968, Vol. XIII, No. 34 The Shot That Shattered The Velvet Underground by Howard Smith It was an ordinary afternoon at The Factory, the huge, new loft on the north side of Union Square which is the center of the Warhol scene. S ... More >>

Paul McCartney and John Lennon in NYC: We Were Duped By the Maharishi

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. May 16, 1968, Vol. XIII, No. 31 Scenes by Howard Smith THERE I STOOD, next to Paul McCartney and John Lennon -- calm, but without a thing to say. I wasn't intimidated, but more amazed I had managed to get through an endless skein of Be ... More >>

Yip-In Turns Into Bloody Mess as Police Riot at Grand Central

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. March 28, 1968, Vol. XIII, No. 24 The Grand Central Riot: Yippies Meet the Man by Don McNeill All the brass was watching Chief Inspector Sanford Garelik, shielded by a cluster of Tactical Patrol Force heavies, leaned against the wall i ... More >>

The Yippies Are Here! Plans for a Grand Central Party, Which Will Go Horribly Wrong

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. March 21, 1968, Vol. XIII, No. 23 Scenes by Howard Smith LAST YEAR the name of the game was the "Be-In," this year it looks like "Yip-In." At midnight on Friday, March 22, the yippies...will have a Yip-In in Grand Central Station. At l ... More >>

Hippie-Strippies! The Dawning of Psychedelic Burlesque

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. March 7, 1968, Vol. XIII, No. 21 Scenes by Howard Smith THE ONLY THING that can get the New York press out at nine in the morning is a major fire or a naked woman. The Mayfair Theatre was not exactly aflame. Nevertheless, a patient hor ... More >>

Janis Joplin Makes her Voice Debut, Viva Takes Her Clothes Off, and Lenny is Finally Vindicated

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. February 22, 1968, Vol. XIII, No. 19 Scenes by Howard Smith NEW YORK's golden ears came out ringing from the Saturday evening performances of Janis Joplin at the Anderson Theatre on Second Avenue. The two shows were the East Coast prem ... More >>

Jim Morrison Hottest Thing Since Dean and Brando

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. December 14, 1967, Vol. XIII, No. 9 Scenes by Howard Smith THERE REALLY hasn't been a major male sex symbol since James Dean died and Marlon Brando got a paunch. Dylan is more of a cerebral heart throb and the Beatles have always been ... More >>

Clip Job: A Gathering of the Tribes in SF

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. January 19, 1967, Vol. XII, No. 14 Scenes By Howard Smith I received two air mail special letters and one phone call from three different San Francisco friends who wanted to tell me about an event that became what all three described ... More >>

Clip Job: It's 1966, and the Sexual Revolution is Happening, Baby!

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. September 8, 1966, Vol. XI, No. 47 Scenes By Howard Smith Female -- I am interested in meeting couples and singles interested in high heels, boots, long hair, bi-sexuality, transvestism, modern parties, photography, sailing, skin div ... More >>

Clip Job: The Apocryphal Teeny Bopper

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. July 14, 1966, Vol. XI, No. 39 The Apocryphal Teeny Bopper By Howard Smith and Jack Newfield A 13-year-old blonde-on-blonde named Cher Zimmerman, dressed in flowered bell-bottomed pants and a fur vest over her knish-size breasts, com ... More >>

Clip Job: Tacos, Rock 'n' Roll Girls Invade the Village

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. June 30, 1966, Vol. XI, No. 37 Scenes By Howard Smith The girl who plays the drums is not allowed to play barefoot any more. There seems to be a city regulation against naked toes and soles in a restaurant. She still has a lot going ... More >>

Clip Job: The Original Head Shop, and Congress Drops Acid with Allen Ginsberg

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. June 23, 1966, Vol. XI, No. 36 Scenes By Howard Smith One of the primary satisfactions of using drugs is the element of ritual -- rolling, tying up, snorting. All contain sexual sublimations that could, and maybe do, make a religion. ... More >>

Clip Job: Digging the 60's Scenes and Happenings

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. June 2, 1966, Vol. XI, No. 33 Scenes By Howard Smith The fog rolled in on the rock flow in the basement of 14 Waverly Place, and it was like nothing that ever happened before. It was so thick that people couldn't see other people a f ... More >>

Voice Writer Still Stirring Up Trouble About Stonewall, 40 Years Later

Fascinating piece by former Voice writer Lucian Truscott IV in the Times this morning about his experiences as an eyewitness to the Stonewall riots 40 years ago.In the op-ed today, Truscott tries to combat some of the myths about the uprising. He says, for example, that it was a myth that the Stonew ... More >>

This Week in the Voice

Twitpic by aturkel. Hurrah, the Queer Issue! So what's the new thing? "The lipstick lesbian has given way to a new butch..." Double hurrah! The "power lesbian" paradigm has apparently shifted toward the model of Rachel Maddow, whose "androgynous sensuality," some guy from a fashion magazine says, ... More >>

OutHistory Chronicles the Voice's "Contemptuous Attitude Toward the Gay Community" (in 1969)

Pride Week, already? We have to thank the Times for pointing out the OutHistory site and its latest historical findings on the Stonewall Riot -- including the first confirmed name of a female arrested in the fracas (Marilyn Fowler), and a record of a Stonewall biting ("Biting has not earlier been do ... More >>

Revival Tent: Preacher Lies to Choir, Choir Eats it Up

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay

The 'Voice' reports the queer revolution

Letters

No Union Label at a PEN Gala

Picket Lines Are Labor’s Free Speech