John Lurie
Encyclopedia
John Lurie is an American actor, musician, painter and producer. He is co-founder of The Lounge Lizards
, a jazz ensemble. Lurie has acted in 19 films including Stranger than Paradise
and Down by Law
, composed and performed music for 20 television and film works, and he produced and starred in Fishing with John
, a 1991 television series. In 1996 his soundtrack for Get Shorty
was nominated for a Grammy Award
. For five years he appeared in the HBO television show Oz
.
Suffering from chronic Lyme disease
since 2000, Lurie refocused his attention on painting, his first major show in May 2004, in New York City. His primitivist art works have shown in galleries around the world. His painting Bear Surprise
became an internet meme
in Russia in 2006.
. Lurie was raised alongside two siblings, his brother Evan and his sister Liz. The family moved to New Orleans when John was six, later, they moved to Worcester, Massachusetts
. In high school, Lurie played basketball and harmonica. He jammed
on harmonica with Mississippi Fred McDowell
, and with Canned Heat
around 1968. He played harmonica in a band from Boston, but it did not work out. He switched to guitar and then saxophone.
After high school, Lurie hitchhiked across the U.S., seeing a lot of places including Berkeley, California
. He moved to New York City around 1974, then briefly visited London where the punk music scene was beginning—it did not appeal to him. He was more interested in avant-garde jazz
and no wave
.
with his brother Evan Lurie
. The Lounge Lizards, initially a "fake jazz" combo, has included artists such as Arto Lindsay
, Calvin Weston, Billy Martin
, Oren Bloedow
, Steve Bernstein, Marc Ribot
, and Erik Sanko
, among others. The band continued to make music for 20 years. During this time, Lurie recorded 22 albums and composed scores for over 20 movies, the most notable being Stranger than Paradise
, Down by Law
, Mystery Train
, Clay Pigeons
, Animal Factory
, and Get Shorty
, which earned him a Grammy Award
nomination.
During the 1980s he starred in three films directed by Jim Jarmusch
, Stranger Than Paradise
, Down by Law
, and Permanent Vacation
. He made a cameo appearance in Downtown 81
, and would have accepted a larger part but for writer Glenn O'Brien
insulting his African-American girlfriend. He went on to have roles in other notable films including Paris, Texas
and The Last Temptation of Christ
. Lurie also starred, during 2001-2003, on the HBO prison series Oz
as inmate Greg Penders
.
His 1991 TV series Fishing with John
, which he wrote, directed and starred in, was a cult success. The critically acclaimed series aired on IFC
and Bravo. Episodes included guests Tom Waits
, Willem Dafoe
, Matt Dillon
, Jim Jarmusch
, and Dennis Hopper
. It has since been released on DVD by Criterion
.
In 1993 Lurie, with Howard Shore
, composed the theme to Late Night with Conan O'Brien
which was also used as the theme to The Tonight Show
when O'Brien hosted. In 1998, Lurie formed his own record label
: Strange & Beautiful Music. On it, he released Queen of All Ears, a Lounge Lizard CD, and he released a soundtrack album from Fishing with John.
In 1999, Lurie released the album The Legendary Marvin Pontiac–Greatest Hits, which was purportedly a posthumous collection of the work of an insane African-Jewish musician named Marvin Pontiac. Pontiac, however, was a fictional character created by Lurie, and the music was written by Lurie. Performers on the album include Lurie, John Medeski
, Billy Martin, G. Calvin Weston, Marc Ribot
, and Tony Scherr
. The album received praise from David Bowie
, Angelique Kidjo
, Iggy Pop
, Leonard Cohen
, and others, who were in on the joke, and a fictional "biography" was published by Allmusic.
In May–June 2004, he had his first solo gallery exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery, New York. He subsequently exhibited at Galerie Daniel Blau in Munich
, Galerie Lelong in Zürich
and Galerie Gabriel Rolt in Amsterdam
. Lurie was represented at the Basel International Art Fair in June 2005 and 2006. In January 2005, Lurie exhibited his second show in New York at Roebling Hall's new Chelsea location. On April 30, 2006, Lurie opened his first solo museum show at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York. In 2007, his work was showcased at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
.
Lurie continued to exhibit in domestic and international venues in 2008. A collection of work was displayed at the NEXT Art Fair Chicago and Lurie's work was exhibited at the Mudam
Luxembourg
from October through December in 2008. In addition, The Museum of Modern Art has acquired his work for their permanent collection.
Lurie has published two art books. In June 2006, Lurie released his first book, Learn To Draw, a compilation of black and white drawings published by Walther Konig. In May 2008, Lurie released A Fine Example of Art, a hard cover, full color book of over 80 reproductions of his work, published by powerHouse Books. John Lurie's show The Skeleton in my closet has moved back out to the garden, was on view at Fredericks & Freiser in late 2009.
Lurie's watercolor painting Bear Surprise
achieved enormous popularity on numerous Russian websites, in an Internet phenomenon known as Preved
.
John Lurie exhibited at Watari Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo beginning January 30, 2010, showing hundreds of his works. From late June to early August, he showed 45 prints at Gallery Brown in Los Angeles. In January 2011, John Lurie participated in a group exhibition called "Angels Without Wings" at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Lurie said of his childlike style: "My paintings are a logical development from the ones that were taped to the refrigerator 50 years ago."
slept on Lurie's apartment floor for a few days at a time, on and off over a couple of years, leaving studies and artwork behind. In cleaning his apartment, Lurie says he may have thrown away "millions of dollars worth" of art.
In interviews, Lurie says he has experienced debilitating ill health since 2000, with initially baffling neurological symptoms. At one point, he was told he had a year to live. The doctors he consulted in the first few years did not agree on a diagnosis, but by 2006 eight doctors each said it was late persistent Lyme disease
, a chronic malady. Lurie names 1994 as the time of his first exposure to Lyme disease. The illness has kept him from acting or performing music, and Lurie spends his energy painting.
In August 2010, Tad Friend
wrote a piece in The New Yorker
about Lurie disappearing from New York, hiding from an artist named John Perry, whom Friend said was stalking Lurie. Friend's version of the rupture between the former friends was disputed by almost all those interviewed. Lurie described the article as "wildly inaccurate", noting in February 2011 that its publication did not resolve anything, that "the situation continues". In May 2011, Perry undertook a public hunger strike
to protest The New Yorker characterizing him as a stalker. Editor David Remnick
said the piece in his magazine was "thoroughly reported and fact-checked" and that Perry was accurately portrayed. Lurie commented about the protest: "He's conducting a hunger strike a half block from my house to prove he's not a stalker". Author Rick Moody
wrote in the online literary magazine The Rumpus that Friend's profile in The New Yorker, nominally about Lurie and his art, was two-thirds to three-quarters about Perry, including a full page photo of Perry standing in front of one of his own paintings. The article did not have a single image of Lurie's art. Moody confirmed that Lurie was very ill with chronic Lyme disease, and he described Perry as a deceitful stalker, capable of violence.
The Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards are a jazz group formed in 1978 by saxophone player John Lurie.Initially a tongue in cheek "fake jazz" combo, drawing on punk rock and no wave as much as jazz, The Lounge Lizards have since become respected for their creative and distinctive sound.-History:Lounge Lizards were...
, a jazz ensemble. Lurie has acted in 19 films including Stranger than Paradise
Stranger Than Paradise
Stranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American absurdist/deadpan comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint...
and Down by Law
Down by Law (film)
Down by Law is a 1986 black-and-white independent film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni....
, composed and performed music for 20 television and film works, and he produced and starred in Fishing with John
Fishing with John
Fishing with John is a 1991 television series conceived, directed by and starring actor and musician John Lurie, which earned a cult following. On the surface, the series resembles a standard travel or fishing show: in each episode, Lurie takes a famous guest on a fishing expedition...
, a 1991 television series. In 1996 his soundtrack for Get Shorty
Get Shorty (film)
Get Shorty is a 1995 crime-comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito, the plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details....
was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. For five years he appeared in the HBO television show Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
.
Suffering from chronic Lyme disease
Lyme disease
Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is the main cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii cause most...
since 2000, Lurie refocused his attention on painting, his first major show in May 2004, in New York City. His primitivist art works have shown in galleries around the world. His painting Bear Surprise
Bear Surprise
Bear Surprise is a watercolor painting by American painter John Lurie, the style of which has been described as primitivist and naïve. The painting depicts a couple having sex in a meadow, with a bear standing in front of them, with fore paws in a distinctive position...
became an internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
in Russia in 2006.
Early life
Lurie was born in Minneapolis. Before marriage, his mother had been a painter and art teacher in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Lurie was raised alongside two siblings, his brother Evan and his sister Liz. The family moved to New Orleans when John was six, later, they moved to Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
. In high school, Lurie played basketball and harmonica. He jammed
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
on harmonica with Mississippi Fred McDowell
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
, and with Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
around 1968. He played harmonica in a band from Boston, but it did not work out. He switched to guitar and then saxophone.
After high school, Lurie hitchhiked across the U.S., seeing a lot of places including Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. He moved to New York City around 1974, then briefly visited London where the punk music scene was beginning—it did not appeal to him. He was more interested in avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which ...
and no wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
.
Music, film and television
In 1978, he formed The Lounge LizardsThe Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards are a jazz group formed in 1978 by saxophone player John Lurie.Initially a tongue in cheek "fake jazz" combo, drawing on punk rock and no wave as much as jazz, The Lounge Lizards have since become respected for their creative and distinctive sound.-History:Lounge Lizards were...
with his brother Evan Lurie
Evan Lurie
Evan Lurie is an American composer and musician. He was a founding member of the band The Lounge Lizards, along with his brother John Lurie....
. The Lounge Lizards, initially a "fake jazz" combo, has included artists such as Arto Lindsay
Arto Lindsay
Arthur Morgan Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He is a 1974 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida....
, Calvin Weston, Billy Martin
Billy Martin (percussionist)
Billy Martin is an American jazz drummer, best known as a member of jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood.-Biography:Before becoming part of Medeski, Martin & Wood, Martin was part of the New York City Brazilian scene in the 1980s. He performed regularly with Pe De Boi, Batucada and several Bob...
, Oren Bloedow
Oren Bloedow
Oren Bloedow is an American singer, guitarist, and composer. He founded the band Elysian Fields in 1995 with Jennifer Charles.His father, Jerry Bloedow, b...
, Steve Bernstein, Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
, and Erik Sanko
Erik Sanko
Erik Sanko is a bass player from New York who has played in The Lounge Lizards and currently active in Skeleton Key.-Biography:In the past he also worked with notable musicians like Marc Ribot, John Cale, Yoko Ono, Jim Carroll, Gavin Friday, They Might Be Giants, The Melvins, James Chance and the...
, among others. The band continued to make music for 20 years. During this time, Lurie recorded 22 albums and composed scores for over 20 movies, the most notable being Stranger than Paradise
Stranger Than Paradise
Stranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American absurdist/deadpan comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint...
, Down by Law
Down by Law (film)
Down by Law is a 1986 black-and-white independent film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni....
, Mystery Train
Mystery Train (film)
Mystery Train is a 1989 independent anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and set in Memphis, Tennessee. The film comprises a triptych of stories involving foreign protagonists unfolding over the course of the same night...
, Clay Pigeons
Clay Pigeons
Clay Pigeons is a 1998 German/American crime-comedy film written by Matt Healy and directed by David Dobkin. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Clay Bidwell, Vince Vaughn as Lester Long, and Janeane Garofalo as Agent Shelby.-Plot:...
, Animal Factory
Animal Factory
Animal Factory is a 2000 American film about life in prison, set in San Quentin and directed by Steve Buscemi.-Plot:Edward Furlong plays a young man named Ron Decker, who is sent to prison for drug possession, and Willem Dafoe is veteran con Earl Copen who takes Decker under his wing and introduces...
, and Get Shorty
Get Shorty (film)
Get Shorty is a 1995 crime-comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito, the plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details....
, which earned him a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination.
During the 1980s he starred in three films directed by Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
, Stranger Than Paradise
Stranger Than Paradise
Stranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American absurdist/deadpan comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint...
, Down by Law
Down by Law (film)
Down by Law is a 1986 black-and-white independent film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni....
, and Permanent Vacation
Permanent Vacation (film)
Permanent Vacation is a 1980 drama film directed, written and produced by Jim Jarmusch. It was the director's first release, and was shot on 16 mm film shortly after he dropped out of film school. This film is often credited as the birth of the director's original style, and character schemes...
. He made a cameo appearance in Downtown 81
Downtown 81
Downtown 81 is a film that was shot in 1980-1981.This film, directed by Edo Bertoglio, written and produced by Glenn O'Brien with post-production in 1999-2000 by Maripol, is a rare real-life snapshot of ultra-hip subculture of post-punk era Manhattan...
, and would have accepted a larger part but for writer Glenn O'Brien
Glenn O'Brien
Glenn O'Brien is primarily a writer, largely on the subjects of art, music and fashion. He's featured as "The Style Guy" at GQ magazine, and has published a book with that title....
insulting his African-American girlfriend. He went on to have roles in other notable films including Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas (film)
Paris, Texas is a 1984 drama film directed by Wim Wenders. The screenplay is by L.M. Kit Carson and playwright Sam Shepard, and the distinctive musical score was composed by Ry Cooder. The cinematography is by Robby Müller....
and The Last Temptation of Christ
The Last Temptation of Christ (film)
The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1953 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as...
. Lurie also starred, during 2001-2003, on the HBO prison series Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
as inmate Greg Penders
Greg Penders
-Character Overview:Prisoner 97P528. Convicted May 7, 1997. Criminally negligent homicide. Sentence: 17 years, up for parole in nine.Greg Penders is in Oz for accidentally shooting a man he was initially going to threaten. Mostly harmless, Penders is an inmate who's always trying to take advantage...
.
His 1991 TV series Fishing with John
Fishing with John
Fishing with John is a 1991 television series conceived, directed by and starring actor and musician John Lurie, which earned a cult following. On the surface, the series resembles a standard travel or fishing show: in each episode, Lurie takes a famous guest on a fishing expedition...
, which he wrote, directed and starred in, was a cult success. The critically acclaimed series aired on IFC
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
and Bravo. Episodes included guests Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
, Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
, Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
, and Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
. It has since been released on DVD by Criterion
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
.
In 1993 Lurie, with Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
, composed the theme to Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
which was also used as the theme to The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
when O'Brien hosted. In 1998, Lurie formed his own record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
: Strange & Beautiful Music. On it, he released Queen of All Ears, a Lounge Lizard CD, and he released a soundtrack album from Fishing with John.
In 1999, Lurie released the album The Legendary Marvin Pontiac–Greatest Hits, which was purportedly a posthumous collection of the work of an insane African-Jewish musician named Marvin Pontiac. Pontiac, however, was a fictional character created by Lurie, and the music was written by Lurie. Performers on the album include Lurie, John Medeski
John Medeski
Anthony John Medeski is an American jazz keyboards player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood...
, Billy Martin, G. Calvin Weston, Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot
Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
, and Tony Scherr
Tony Scherr
Tony Scherr is an American jazz and folk rock bassist, guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer.-Biography:Scherr was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He played with Woody Herman as a teenager, and moved to New York City in the late-1980s, where he became a prolific session musician, working...
. The album received praise from David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Angelique Kidjo
Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, commonly known as Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva". The BBC has...
, Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, and others, who were in on the joke, and a fictional "biography" was published by Allmusic.
Painting
Since the 1970s and early '80s, Lurie has painted. The majority of his early works are in watercolor and pencil, but in the late 2000s he began to work in oil. Lurie has been exhibiting his paintings since July 2003, when two works were shown at the Nolan/Eckman Gallery in New York City.In May–June 2004, he had his first solo gallery exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery, New York. He subsequently exhibited at Galerie Daniel Blau in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Galerie Lelong in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and Galerie Gabriel Rolt in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Lurie was represented at the Basel International Art Fair in June 2005 and 2006. In January 2005, Lurie exhibited his second show in New York at Roebling Hall's new Chelsea location. On April 30, 2006, Lurie opened his first solo museum show at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York. In 2007, his work was showcased at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a major museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1860, making it Canada's oldest art institution, it moved to its current location in 1912 thanks to a large donation from businessman James Ross....
.
Lurie continued to exhibit in domestic and international venues in 2008. A collection of work was displayed at the NEXT Art Fair Chicago and Lurie's work was exhibited at the Mudam
Mudam
The Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art , abbreviated to Mudam, is a museum of modern art in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The museum stands on the site of the old Fort Thüngen, in the Kirchberg quarter, in the north-east of the city....
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
from October through December in 2008. In addition, The Museum of Modern Art has acquired his work for their permanent collection.
Lurie has published two art books. In June 2006, Lurie released his first book, Learn To Draw, a compilation of black and white drawings published by Walther Konig. In May 2008, Lurie released A Fine Example of Art, a hard cover, full color book of over 80 reproductions of his work, published by powerHouse Books. John Lurie's show The Skeleton in my closet has moved back out to the garden, was on view at Fredericks & Freiser in late 2009.
Lurie's watercolor painting Bear Surprise
Bear Surprise
Bear Surprise is a watercolor painting by American painter John Lurie, the style of which has been described as primitivist and naïve. The painting depicts a couple having sex in a meadow, with a bear standing in front of them, with fore paws in a distinctive position...
achieved enormous popularity on numerous Russian websites, in an Internet phenomenon known as Preved
Preved
Preved is a term used in the Padonkaffsky jargon, a meme in the Russian-speaking Internet which developed out of a heavily-circulated picture, and consists of choosing alternative spellings for words for comic effect...
.
John Lurie exhibited at Watari Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo beginning January 30, 2010, showing hundreds of his works. From late June to early August, he showed 45 prints at Gallery Brown in Los Angeles. In January 2011, John Lurie participated in a group exhibition called "Angels Without Wings" at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Lurie said of his childlike style: "My paintings are a logical development from the ones that were taped to the refrigerator 50 years ago."
Personal life
In New York City, he has lived with a girlfriend but has not married. The artist Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
slept on Lurie's apartment floor for a few days at a time, on and off over a couple of years, leaving studies and artwork behind. In cleaning his apartment, Lurie says he may have thrown away "millions of dollars worth" of art.
In interviews, Lurie says he has experienced debilitating ill health since 2000, with initially baffling neurological symptoms. At one point, he was told he had a year to live. The doctors he consulted in the first few years did not agree on a diagnosis, but by 2006 eight doctors each said it was late persistent Lyme disease
Lyme disease
Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is the main cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii cause most...
, a chronic malady. Lurie names 1994 as the time of his first exposure to Lyme disease. The illness has kept him from acting or performing music, and Lurie spends his energy painting.
In August 2010, Tad Friend
Tad Friend
Tad Friend is a staff writer for The New Yorker. His current focus of coverage is the entertainment industry, and he often writes the "Letter from California" for The New Yorker. His memoir, Cheerful Money: Me, My Family, and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor, was published by Little, Brown in...
wrote a piece in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
about Lurie disappearing from New York, hiding from an artist named John Perry, whom Friend said was stalking Lurie. Friend's version of the rupture between the former friends was disputed by almost all those interviewed. Lurie described the article as "wildly inaccurate", noting in February 2011 that its publication did not resolve anything, that "the situation continues". In May 2011, Perry undertook a public hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
to protest The New Yorker characterizing him as a stalker. Editor David Remnick
David Remnick
David Remnick is an American journalist, writer, and magazine editor. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for his book Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire. Remnick has been editor of The New Yorker magazine since 1998. He was named "Editor of the Year" by Advertising Age in 2000...
said the piece in his magazine was "thoroughly reported and fact-checked" and that Perry was accurately portrayed. Lurie commented about the protest: "He's conducting a hunger strike a half block from my house to prove he's not a stalker". Author Rick Moody
Rick Moody
Rick Moody is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel The Ice Storm, a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1973, which brought widespread acclaim, became a bestseller, and was made into a feature film of...
wrote in the online literary magazine The Rumpus that Friend's profile in The New Yorker, nominally about Lurie and his art, was two-thirds to three-quarters about Perry, including a full page photo of Perry standing in front of one of his own paintings. The article did not have a single image of Lurie's art. Moody confirmed that Lurie was very ill with chronic Lyme disease, and he described Perry as a deceitful stalker, capable of violence.
Filmography
- Rome '78 (1978)
- Men In Orbit (1979)
- Underground U.S.A. (1980)
- Permanent VacationPermanent Vacation (film)Permanent Vacation is a 1980 drama film directed, written and produced by Jim Jarmusch. It was the director's first release, and was shot on 16 mm film shortly after he dropped out of film school. This film is often credited as the birth of the director's original style, and character schemes...
(1980) - The OffendersThe OffendersThe Offenders is a melodrama filmed in the town of Randolph, Vermont, in 1921 directed by Fenwick L. Holmes. The plot is that a woman has been accused of murder, and the witness is the Village Idiot. Various locals were used as extras...
(1980) - Subway Riders (1981)
- Stranger Than ParadiseStranger Than ParadiseStranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American absurdist/deadpan comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint...
(1983) - Paris, TexasParis, Texas (film)Paris, Texas is a 1984 drama film directed by Wim Wenders. The screenplay is by L.M. Kit Carson and playwright Sam Shepard, and the distinctive musical score was composed by Ry Cooder. The cinematography is by Robby Müller....
(1984) - Desperately Seeking SusanDesperately Seeking SusanDesperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna.-Plot:...
(1985) - Down by LawDown by Law (film)Down by Law is a 1986 black-and-white independent film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni....
(1986) - The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ (film)The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1953 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as...
(1988) - Il piccolo diavolo (1988)
- Wild at HeartWild at Heart (film)Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on...
(1990) - John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards Live in Berlin 1991John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards Live in Berlin 1991John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards Live in Berlin 1991 is a 1992 documentary concert film directed and shot by Garret Linn. It was the director's first feature, and was filmed in Super16...
(1992) (concert film) - SmokeSmoke (film)Smoke is an American independent film released in 1995. It was produced by Hisami Kuroiwa, Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein and directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster...
(1995) (uncredited) - Blue in the FaceBlue in the FaceBlue in the Face is a 1995 comedy directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster. It stars Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo, Giancarlo Esposito, Roseanne Barr, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, Mira Sorvino, Lou Reed, Mel Gorham, Jim Jarmusch,and Malik Yoba....
(1995) - Just Your LuckJust Your LuckJust Your Luck is a television drama written by Peter McDougall for the BBC's Play For Today. The programm aired on 4 December 1972.After a fight with her boyfriend Duncan , Alison Hawkins embarks on a one night stand with a seaman called Alec Johnson which results in an unexpected pregnancy...
(1996) - New Rose HotelNew Rose Hotel (1998 film)New Rose Hotel is a 1998 Cyberpunk film by director Abel Ferrara, based on a William Gibson story of the same name, starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe and Asia Argento.-Plot synopsis:...
(1998) - Sleepwalk (2000)
John Lurie
- Berlin 1991 Volume One and the Lounge Lizards (1991)
- Men With Sticks: John Lurie National Orchestra (1993)
- The Days with Jacques
- The Legendary Marvin Pontiac (1999)
Lounge Lizards
- Lounge LizardsLounge Lizards (album)Lounge Lizards is the first album by The Lounge Lizards. It features hectic instrumental jazz. The songs are mostly composed by band leader and saxophone player John Lurie.-Track listing:All songs written by John Lurie except where noted....
(1981) - No Pain for CakesNo Pain For Cakes-Track listing:# "My Trip to Ireland"# "No Pain for Cakes"# "My Clown's on Fire"# "Carry Me Out"# "Bob and Nico"# "Tango #3, Determination for Rosa Parks"# "The Magic of Palermo"# "Cue for Passion"# "Where Were You"-Personnel:Lounge Lizards:...
(1986) - Voice of ChunkVoice of ChunkVoice of Chunk is a 1988 album by jazz band The Lounge Lizards. It was initially only available through mail-order, but later released on frontman John Lurie's record label Strange and Beautiful Music.-Track Listing:...
(1988) - Big Heart: Live in Tokyo (1986)
- Live: 1979-1981 (1992)
- Live in Berlin, Volume One (1992)
- Live in Berlin, Volume Two (1993)
- Queen of All Ears (1998)
- Big Heart: Live in Tokyo (Import) (2004)
Soundtracks
- Stranger Than ParadiseStranger Than ParadiseStranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American absurdist/deadpan comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint...
and The Resurrection of Albert Ayler (album released in 1986) - Down by LawDown by Law (film)Down by Law is a 1986 black-and-white independent film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni....
and Variety (album released in 1987) - Mystery TrainMystery Train (film)Mystery Train is a 1989 independent anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and set in Memphis, Tennessee. The film comprises a triptych of stories involving foreign protagonists unfolding over the course of the same night...
(1989) - Get ShortyGet Shorty (film)Get Shorty is a 1995 crime-comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito, the plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details....
(1995) - Excess BaggageExcess BaggageExcess Baggage is a 1997 crime-comedy film written by Max D. Adams, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Marco Brambilla about a neglected young woman who stages her own kidnapping to get her father's attention, only to be literally kidnapped by a car thief...
(1997) - Fishing with JohnFishing with JohnFishing with John is a 1991 television series conceived, directed by and starring actor and musician John Lurie, which earned a cult following. On the surface, the series resembles a standard travel or fishing show: in each episode, Lurie takes a famous guest on a fishing expedition...
(recorded in 1991, released in 1998) - African Swim and Manny and Lo (1999)