Aaron Russo

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Aaron Russo

Russo promoting his film America: Freedom to Fascism
Born February 14, 1943
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died August 24, 2007 (aged 64)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Known for Film producer, libertarian politician and activist
Religious beliefs Judaism

Aaron Russo (February 14, 1943 - August 24, 2007) was an entertainment businessman, filmmaker, libertarian political activist, and 9/11 conspiracy theorist.[1] He is most known for producing the movies Trading Places, Wise Guys, and The Rose. Later in life he created the documentaries Mad as Hell, which calls into question the current state of governmental affairs and America: Freedom to Fascism, which investigates the breadth of the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the IRS, and the Federal Reserve System. After a six year battle with bladder cancer, Russo died on August 24, 2007.[2]

Contents

[edit] Early Life

Aaron Russo was born into a Sephardic Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, USA on February 14, 1943. Before moving to New York, his family lived in Spain, Italy, and Greece. Russo was raised on Long Island.

During his early years, Aaron Russo worked for his family's undergarment business, and while in highschool, promoted Rock and roll concerts at local theaters. At the age of 24, he opened his own nightclub.

[edit] Entertainment career

On April 5, 1968, Aaron Russo opened the nightclub Kinetic Playground, originally named the Electric Theater. Through the club, he hosted various famous rock bands and musicians such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly, Rotary Connection and Jefferson Airplane.[3]

During his career in the entertainment industry, Russo was manager for Bette Midler from 1972 to 1979[4] and The Manhattan Transfer, and the producer of the films The Rose and Trading Places. He also produced Wise Guys. Russo has stated that he was the first person to book Led Zeppelin in the United States club Kinetic Playground.

He was awarded an Emmy for a Bette Midler TV special, and a gold record for producing the soundtrack to The Rose.

Russo directed 1989's Rude Awakening.

Russo's films, which included Trading Places (starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd) and The Rose (starring Bette Midler), have received six Academy Award nominations. Russo has personally won both an Emmy and a Tony award and his films have also won a number of Golden Globe awards.[citation needed]

His last film was America: Freedom to Fascism, a documentary critical of The Federal Reserve System and the Internal Revenue Service.

[edit] Political career

Russo became involved in politics in the early 1990s when he produced and starred in a video entitled Mad As Hell in which he criticized NAFTA, The War on Drugs, the concept of a National Identity Card, and government regulation of alternative medicine.

Russo ran in the Republican primary for governor of Nevada in 1998, placing second with 26% of the vote. He then endorsed the Democratic candidate, Las Vegas mayor Jan Laverty Jones, who lost to Republican Kenny Guinn. Russo subsequently planned to run for governor in 2002 as an independent or a Libertarian, but he was temporarily sidelined by cancer.

In January 2004, he declared his candidacy for the President of the United States as an independent, then decided to run for the Libertarian Party's nomination. While some considered Russo's style crude and even insulting [5] , others argued his media experience would enable him to pose a serious threat to incumbent President George W. Bush, pulling enough votes from otherwise likely Bush voters to affect the outcome in battleground states, in the same way that Ralph Nader was considered to be in relation to Democrat John Kerry.[6][7][8]

At the Libertarian National Convention in May 2004, Russo received 258 votes, as opposed to 256 for Michael Badnarik and 246 for Gary Nolan, short of the majority required to receive the presidential nomination. Russo went on to be defeated on the third and final ballot by nominee Badnarik by a vote of 423-344.

On January 14, 2007, Russo announced his full support for U.S. Congressman Ron Paul's 2008 presidential bid. [9][10] This support includes his America: Freedom to Fascism volunteer network. [11]

Also in 2007, Russo created restoretherepublic.net, a website dedicated to continuing his work and uniting those who subscribe to his beliefs.

[edit] Interview with Alex Jones

This interview discussed Russo's friendship with Nick Rockefeller and the plans of the oligarchical elite. Russo explains what Rockefeller claims to be the essential and true vindications of Women's Liberation and the seemingly fraudulent "War on Terror." The interview also discusses the Federal Reserve System, Russo's movie America: Freedom to Fascism, and an abstract of the elitist's plans for the future. Russo explains how Rockefeller and the elitists herd the masses with the use of media deployed propaganda. [12]

[edit] Death

On August 24, 2007, Russo died after a six year battle with bladder cancer.

[edit] References

  1. ^ David Stein. "Aaron Russo's film suggests neo-cons planned 9/11, and also seek to micro-chip all Americans". The Canadian. http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2007/03/09/01401.html. 
  2. ^ "May Aaron Russo Rest In Peace". http://gordonunleashed.com/blog/2007/08/24/may-aaron-russo-rest-in-peace/. 
  3. ^ Historic Interview with Aaron Russo, Fighting Cancer and the New World Order on Google Video, an interview by Alex Jones on January 2007 about Aaron's past and current events accessed at August 2007
  4. ^ Mahoney, John C. (November 1979). "Bette Midler in "The Rose"". Bette on the Boards. http://www.betteontheboards.com/boards/magazine-20.htm. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. 
  5. ^ Moore, Carol (June 22, 2004). "2004 Convention Report". Carol Moore. http://www.carolmoore.net/libertarianparty/convention2004report.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. 
  6. ^ Tuccille, Jerome (June 3, 2004). "It Usually Begins With… Michael Badnarik?". LewRockwell.com. http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/tuccille6.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. 
  7. ^ Moulitsas, Markos (May 13, 2004). "Bush's libertarian challenge". Daily Kos. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/5/14/02051/7441. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. 
  8. ^ Kuhn, David Paul (May 21, 2004). "Bush's Third-Party Threat". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/21/politics/main619019.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. 
  9. ^ Russo, Aaron (January 14, 2007). "Aaron Russo Announces Full Support Of Ron Paul". Rense.com. http://www.rense.com/general75/arrp.htm. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. 
  10. ^ Wile, Anthony (January 15, 2007). "Ron Paul for Pres-Today's High Alert". Free Market News Network. http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/134/6746/high%20alert.asp?nid=6746&wid=134&pv=1. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. 
  11. ^ Watson, Paul Joseph & Alex Jones (January 12, 2007). "Ron Paul: Next President Of The USA?". America: Freedom to Fascism (Blog). http://naam.pair.com/aftf1626/AFTF/blog/2007/01/alex-jones-hightlights-ron-pauls.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. 
  12. ^ Interview with Alex Jones PrisonPlanet.tv. Retrieved 2009-05-30.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Russo"
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