Daughter Reveals The Real 1950s Icon Neal Cassady - "On The Road" Model Character
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- This is the story of Neal Cassady, as told to me by his daughter, Jami. As a person who grew up in the 1950s, I had heard his name and I did read Jack Kerouac's On The Road, but I really didn't know much about him until I sat down with Jami and conducted this interview. I made and make no judgment about the life he lived though it is a life I could not have lived and would not have wanted to. He influenced a generation of writers and musicians and adventurers and hippies and outcasts and may have been the major influence on The Beat Generation. Many of you, my viewers, will have strong and different opinions about Neal Cassady and I present this story here because as a social cultural filmmaker, iconic characters like Neal Cassady fascinate me.
Many commentators on my videos regarding the 1950s have spoken either glowing way (it was the best time to be alive in America) or critically (I felt stifled and squeezed). The Beatniks were a small group of rebels. Allen Ginsberg. Jack Kerouac. Ken Kesey. William Burroughs. They were poets, authors, painters, in some cases musicians - a group living outside the norm. Rebelling. When Jack Kerouac wrote "on the Road" he used Neal Cassady as a character, the model, because Cassady really live that way. That's what this video indicates. And his daughter Jami, whose mom was Carolyn Cassady, took the time to give me a sense of her experience with her extraordinary, rebellious, iconic father.
And I want to thank Jami and her husband Randy for allowing me to tell just a part of their story and to see just a piece of their incredible collection of Neal's life and work.
If you found this interview of interest, I would appreciate your supporting my efforts to continue doing these and providing them for you and other subscribers by clicking the Super Thanks button below the video screen. Your support is critical to my continuing of these efforts. I'm trying to make a living from this and it ain't easy.
Thank you
David Hoffman filmmaker
Here is what happened to Jack Kerouac, author of On The Road -
ua-cam.com/video/Tc6Zc-FtFT0/v-deo.html
Neal cassady was a writer . First Third unfinished. And of course his numerous letters
Ginsburg is a child molester and pedophile who has supported abolishing age of consent laws so men can fuck young young young boys. Look it up yourself.
Carolyn Cassidy's memoir, Off the Road, is a great read for anyone that loves the Beats. So much of her book is filled with letters between Ginsberg, Kerouac and Cassidy, it's a fascinating account of these great people.
Yes! Great book.
There is a Carolyn Cassidy documentary made by two Swedish women that I have been trying to see for years but it can't find it. It's called, "Love Always, Carolyn" Maybe you can find it. I just missed it by a day at the Tribeca Film Festival years ago.
that sounds good
I read this in 1999 when I was 17, my best friend Carolyn turned me on to it, we were obsessed with all of them through her book, I read at least 10 of Jacks book after and the one neal wrote, "The First Third" I still bring Kerouac up on a regular basis
Excellent reading 😃
I traveled America 3 times and the world once (47 countries) by motorcycle because of Neal and Jack's stories.
"He watched over my shoulder as I wrote stories, yelling, "Yes! That's right! Wow! Man!" and "Phew!" and wiped his face with his handkerchief. "Man, wow, there's so many things to do, so many things to write! How to even begin to get it all down without modified restraints and all hung up on like literary inhibitions and grammatical fears..."
Jack Kerouac - On the Road
10 years after I quit drinking,I took my girlfriend to the bar and restaurant that I used to hang out at years ago not to drink but to have dinner,as we were waiting for our dinner,I looked over at the bar and I saw some of the same people sitting on the same bar stools,talking the Same nonsense,as they were drinking,it really hit me at that moment,on what a dead end life drinking is
There's an episode of "Cheers" where a man comes into the bar after not having been there for 10 - 15 years. He's pointing out the changes in the bar to Woody and says "The wallpaper is different on that wall, too." Woody says "Where?" and the man replies "Right there behind Norm."
Really sad same old story, night after night or day after day on and on and the SMELL , it creeps up around you
I'm right there with you, Richard.
I'm 30 years sober. Today I could walk into O'Neill's, a bar that I was kicked out of 33 years ago, and see some of the same people getting drunk and talking about the same bullshit. And the only reason I don't see all the same people is because a lot of them are dead.
Wow, what an inspiring story that is!
Thank you for all of your comments. I will try to respond to them.Thank you for watching.....I met David downtown Santa Cruz last year when Randy and I were vending books, shirts,posters,etc related to my parents. There are only a few mistakes, you may have noticed. The picture on the “cover” is really Jack Kerouac, not dad. Also the picture of Lucian Carr at Columbia is really Gregory Corso.
David did a wonderful job and I’m so glad he pursued me to make this video. Jami Cassady Ratto
Thank you Melany and Randy , and sorry of the minor errors.
David
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker If you hit the 3 dots to the right, you can pin her comment to the top.:)
Hello @Melany Ratto, you father was a very interesting man. Thanks so much for sharing your memories and experience. Many blessings to you and your family. 🦋🐞🦋
@@terrijofilms305 thank you! Very much!
Thank you for your candidness Melany.
I grew up in the 50s and 60s. My dad worked and my mum didn’t. Middle class like lots of people. I has 3 brothers. Lots of families had 4 kids like us. I never had a key to the house because my mum would always be home. We went home for lunch every school day. After dinner the street was full of kids. We’d play until dusk. One night of the week would Cubs. Another night would be choir practice. Saturday afternoon we would go to the Bayview Theatre and see 2 movies for 25 cents. At intermission there would be ticket draws for prizes. Seemed like a great time to be a kid to me.
I lived during the same time. My mother couldn't stand the boredom and solved that problem by going back to work when I was just 11. My brother had an after school job so I came home from school to an empty house, except for the dog. I had a couple of friends, but that was it. I never got involved with the beat generation or the hippies because I saw it all as too conformist. I was left to my own devices much of the time but I was expected to behave myself, and did.
And the millionaires were taxed 75% so that monies were put into schools, roads, etc etc
Yes Tom! Piano Lessons and Girl Scouts after school. The best part was the neighborhood full of kids. I still remember who lived in every house. The entire block would play hide and seek. It was a great time to be a kid.
@@lovely-mk4rt there were MANY loopholes for especially the rich to run away without paying their taxes, so the effective tax rate was much lower, but none the less the richer need to be taxed more as America has become a place where it's cheap to be rich and expensive to be poor, completely the opposite of the America of old where millions of people left their old house to achieve their dreams for their family because it was a land of plenty for especially the worse off
as a person growing up now, I only got to see a brief period of time where computers and phones weren't our entire lives. It kind of makes me sad, my perfect idea of a childhood once existed, but now only exists in the past.
Beginning with On the Road which I read in 1968 or '69, I've read and watched a LOT of accounts and perspectives on Neal Cassady but he's always remained an enigma to me. Watching this interview is the first time I've come away with what feels like real insight, a feeling of "Oh yeah, now I get it, now he makes sense." Jami seems truly to understand her dad from the inside out. Thank you, David.
*"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or a saw a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars"* On the Road is my favourite book of all time, and its due to Kerouac's excellent use of language and Cassady's fascinating life, as he lived 'on the road'.
It was my favorite though now its a close second to Moby Dick
Absolute must read the passion is beyond palpable in that book
I used to find people like Neal fascinating when I was younger. After having my children I found them to be obnoxious users.
Kerouac was a visionary.... Oh... Hell... Yep.. a strong influence on the 60s counter culture... behind him was Cassady,Dean Moriarty' s alter ego in Kerouac' s most famous novel On the Road... Ad Astra Per Aspera.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
@9 Haunted Days yeah the partying lifestyle and people like that are fun until suddenly it’s not anymore, too bad I always had to find out the hard way
I probably never heard of the man because I’m from Russia and people here aren’t quite interested in what’s going on abroad. Besides ones who know English and are well educated. Thank you for the video Mr. Hoffman, your channel is what makes people like me more interested in foreign cultures!
Thank you.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
That's what Americans in rural areas here are like. Very insular
A lot of Americans think that the whole world knows all of American pop culture. Its great to discover things from other countries that are not popular from ones own country. For the past few years I've been getting into Russian electronic music. I really enjoy Molchat Doma(not sure if they are Russian exactly or from a Russian neighbor country) I'm ignorant to the naming etiquette of the area but I know some people from neighboring countries that speak Russian will get irate if you call them Russian, or something like that.....
@@fozzyozzy1030 less so than their cityfolk counterparts
@@phukyu9016 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
As a former teacher and x of an alcoholic, I learned that many alcoholics were “hyperactive children, who learned to sedate themselves with alcohol.” I shared this feeling of relief when he died. Although we divorced, I never stopped worrying about him. He was the father of my children. Neal Cassidy reminds me a lot of him... hope he’s in a better place at peace. Thanks for sharing. It was like a trip down memory lane!
more often they are self-medicating from childhood emotional or physical abuse and/or toxic families.
Pink Puffin, So sad. Whatever the reasons, it is a disease that negatively affects those who love them. May God bless all who are dealing with this sad situation.... watching someone you love destroying themselves is never easy. No one asks for a disease, so, God help the alcoholics to wake up & love themselves and their families enough to get well. So many talents are wasted on a bottle!
I didn’t know this...I wonder if there is a higher percentage of people who are both ADHD and alcoholic?
I think most addicts are self medicating because of mental illness or trauma.
Kerouac was the alcoholic - Neal was a speed freak
These guys are legends! Funnily enough i read on the road big Sur again for the umpteenth time the other week... True timeless works of art!!!
I read On The Road, literally , on the road to Big Sur!
Don't stop making these videos David, they're brilliant!
I agree. These types of videos are what make UA-cam compelling to me.
Alwyn Owens I agree too. Music drew me to UA-cam, but David Hoffman and his videos have now drawn most of my time away from the music. 🎶 Admittedly once my body is enabled to get in gear for spring cleaning, praying for strength to do much needed work, Bluetooth will be put back to helping UA-cam helping me to help myself lol. Preferences keep me enjoying the videos of David Hoffman while mending body and mind. Thanking God for helping me to discover David’s community while needing to be still awhile. Thank you for your time.
I still remember Neal Cassidy's character the most in "On The Road". He really comes to life even in the stills without any audio. Charismatic to the gills.
Kerouac is telling the story, but if you look at the book closely it is really about Neal. He finishes the book with, "memories of Dean Moriarty", or something like that? I had a lot in common with Kerouac/Sal, but Dean was my hero.
@@Redmenace96 Well put Red menace.
Absolutely phenomenal! Much obliged for this and more 1950s-60s topics ☮🌻. Learning is the key, for me, to be free.
In this pandemic time I wonder if the fear, isolation,asexual insensitivity,will.ever end.The advent of Cassidy. seems unlikely as the. freedom. Intermingled with. compassion seems just not likely where the post war antifacism is 'ow long. forgotten by the grandchildren of.yhe American s that fought and. died to defeat. the facists.
You got that right.
What an outstanding interview. I have been down on the Beats and the Hippies after concluding they'd developed bad habits early on. Jami and Randy confirmed this but also humanized Cassady and his friends for me. Jami also mentioned that in conventional society, people drank and took drugs. Doctors of course recommended cigarettes and prescribed Valium for decades. So now it seems to me both the Rebels and the Normies of the day were hooked on drugs. Both seem to me were subjects of competing (and equally illicit) social engineering campaigns. But I must give it to the rebelling youths: they didn't want to do one job, buy things, compare their things to their neighbors' things, and live in a routine all their lives. They found the safety of the plentiful corporate economy dulling and unchallenging. My reason for calling this interview outstanding is that I was reminded why I like people who are active, and interesting to be around. It's that they pursue their interests and have a passion for them. It's easy to get stuck in sameness, and you don't know when it's happening to you. So thanks for again showing us what else we might do instead.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Theron.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
Theron Burrough without the safety of a plentiful corporate economy you cannot live as they did. Not many people from poor countries are bohemian.
The Highlander I agree that our economy freed up time from labor, including for poor people. But Cassidy was a railroad worker, so I think people of many backgrounds joined in.
Theron Burrough yes my point was it’s kind of ironic. The Beats criticized the material culture of America but their movement could only happen in America. There were no Beatniks in Haiti
corporate makes u a wage slave, theres no freedom, id imagine the fifties economy was a lot more egalitarian
Oh my god David!!!! In the 90s I read so much about the Beats. I was a teenager then and I still feel they shaped my youth. THANK YOU!!!!
I read on the road in 1999. Great read.
Fine interview. Neal was a creature of excess and a fascinating human being. Deeply flawed, as are we all - but his good points were also a positive influence on many. Kerouac’s descriptions of him inspired me greatly in my early 20s back in the 1970s, and, luckily, I’m still here to enjoy being in the present and learning new things every day. Thanks for posting this video!
in my experience as a conductor/brakeman on the railroad I knew a few guys who had actual "wives" and families in separate cities that the rails connected during our jobs-meaning more than one
Same as sailors.
Truckers
Great show my mom was an alcoholic drug addict. I OD’d on Valium in 73’. I was 12. Against all odds I got it together found my wife raised 3 bright caring kids. They all follow a life style of watching their carbon footprint and make sure the world is better than it was when you got it.
I now have a better understanding of Neal Cassady from this 32 minute video than I got from the Tom Wolfe book that I read back in college. Thank you, David, for documenting this interview.
O! David Hoffman, your documentaries keep coming along better and better! I have long been fascinated by Neal Cassady in all of his on-carnations. This is the most film I've seen of his antics! It's wonderful to put motion to all of the still photos that I've seen of him, all I've found are a few very short clips taken on the bus. He has been a great study over the years. He's not what I would call a hero, but every few decades someone with that special kind of energy enters my life, and makes me think of Neal Cassady. As the Grateful Dead sang: "With cowboy Neal, at the wheel, the bus to Never Ever-land..."
Carolyn Cassady's book Off the Road, on her husband, & Kerouac, Ginsberg etc. is well worth reading
David....thank you for making these films. You have preserved our National treasures in your documentaries. I have never heard of or seen some of the people or things you have uncovered. Thank you!
This is so cool David, Cassady was on a whole different wave length, what a life he lived. I just gave my teenage son On The Road to read a couple months ago, that book did change my life when I read it at 17. I love hearing his daughters perspective. Thank you for sharing this. Your channel has great content.
Great video...very interesting. I never heard of Neil but definately Keroak , Ginsberg and Garcia. The 40's, 50's and 60's were my Mothers days that she grew up in. I was a child of the 60's. I loved the 60's and 70's so much. If I could I'd go back and stay there I would. Nothing like growing up in Santa Monica CA and on Venice Beach in a very bohemian lifestyle. My mom raised 4 kids by herself and though we had very little, we all had the best childhood anyone could have living free spirited on the beach and us kids would take the Tram down ocean Blvd to POP - Pacific Ocean Park, and wander around watching the hippies lol. I was only maybe 5 or 6. But in those days kids could freely roam all day till dusk and no one was ever worried we weren't ok. It was the best of times .
I agree with u very much because I grew up poor but didn’t matter because I had a great childhood ! Even though I was deaf for about 6 years of my life but it didn’t matter , I knew what folks meant without hearing them ! 🙀😱🙏🏻🥳🥰
I thought everybody knew about Neal Cassidy.
Huh, me too.
Same here. Was a bit puzzled by the title of this video
Thank you David for sharing everything you've done to maintain historical times. You're a treasure of information and nostalgia.
I didn’t.
@@anniedarkhorse6791 you hit the nail on the head Annie, I made the error of equating 50s = beats which is of course a nonsense, so yes there will be many who are interested in the 50s but not the beats and therefore won't know about Cassady
David what a wonderful interview! I was born in 1969 and I’m a little embarrassed that I’ve never heard of Neal Cassidy. I can’t help but wonder now that we as a society know so much more about addictions and really mental health issues, his daughter mentioned about him sitting there and all the facial or body tics he had, if he may have suffered from some from of bipolar or something else. It’s always fascinating to me to hear about someone who lived in another time, before awareness and diagnosis, if they might have had what is today something very common. Something that a good portion of the planet actually has. Anyway, those are my thoughts. And it was a fascinating interview and story. Thank you so much for it. Warm regards from northeast Mississippi
Thanks, David, for this great interview with Jami and Randy. The interest in Neal and the beats still remains, even fifty years after Neal's death, and long may it do so. Keep the interviews coming.
I want to hear more of Jami's stories! What a beautiful woman, and such an interesting person in her own right.
I started reading the Beats when I was a teenager, and it has led me to other interesting characters, ideas, and philosophies.
I'm now in my 40s and still learning and interested : ) Enjoy the ride!
Thank you for this, from New Zealand
She looks very familiar..I feel like we've crossed paths ❤
“A bus came by and I got on, that’s where it all began. There was cowboy Neal at the wheel on a bus to Never never land” The Grateful Dead’s song The Other One regarding Cassady, Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and their Furthur bus tuning in and turning on people to acid all across the country 🎶. I’m a big fan of the Dead, I love that you used the clip of Jerry Garcia. Another great watch, thank you!! I really loved hearing from her, just fantastic. I bristled so much at her recalling the amphetamines and her mother saying she was too fat, you could see the pain in her face. And I loved hearing you prompt her on describing last seeing her father.
"COMING! (tt) COMING!! (tt) COMING AROUND....Comin AROUND!!!!!!" YYEESSSS!!! I'm so happy you wrote that cause thats what I think about when I hear Neal's name. That and the fact that Phil Lesh's favorite show was the one they did right after they found out that Neal died in the desert night on a train he hitched a ride with. I have a tape of the show somewhere. They respectfully dedicate that show to Neal Cassidy.
I just posted the same! Neal the crazy driver of the further bus, I think.
This is one of my favourite channels, I always learn something interesting or get a window into a time that has gone by. I only wish I could have shared this channel with my Grandmother before she passed, she would have loved it.
I used to admire Kerouac & Cassidy but as you get older & experienced, & you see how they ended up, it’s a pretty sad affair. I suppose it’s better for some folks to live vicariously through the writings than destroy themselves imitating them.
Ed Stein. Yes. You are absolutely right. I was surprised they lived as long as they did.
I think I was to old when I read "On the Road" + I had been working with alcoholics and drugaddicts for some years. Needless to say, "On the Road" didn't change my life one bit! Altough I enjoy the way Kerouac wrote, I find the whole lifestyle appaling and the caracters just sad addicts. I prefere "Big Sur" to "On the Road". It's way more honest and doesn't glorify alcholism and drugaddiction.
They were SOOOOOOOOO sexist, racist too
“Live vicariously through them”. Right. They’re just in your imagination anyway. Enjoy their ballsy life and then move on to the next story.
@Paul Gauthier Paul, Yes, they were fine, but they were also very racist (see William Melvin Kelly's 'If you ain't woke, you can't dig it') and closer to home, financially devastating and heartbreakingly cavalier toward women and [their own] children.
Neal fascinated me as a young man. As I got older and had children of my own the fascination changed...I shared the similar feelings expressed by Jami and her husband with regards to him being a "Con" man or Confidence Man...It must be his life as art made those around him accept it willingly...I never knew about the Suicidal aspect of his life...a tortured soul was not something I ever associated with Neal. Thank you Jami and Mr. Hoffman.
Thank you
These guys lived life in a big way, just sort of roaming around the country, free as birds, hopping trains when it was still easy, drinking and doing drugs, and women. Exploring life through personal experience, searching for philosophical answers. Dharma bums. They weren't meant to grow old; living was a young man's game; their lifestyle had a certain shelf-life. I suppose Cassady envied Kerouac his gift of writing, and was prob disappointed he didn't write novels himself. But he left behind his letters as a testament to his ability, and memories of his carefree and very animated persona. Seeing Cassady's photo in his train conductor's uniform, makes me think he loved that job above all others. He prob would have enjoyed the freedom of being a long-haul trucker too. It was unfortunate about his San Quentin term; I wonder if that sapped some of his enthusiasm for life. Anyway, great interview!! Thank you for sharing this film.
Yes, it's true they believed that liing was a young man's game. Jack Kerouac died while he drank himself to death at home with his mother, Cassidy got killed while trying to jump a train.
Good observations. Yes, the Southern Pacific job dad had (10 years never missed a day) was his pride. And it served his way....long trips away from home, meeting people from all walks of life, traveling and being "respectable".
After San Quentin he could not get the job back. He met Ken Kesey, the Pranksters, the Grateful Dead and systematically began trying to die.
I have a Neal Cassidy book. 'The First Third' I read it about 25 years ago. I still have it..
Yeah. That picture as a train conductor looking so serious, yet all the time the wild times he had already been living.
Hopping trains is still easy
I've seen this interview a few times now and it's always interesting and refreshing to watch again. Wish I could have lived in the times of Kerouac. The older America
A lot of these 'great people' destroyed themselves because they were broken early on. We're lucky because they produced 'art' or were part of that movement. Think of those who never made it. The streets and bars and unhappy homes are full of the broken. Neal Cassady became a Dancing Bear - he knew that. And it broke his heart - he couldn't stop. Broke the hearts of his children too, and his wonderful wife Carolyn. I imagine his life to be a living hell. Kerouac's too. Those two people taught me something about myself. And I'll never forget it. Thanks for this.👍🏻
Great video sir. I love hearing these stories. The oral history of this needs to stay out there. So rich of a history.
One small correction, if I may. The picture of Lucien Carr is actually a picture of poet Gregory Corso.
Well done!
Everyone with an intellect in America has heard of Neal Cassady, he's a cultural icon.
I checked with my 49-year-old daughter And her friends and none of them had heard his name. Sad.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
I think the only people who heard of him were the same type of people as him. Searching, wanting more out of life, to the point of searching out for his type of person to be with and then they would have found him. But most people living in that era were trying to live life the best they can... raise their kids. And the kids like myself at that time, had way too many things to do to survive to try to avoid his type of person because it was very risky type of lifestyle.
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker 24 here and Neil Cassady is a legend to me.
I'd never heard of him and I'm very happy Mr. Hoffman has decided to present all this. So many gems that present the past in ways we hadn't seen when I was growing up. Great work.
"Anyone with intellect" is basically the start to a great "No True Scotsman" fallacy, by the way.
What a lovely lady and a great story teller!
Thank you Janet!
Very descriptive, spoke so openly and honestly... Very lovely lady indeed! I could listen to her stories endlessly 💓
imbicilic dope addicted
As a baby boomer who has always felt the tap tap tapping of the open road and as I approach 70 still dreams about taking off and going back to California through the desert as we did in 1960, I found this so incredibly enjoyable and well done. What a neat lady.
Thank you for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that UA-cam is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts.
David Hoffman filmmaker
I sure hope u can do what u r made for David ! Love to u & prosperity ! ❤️☠️💀✌️🫶🏼🌹🥳🪐👻😱🙀🧚♀️🧚🏿♂️🧚🏼🧜🧜♂️🧜♀️♥️🐰go for it !
One of my best friends was a guy who shared "on The Road" with me in high school. Though we were straight laced nerds, we emulated Neil and Jack - my friend and I took a road trip in a stolen car. Later in life we went our separate ways, both of us realizing that the Neil Cassady mythos is not sustainable. Like alcoholism it's intoxicating, and later on depressing and in the end deadly. As for Jack and Neil I'm still forever grateful, (but not dead!). I even met some of the folks in the book along the way. I was born too late, came of age and went through the 70's worshipping the Beats, ended in San Francisco. Dropped Acid. Ended up in Berkeley, quit drinking, still enjoy weed. I still don't regret the acid, mushrooms etc. I think the thing was, you could get too much of a good thing. Booze is what killed them, not the drugs.
Mr. Hoffman this is the best one yet . I have always admired the outcast of generations before I was . Neal Cassidy and the Beat Generation icons definitely deserved to be celebrated .
how very special , sharing with such clarity and truth with such tone is a gift long appreciated & far reaching 🙏🏽
What a remarkable little doc you put together here my friend!!! Bless his daughter, what a wonderful lady!!! I spent my teens and twenties trying with all my might to live up to the antics of these heroes of mine, Kerouac and Cassady and others of my own generation... What I would've given to have the possibility of spending a day with 'Dean Moriarty'... Thanks David!!! Really relished this one❤️
I recognized Al and Neil right of the bat. Probably because I’m a late boomer and they were still relevant to us kids on the fringe who went punk or hippie in the late 70’s
I was very briefly on that bus, hitching a ride from Frisco to Santa Monica. They picked up any hitchhiker they had room for on the bus. That short trip opened my eyes to a lot of ideas that were new to me. I think part of the reason I survived the 60s was that chance encounter with the pranksters. Awesome to see this interview, thank you David…I’m just binging.🖤🇨🇦
That sounds like a story worth telling Tamarra.
David Hoffman filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker I don’t know that it would be all that interesting to anyone else. I don’t remember who all was on the bus at the time. What made a big impression on me was that I was always sad I was too young to have been part of the Beatnik scene. There was a fluidity in the way they talked. My big take away were two catch phrases. “The main thing is not to panic” was the first, and “you are either on the bus or you are not on the bus, if you are on the bus, that’s okay...if you are not on the bus, that’s okay too” those two things have guided me through life since then, and they still do. It was a small moment of being in a liminal space in the midst of demonstrating and hanging out in coffee houses, singing in coffee houses, and running draft dodgers into Canada. Thanks for your interest David.🖤🇨🇦
Are you kidding me??? Of course some of us would LOVE to hear about anything regarding that bus trip!
@@D-Fens_1632 Thank you, it is always hard to think what parts of life would interest others. In retrospect I have lived a very full life, and experienced many things that would not be possible today. I have a biographer who wants to write mine…so I guess we will see what comes of that. I was a little awe struck when I was on the bus…these were some of my heroes, just talking in a stream of consciousness, and they were treating me like I was just one of them.🖤🇨🇦
@@tamarrajames3590 My whole image of The Bus comes from Tom Wolf’s “Electric Koolaid Acid Test” which was maybe the funniest book I ever read. Some criticize it but it contains the spontaneity and , in some sense, innocence of what was happening at that time. Remembering that that was 1964 - actually BEFORE the hippies. They WERE the original hippies and they didn’t know it.
Loved this, thank you! Brought back memories of my brother and the life he lived.
I read all kerouacs books at a young age and ended up hitting the road, hitchhiking and hopping trains. I feel indebt to those guys. The energy excitement of those books. Freedom is the best way to describe it. I could never put into words how much I love Kerouac books and what they mean to me.
I drove coast to coast in 72 hrs in 1977 after reading about 10 books by Kerouac. Luckily, I survived the period of my life when I tried to emulate Jack and Neal. I did become a writer, largely because of Kerouac, and even now, at my advanced age, I’m learning g new things and starting new projects. Currently I’m producing and directing a documentary and enjoying every day of it. I stopped drinking a long long time ago and credit that with everything I’ve been able to enjoy and accomplish since. “Freedom isn’t free,” as some militarists say through their bumper stickers, but that phrase can also be interpreted in a different way, which is, “there’s no easy way to be free.” Everything has its price. Peace to all, make each day count.
Wow. Amazing impact of these books on your life adventure!!! You may enjoy the ‘zine titled *Cometbus* - had a similar impact on me. Got me hunting for punk rock scenes all over the USA back in the 90s 🤣
Wow! Your work is stellar, David! You’re capturing the roots of our culture!! What a fabulous interview with Neal Cassady’s daughter. I love that you see this as leaving a legacy...that’s exactly right!!
How is it that i have never heard of this man before!? Very interesting interview.
This is wonderful! I hope you celebrate Jack Kerouac's Happy Hundredth in 2022.
A wonderful historical record.
Thank you!
My dad had my brothers and I read from On the Road when we’d be driving on road trips with him as kids. I now own almost all of Kerouac’s catalog. I also read The Electric Cool Aid Acid Tests by Wolfe which describes Neal tossing a sledgehammer in the air and catching it repeatedly when he first met him. Great video and interview!
Towards the end of the interview, she smiles through frozen tears. That little girl in her has a lot of emotional, unresolved pain, regarding her "dad". Others say to her, "You must be so proud"; her mind, emotions, and public response are not in sync, David. Just an observation.
Why is dad in quotes? Sure I see what you saw with the look in her eyes but I see it as resolved much more then unresolved.
What are you talking about?! Did you watch the rest of the story?!
@@matthewcollins5344 Bingo! And 'resolved', implying or evoking some form of settled finality, and we're talking Neal Cassady's daughter? Resolved? What the hell is that nonsense? ;-)
I dont believe that her perception of her father is that finite or extreme. I imagine her feelings toward her father (like many of us toward our parents) are fluid and exist on a spectrum depending on the memories shes accessing. Furthur (notice what I did there hehe)... I would take dad out of quotes because it implies he wasnt one. Thats not necessarily the case. Really it would be his daughter's view of him that matters and can be the only opinion that would solidify/qualify him as a dad or not. Just my take
I was born in Berkeley in the 1950s and new many of the beatniks. It was a mixed bag. Woman were treated like sh&t. I’ve been traumatized by my childhood but I also wouldn’t trade it for the world!!!
Thank you David for insightful, compassionate, story telling.
Very interesting interview, thank you. Is it part of something larger? Neal was influential to Kerouac and Ginsburg, and the hippies and Kesey, but there was a darkside, Kerouac pegged him as a conman, and there were trade-offs Kerouac did get something from Neal, but probably the person Neal was conning the most was himself. The being a writer, he had the intellect but not the discipline and Kerouac mentions that early in "On the Road". It's sad that he became a "dancing bear" as it were for the hippies, he deserved better, anyone does, but the hippies were so intent on living "On the Road" and Neal was the vehicle for them to experience that.
One thing I noticed about Jamie that seems connected to her father, if you watch her as she's talking she's always moving just as she described that attribute in her father.
What a brilliant interview with Jami! I really like her!
Thank you!
Why would you believe your audience hasn't heard of one of the most famous beatniks? He's a legend.. I'm 44 and knew of him in my teens.. hippies and such were our door into autonomy.
Based on asking my children's friends.
Im 45 and had never heard of him until now
You would have to be into that type of society to be able to hear about them. If you had your own struggles and trying to make a living and head your own life then, they would never come in front of your eyes
Definitely remember Neal Cassidy. Guess that tells my age. Lol
Good job mr David I have never heard of this guy till now, thanks man
I got to know Carolyn Cassady, a little, toward the end of her life (she died in 2013). She told me Neal and their son John both had a genius-level I.Q., she was sure of it.
Carolyn also told me she hadn't much liked On the Road -- "I didn't want to know what Neal and Jack were doing when they were out there." To me, it was great literature; to her, it was family. It was a wife hoping that her husband wasn't getting in trouble.
And bringing home a venereal disease.
I knew about this guy. I could relate as I lost my mother at 16, took off from home, hung out with older intellectuals, educated myself, had fun, pain, just LIVE!!!!! Be Free!!!!!!
I rolled my eyes upon seeing the title and thumbnail of this clip. I could not have been more wrong. That was beautifully put together and I plan on watching this many more times in the future. Keep up the good work.
I’d love to go back in time to that era my dad was a hippy. Yeah man groovy
This is magnificent Dave! I needed to learn more about Neil and got all the facts necessary. From the stories I’ve heard, just really wanted a glimpse of the mans life.
The documentary was so very well done. Loved the interviews with his daughter and her husbands experience during that era. The footage was especially well pieced together. It was a beautiful timeline.
Thank you Michael. I worked hard on it. Your complement is appreciated.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
What a wonderful documentary on an important figure. I love this and Im glad I found it. Thank you Mr. Hoffman.
Welcome.
I really like Jami Cassady in this interview -- she's terrific, smart, straight-forward, expressive.
Thank you very much!
I was born in 1962 and grew up in So. Calif. , before it was so over populated and smog did not exist . Neal was before my time , and I had never heard of him . When I was about 5 , I recall my oldest brother was around 14 years old and was hanging out at an abandoned house in Garden Grove Calif. . The people that squatted there were hippies with tapestries hanging from the ceilings and covering the windows . They were giving my brother drugs and wine etc , my brother would take me with him because he was supposed to be babysitting me , while my mom and dad worked . He was an angry kid and resented having to watch me . I recall the cops being called because he was playing on the 22 freeway which was right next to our house . We saw him running across the lanes back and fourth and cars nearly hitting him . I still remember hoping a big truck would flatten him like in the cartoons but it did not happen , they said he was taking Heroin and his abuse got worse after they stopped him from taking drugs by locking him up in a juvenile treatment place . When he came home he was the most scary and bitter person ever .
Some years later when we lived in Stanton , Calif. , I saw him using a needle and injecting Heroin into his arm , he was about 18-19 or so , I was around 10 years old . I was that kid that was scared of needles , so the idea of shoving a needle in your own arm was absolutely crazy . The strange part was , he became such a different and better person when high on Heroin , I actually feared him unless he was on drugs , he was a brutal abuser when sober and even beat up on our dad who was his step dad . Our Dad was a small guy , 5'2" and my oldest Brother was almost 6 ft tall and way stronger than our dad . Heroin made him nicer , but alcohol made him a bigger monster than ever.
a pretty rugged story. But thank you for sharing it.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
Whatever "Happen to your 'Brother ?
Heroin made him nicer? Maybe that should be a slogan to legalize heroin! Where is he at now? You did not finish the story! If I had to guess I would say jail, on the streets or dead because heroin makes you nicer!
@@NightThings99 you could be less of a twat
That's aimed at electric whatever your name is.
I just had to re-watch this video, David, the Daughter was so alive about her dad, that was nice. As I had said prior, my friends and I never took any drugs, but we all got high on life, with a little help of the booze ! I did see the hippy influence when I was stationed in Fort Dix, and went to NYC every weekend I could. I spent a lot of times around Bleaker St. and some of the hippy coffee houses, listening to some really inane poetry ! It was a great experience, and yet I didn't even do pot, until I tried it in the early eighties ! Don't think I had more than five or six joints in my life! I had a great run in life, and maybe would have done a few things differently, but all in all it was nice. Thanks again!
David, I love your style! You make history LIVE. Real history lies in these personal stories. Text books just don't get to the 'meat' of life .❤
Thank you Demitra.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
They used to.
This was awesome, David Hoffman. Thank you for uploading it. Neil's daughter is so full of life, articulate, and she seems like a fun person. Her husband is so sweet. How wonderful they have each other. 👩❤💋👨
Kerouac called Cassady Dean Moriarty in On The Road. Absolute marvellous book.
*Road
On the Way???
I musta missed that one.
@@Zezezeze69 Sorry my bad. I'm from Spain and here it's called "En el camino" so I translated it in a literal way.
@@Angel_Gomez thats what I thought happened. I have seen the Spanish version and it was titled, 'En El Camino'
Very well put together video. Allways interesting to find out about people that ive never heard of before. 👍
Wow, you can really see how hyperactive he is! Must have made school hell. Thank you for bringing this story to life!
This interview is classic, extremely well narrated and well worth watching. Great job !!
That was a magic film. I so enjoyed that. Thank you so much for making it David.
Thank you for another wonderful video. What a gift you are to all of us.
David, I do remember Niel Cassidy. I also remember the Beatnic phase which really didn’t last all that long but ushered in a new mentality for young people at the time and gave birth to the 1960s concept of resisting the status quo. It was revolutionary at the time and my parents and others of their age condemned it soundly. Didn’t matter, the ideas put forth by Neil Cassidy and the beat folks took root and changed the American ideology forever!
There always has been a counter-culture and an impulse to resist the status quo.
Great rainy,cold,Sunday afternoon viewing! Not all those who wander are lost. I thank you. Cheers!
That was great. Thank you for sharing Jami and thank you for putting it together David. I feel like there should be a Part II based on Jami saying she had so many more stories. Let them be immortalized.
Being a teen in the 90s, we had a certain obsession with the 60s, whether it was propaganda to sell Pepsi and Woodstock tickets or not. These decades (40s, 50s, 60s, and to a different degree the 70s) have always stuck with me and I've always wondered if I lived a life during these times (I was born in 79... By the way the interview with the woman at the social security office: wow!). These videos fill gaps for me that really hit me deep in my soul. It's like I'm reliving experiences that I've never lived, it's weird and wonderful all at once. Thank you, David. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you for what you have said.
David Hoffman filmmaker
So interesting learning about "boring grown-ups" when we were children, but realize now how amazing most of them really were. So politically incorrect for 2020 LOL. Man, we are fortunate to a have lived the era (second half of the 20th century) as we did. Thank you for the work you put into this.
FYI, some (many??) of those "boring grown-ups" were actually boring.
She is so lively and expressive herself- truly her father's daughter. She's young at heart and so likable and enjoyable to listen to as well.
My man David Hoffman steady dropping hits when I need them the most
Thank you Cyrus...
David Hoffman - filmmaker
Thank you Mr Hoffman. Your content is excellent. Well done!
Thanks for this look at the Svengali of the counter culture! One wonders if the beats or the hippies would ever had had such an influence without him. I dare say not. It goes to show that the movers and shakers are often the less celebrated individuals who propelled things forward by sheer life force.
What a fantastic interview with Jami, she is fantastic, she came out the other side with all of her wits, she is intelligent, articulate and this interview gave me more dimension on the man than I had before. PS: The documentary about Bob Weir ("The Other One") has him also talking extensively about Cassady, including his time as Cassady's roommate.
Went down a Beat rabbit hole. This was a great end point. Great retrospective David. Thanks.
Great, great video. Thanks to you and everyone involved.
Great documentary - a fascinating part of history and what a character ! Really enjoyed this.
Dearest Mr. Hoffman, I have to commend you again on such excellent content. Your videos are not only intriguing but extremely entertaining. And as always, they’re just full of basketball content that enlightens reviewer. God bless you and keep up your excellent work!
Brilliant , so pleased i watched this , Jami Cassidy came across just brilliantly , no other word for it . . . . thank you Mr Hoffman .
On The Road and the characters depicted in it are something I continually return to in my life. I find it means something different each time. In my teens freedom, romance and rebellion. When I was in my early twenties they became selfish, pretentious and ugly. Now in my late twenties I'm not so sure at all.. Maybe just the human condition.
if they were too selfish i doubt they'd be remembered. wonder if seeing the movie would help you clarify your feelings ua-cam.com/video/su75_mcryO4/v-deo.html
Thank you for your work, David!
This is my favorite era in American literature.. Neil Cassidy surely was a wild man . It was great to hear his daughter's account of his life ❤ love this.
It would have been fun for everyone but the mother of his children, my heart bleeds for her,..great work here though, David, thank you, again for another fsbulos, interesting story, , I watched to the end, happy to find out, that you felt empathy for his wife also.
Jami gave an amazing interview thanks for the entertaining and informative content!
I'm so glad you liked it!
love the messages in ur films as always David thanks for sharing... and ive shared this one now.... thanks for carrying on ur works!
Thank you as ever sir! What insightful work and the way you allow your interviewees to freely speak is evident. Fantastic film, I’d watch feature length docs on these incredible people who shaped the main and counter cultures of the western world. Amazing. Thank you and to your interviewees.
Thank you Marc.
David Hoffman