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Coca Crystal

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Coca Crystal
Born
Jacqueline Diamond

December 21, 1947
Manhattan, New York, U.S
DiedMarch 1, 2016(2016-03-01) (aged 68)
Rochelle Park, New Jersey, U.S
OccupationTelevision personality
Parent(s)Jack Diamond
Rita Dunn

Coca Crystal (December 21, 1947 – March 1, 2016) was an American television personality and political activist, connected with 1960s counterculture.[1] She was best known for her weekly cable-access variety show The Coca Crystal Show: If I Can't Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution, which ran from 1977 to 1995.[2][3]

Biography

Born as Jacqueline Diamond on December 21, 1947, to Jack Diamond, owner of J. Diamond Furs and Rita Dunn, a former fur model.[4] She was born in Manhattan and raised in Mamaroneck.[4]

Starting in 1969, she was a contributor to the East Village Other (EVO) and the name Coca Crystal was created as her pen name.[5] She would write about politics, women's issues and personal events, many of which earned her the title "slumgoddess".[6]

Her cable-access, weekly variety show television show The Coca Crystal Show: If I Can't Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution would always start out with lighting a joint, oftentimes she would be pulling the joint from a flower pot and then smoking it.[3] She would talk about protests, anti-nuke activism, local and world news with special segment called Newborn News and invite a wide variety of guests. Some guests on her show included: Philip Glass, Debbie Harry, Abbie Hoffman, Judith Malina, Cesar Chavez, Dana Beal, and Tuli Kupferberg of the Fugs.[3][4] One of her frequent guests, Glenn O'Brien went on to host his own long running public-access television show, TV Party after he appeared on Coca's show.[7]

In 2013, a play written, via interview with Coca Crystal and titled If I Can't Dance You Can Keep Your Revolution: The Coca Crystal Story was performed by Danielle Quisenberry.[8] The play was shown at Emerging Artists Theatre, TADA! Theater, and part of the East Village Theater Festival at Metropolitan Playhouse in New York City.[8][9][10]

Crystal died of respiratory failure on March 1, 2016 in Rochelle Park, New Jersey at age 68.[4] In 2006 she was diagnosed with lung cancer and had struggled with many treatments prior to her passing.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Forgotten Female Saints of the Counterculture". Flavorwire. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  2. ^ a b Oldershausen, Sasha Von (2012-05-13). "Coca Crystal, a Wild Child Turned 'Unconventional' Mother". Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  3. ^ a b c Unconscious and Irrational (2009-03-21). "Coca Crystal's Dance Revolution". Unconscious and Irrational. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  4. ^ a b c d Grimes, William (2016-04-02). "Coca Crystal, Avatar of Counterculture and Provocateur, Dies at 68". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  5. ^ "RIP Coca Crystal". EV Grieve. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  6. ^ "Recollections, Crystal". East Village Other. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  7. ^ Hawkins, Joan (2015). Downtown Film and TV Culture: 1975–2001. Intellect Books. ISBN 1783204222.
  8. ^ a b Maurer, Daniel. "On Stage, Coca Crystal Gets an East Village Other". The Local East Village. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  9. ^ "If I Cant Dance You Can Keep Your Revolution: The Coca Crystal Story". allevents.in. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  10. ^ "One Woman Standing". Brown Paper Tickets (BPT). Retrieved 2016-04-19.
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