If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember the 1979 musical film “Hair” (or, if you’re a bit older, you might remember it as a Broadway play). Essentially, this fanciful production revolved around a gaggle of carefree hippies in the late 1960s, who live a jobless, perma-partying life around various New York City parks, doing any number of illegal substances, burning draft cards and running merrily amok in between big, visually striking song-&-dance scenes like this one…
Eventually, they cross paths with a hapless Midwesterner named Claude (played by John Savage) who’s bound for Vietnam, but not before catching sight of a doe-eyed debutante (played in the film by Beverly D’Angelo) and summarily falling in love. Hijinks and shenanigans ensue when the hippies attempt to help Claude realize his romantic dreams, unwittingly sending their hirsute ringleader, Berger (played by Treat Williams), off to die in Vietnam in Claude’s stead. Roll credits.
I never saw the play, but I do kinda still dig the richly ridiculous film, not least for its depiction of New York City in the 70’s (see also “Godspell”). I also sheepishly remember enjoying the soundtrack more than I probably should’ve, and not just for the prurient lyrics.
In any case, while “Hair” was ultimately a highly stylized bit of fiction, there were indeed communities of hippies that chose to live in the city’s parks. The harsh realities of their circumstances and existence, however, were hardly indicative of a harmonious age of flower-power, in much the same way the reality of the East Village’s community of squatters was wildly misrepresented by “Rent” a couple of decades later.
Earlier this week, around the same time I found that clip of old slides from 1969, I stumbled upon a curious pair of clips from 1968. Somewhat derisively titled “Acid Head Street People in New York City – 1960s,” the first clip is essentially a profile of a group of drop-outs living within the starkly bleak confines of Washington Square Park. Sure, it’s hard to reconcile the gritty scene herein with the comparatively idyllic setting in that park today, but it’s the same spot -– you can catch a glimpse of the old Catholic Center on Thompson street (torn down in the 2000’s) at about 00:38. Here’s that clip now…
There’s no singing, there’s no laughing, there’s nothing light or funny about it. It’s a grim portrait, but it turns out that it’s from a bigger project. Here’s the official description from the filmmaker, David Hoffman…
This is a portion of a documentary I made for television in 1968. The documentary was called “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and used Paul Simon's famous tune. It looked at some of the people having a hard time at that time. I am proud of my street interviews and camera work and wanted to share this with my colleagues.
You can see all of that film by clicking right here.
It’s striking to think that the kids depicted in this film were probably only about 20 or so when this was filmed. Presuming they survived this ordeal in 1968, they would all be in their seventies today. Here’s hoping they all made it that far.
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