Episode Summary
The Hollywood home of Laura and Aldous Huxley, psychedelic pioneer and author of Brave New World, was a hotspot for the West Coast artistic avant-garde like Igor Stravinsky and Christopher Isherwood. Join us for a discussion of the Huxleys' influence on American culture, plus excerpts from Mary Ann Braubach's 2009 documentary, Huxley on Huxley.
Participant(s) Bio
Los Angeles born artist Don Bachardy has had a long career of artistic success. His first one-man exhibition was held in 1961 at the Redfern Gallery in London and he has since had many one-man exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston and New York. His work resides in many permanent collections, including that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the M.H. de Young Museum of Art, Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, the California State Capitol Building (official portrait of Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr.), the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Portrait Gallery in London, among others. Numerous books of his work have been published. In 2008 the documentary Chris and Don: A Love Story, a film about Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy directed by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara, was released in movie theatres in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain.
Ann Louise Bardach is the author of Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington and Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana. She is also the editor of The Prison Letters of Fidel Castro as well as Cuba: A Travelers Literary Companion. She is a reporter for The Daily Beast/Newsweek and was a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair for ten years. Bardach won the PEN USA Award for Journalism in 1995 for her reporting in Vanity Fair on Mexican politics, and was a finalist in 1994 for her coverage of women in Islamic countries. Her book Cuba Confidential was named one of Ten Best Books of 2002 by the Los Angeles Times. Bardach started the International Journalism class at University of California at Santa Barbara and is also a Resident Scholar with the Orfalea Center at UCSB
Director and Producer Mary Ann Braubach met Laura Huxley through her activist work and forged a friendship that evolved into the 2009 documentary, Huxley on Huxley. She is currently working on a variety of feature and documentary projects, including The Book of Jamaica, based on the Russell Banks novel and a film on the American poet, Elizabeth Bishop with Bruno Barreto, with whom she co-produced the Brazilian film, Four Days In September. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Braubach was a film and television executive for production companies at Warner Bros., Disney and Universal. She was the Head of Production for Tom Selleck's company, TWS, during which time she produced the Elmore Leonard western, Last Stand at Saber River. Before joining TWS, Ms. Braubach was Vice-President of Production at Spring Creek Productions and also served as the Director of Development for George Lucas' Lucasfilm. She was responsible for bringing together the talents for Mr. Lucas' upcoming production Red Tails.
John Densmore is an original and founding member of the musical group The Doors. John co-wrote and produced numerous gold and platinum albums and toured the United States, Europe, and Japan. His autobiography, Riders on the Storm, was on the New York Times bestseller list in 1991. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. His recent journalistic piece on corporations co-opting music to sell products, was published by The Nation Magazine, and subsequently syndicated in the Guardian and Rolling Stone. In film, he co-produced Road To Return, narrated by Tim Robbins. It won several prestigious national awards, and was screened for Congress, resulting in the writing of a bill. He also executive-produced Juvies, (narrated by Mark Walberg) which aired on HBO. He co-wrote and is producer of the screenplay Unknown Soldier with Eva Gardos,based on his novel, With God On Our Side.
Ann Louise Bardach is the author of Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington and Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana. She is also the editor of The Prison Letters of Fidel Castro as well as Cuba: A Travelers Literary Companion. She is a reporter for The Daily Beast/Newsweek and was a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair for ten years. Bardach won the PEN USA Award for Journalism in 1995 for her reporting in Vanity Fair on Mexican politics, and was a finalist in 1994 for her coverage of women in Islamic countries. Her book Cuba Confidential was named one of Ten Best Books of 2002 by the Los Angeles Times. Bardach started the International Journalism class at University of California at Santa Barbara and is also a Resident Scholar with the Orfalea Center at UCSB
Director and Producer Mary Ann Braubach met Laura Huxley through her activist work and forged a friendship that evolved into the 2009 documentary, Huxley on Huxley. She is currently working on a variety of feature and documentary projects, including The Book of Jamaica, based on the Russell Banks novel and a film on the American poet, Elizabeth Bishop with Bruno Barreto, with whom she co-produced the Brazilian film, Four Days In September. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Braubach was a film and television executive for production companies at Warner Bros., Disney and Universal. She was the Head of Production for Tom Selleck's company, TWS, during which time she produced the Elmore Leonard western, Last Stand at Saber River. Before joining TWS, Ms. Braubach was Vice-President of Production at Spring Creek Productions and also served as the Director of Development for George Lucas' Lucasfilm. She was responsible for bringing together the talents for Mr. Lucas' upcoming production Red Tails.
John Densmore is an original and founding member of the musical group The Doors. John co-wrote and produced numerous gold and platinum albums and toured the United States, Europe, and Japan. His autobiography, Riders on the Storm, was on the New York Times bestseller list in 1991. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. His recent journalistic piece on corporations co-opting music to sell products, was published by The Nation Magazine, and subsequently syndicated in the Guardian and Rolling Stone. In film, he co-produced Road To Return, narrated by Tim Robbins. It won several prestigious national awards, and was screened for Congress, resulting in the writing of a bill. He also executive-produced Juvies, (narrated by Mark Walberg) which aired on HBO. He co-wrote and is producer of the screenplay Unknown Soldier with Eva Gardos,based on his novel, With God On Our Side.
Credits
