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Swami X

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MarionADelgado (talk | contribs) at 22:34, 29 May 2016 (Swami X died in 2015 so should not be listed as a Living Person as a category. Also, his place of birth is known, and his approximate birth date.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Swami X is an American boardwalk performer and stand-up comedian. Active from the 1970s to 1985, he performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, and New York. He was known for bawdy sexual humor and political invective.[1][2]

Swami X's act was a monologue mixing pithy sociopolitical observations with poetry, sarcasm and humor, which typically included blasphemy, profanity, and attacking "sacred cows"—producing "pleased shock and delighted outrage" in observers.[2] His notable lines include:

  • "Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. 'Yes' is the answer."[3]
  • "How do we know Jesus Christ was Jewish? Because he went into His Father's business."[2]
  • "If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself".
  • "You are what you eat. If that's true, then I'm a nymphomaniac".

He was known for appearing on the Venice Boardwalk, at the UCLA and U.C. Berkeley campuses, in San Francisco, and at Washington Park in New York City. He retired in 1985.[1] In 2009 the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, presented him with an official proclamation.[4]

Swami X appears as a character in Roger L. Simon's mystery novel, The Straight Man[5] and is referenced in Pat Hartman's volume of Venice vignettes, Call Someplace Paradise.[6]

Harry W. "Swami X" Heard died on August 29, 2015 at the home of former Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl. He was 89, two and a half months before his 90th birthday. Heard was born in Philadelphia in mid-November of 1925.[7] [8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "SWAMI X - Comedian". KCET website. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Campbell, Patricia J (1981). Passing the Hat - Street Performers in America. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0-385-28771-5. OCLC 7461199.
  3. ^ Weiss, Stefanie Iris. (2010). Eco-sex : go green between the sheets and make your love life sustainable. New York: Ten Speed Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-58008-118-4.
  4. ^ "Villaraigosa "Honors Swami X; Blows Off Officially Running for Gov". The Venice Paper. 22 June 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Simon, Roger L. (1986). The Straight Man. Villard Books. pp. 46, 88, 91. ISBN 978-0-394-55837-0.
  6. ^ Hartman, Pat (2000). Call Someplace Paradise. Xlibris. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-7388-2005-7.
  7. ^ "Venice Beach Comic Swami X Is Dead at 89". L.A. Weekly. 1 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Swami X Has Left the Building". Free Venice. Beachhead. 1 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

Further reading

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