Neal Leon Cassady (February 8, 1926 – February 4, 1968) was a major figure of the
Beat GenerationThe Beat Generation is a term used to describe a group of American writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, and the cultural phenomena that they wrote about and inspired...
of the 1950s and the
psychedelicThe term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλείν , translating to "mind-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly ordinary fetters...
movement of the 1960s, perhaps best known for being characterized as
Dean MoriartyDean Moriarty is one of the protagonists in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road. Dean Moriarty is based upon the beat generation hero Neal Cassady.- Character Information :...
in
Jack KerouacJack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
's novel
On the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
.
Life
Cassady was born to Maude Jean Scheuer and Neal Marshall Cassady in
Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. Salt Lake City has a population of 181,698 as of July 1, 2008, making it the 125th largest city in the United States...
. After his mother died when he was ten, he was raised by his alcoholic father in
Denver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the state of Colorado, in the United States. Denver is a consolidated city-county located in the South Platte River Valley on the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Cassady spent much of his youth living on the streets of
skid rowA skid row or skid road is a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population. The term originally referred literally to a path along which workingmen skidded logs. Its current sense appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest...
with his father, or spending time in
reform schoolA reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.-History:...
.
As a youth, Cassady was repeatedly involved in petty crime. He was arrested for car theft when he was 14, for shoplifting and car theft when he was 15, and for car theft and
fencingA fence is an individual who knowingly buys stolen property for later resale in a legitimate market. As a verb, the word describes the behavior of the thief in the transaction: The burglar fenced the radio. This sense of the term came from thieves' slang, first attested c...
when he was 16. In June 1944 Cassady was arrested for
receipt of stolen propertyReceipt of stolen property is a type of crime in the legal code of the United States. It is a federal crime under to knowingly receive, conceal, or dispose of stolen property with a value at least $5,000 that is part of interstate commerce .A person can be found guilty of that offense only if all...
, and served eleven months of a one-year prison sentence.
In October 1945, after being released from prison, he married the sixteen-year-old LuAnne Henderson. In 1947, Cassady and his wife moved to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, where they met
Jack KerouacJack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
and
Allen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet. Ginsberg is best known for the poem "Howl" , in which he celebrates fellow members of the Beat Generation and critiques what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States.-Early life and family:Ginsberg was born into...
at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
. Although Cassady did not attend Columbia, he soon became friends with them and their acquaintances, some of whom later became members of the
Beat GenerationThe Beat Generation is a term used to describe a group of American writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, and the cultural phenomena that they wrote about and inspired...
. He had a sexual relationship with Ginsberg that lasted off and on for the next twenty years, and he later traveled cross-country with Kerouac.
Cassady was the basis for the character
Dean MoriartyDean Moriarty is one of the protagonists in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road. Dean Moriarty is based upon the beat generation hero Neal Cassady.- Character Information :...
in Kerouac's
On the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
, and Cody Pomeray in many of Kerouac's other novels. Ginsberg mentioned Cassady in his ground-breaking poem, "
Howl"Howl" is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems. The poem is considered to be one of the principal works of the Beat Generation along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch...
" as "N.C., secret hero of these poems..."Additionally, he is commonly credited for helping Kerouac break ties with his
Thomas WolfeThomas Clayton Wolfe was an acclaimed American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novel fragments. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodical, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
-inspired sentimental style (as seen in
The Town and the CityThe Town and the City is a novel by Jack Kerouac, published by Harcourt Brace in 1950. This was the first major work published by Kerouac, who later became famous for his second novel On the Road . Like all of Jack Kerouac's major works, The Town and the City is essentially an autobiographical...
) and discover his own style through "spontaneous prose." a stream of consciousness type of writing first used in
On the Road.
After Cassady's marriage to LuAnne Henderson was annulled, Cassady married
Carolyn RobinsonCarolyn Elizabeth Robinson Cassady is an American writer associated with the Beat Generation through her marriage to Neal Cassady and her friendships with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and other prominent Beat figures...
on April 1, 1948. The couple eventually had three children and settled down in a ranch house in
Monte SerenoMonte Sereno is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. The population was 3,483 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 10 miles southwest of San Jose and is immediately northwest of Los Gatos. The city is named for 2249 ft...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, 50 miles south of San Francisco, where Kerouac and Ginsberg sometimes visited. Cassady committed bigamy by briefly marrying a woman named Diane Hansen two years after he married Carolyn Cassady. During this period, Cassady worked for the
Southern Pacific RailroadThe Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company , and usually simply called the Southern Pacific, was an American railroad. The railroad was founded as a land holding company in 1865, later acquiring the Central Pacific Railroad by lease...
and kept in touch with his "Beat" acquaintaces even as they became increasingly different philosophically.
Following an arrest during 1958 for offering to share a small amount of
marijuanaCannabisalso known as marijuana or marihuana, and ganja , among many other namesrefers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug...
with an
undercoverBeing undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
agent at a San Francisco
nightclubA nightclub is a drinking, dancing and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. People who frequent nightclubs are known as clubbers...
, Cassady served a sentence at
San Quentin State PrisonSan Quentin State Prison is a state prison in San Quentin, Marin County, California. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest in the United States, is located at the prison. It has a gas chamber, but since 1996, executions...
. After his release in June 1960, he struggled to meet family obligations, and Carolyn divorced him when his parole period expired in 1963. Cassady shared an apartment with Allen Ginsberg and
Charles PlymellCharles Plymell is originally from Belle Plain Kansas. He is often overlooked for his involvement as a Beat writer and poet.-Bio:...
in 1963 at 1403 Gough Street, San Francisco.
Cassady first met author
Ken KeseyKenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s...
during the summer of 1962, eventually becoming one of the
Merry PrankstersThe Merry Pranksters were a group of people who formed around American author Ken Kesey in 1964 and sometimes lived communally at his homes in California and Oregon. The group promoted the use of psychedelic drugs...
, a group who formed around Kesey in 1964 and were proponents of the use of
psychedelic drugsA psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it alters brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behavior...
. During 1964, he served as the main driver of the bus
FurthurFurthur was a 1939 International Harvester school bus purchased by author Ken Kesey in 1964, for $1,500 from Andre Hobson in Atherton, California. The bus was stripped down and remodeled inside and out for a psychedelic excursion across the country with Kesey and his Merry Pranksters on board...
, which was immortalized by
Tom WolfeThomas Kennerly Wolfe, Jr. , known as Tom Wolfe, is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
's book,
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid TestThe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a work of literary journalism by Tom Wolfe, published in 1968. Using techniques from the genre of hysterical realism and pioneering new journalism, the novel tells the story of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters...
. He later played a prominent role in the
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
psychedelicThe term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλείν , translating to "mind-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly ordinary fetters...
scene of the 1960s.
In
Hunter S. ThompsonHunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author, most famous for his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of...
's book
Hell's Angels, Cassady is described as "the worldly inspiration for the protagonist of two recent novels," drunkenly yelling at police at the famed
Hells AngelsThe Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto is "When we do...
parties at Ken Kesey's residence in La Honda, an event also chronicled in
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Although his name was removed at the insistence of Thompson's publisher, the description is clearly a reference to the character based on Cassady in Jack Kerouac's works,
On the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
and
Visions of CodyVisions of Cody is a novel by Jack Kerouac, perhaps his most stylistically free and varied. It was written in 1951-1952, and though not published in its entirety until 1973, it had by then achieved an underground reputation...
. His name appears explicitly in the 50th anniversary edition of the original scroll of
On the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
(
On the Road: The Original Scroll, Viking 2007).
In January 1967, Cassady traveled to
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
with fellow prankster George "Barely Visible" Walker and longtime girlfriend Anne Murphy. In a beachside house just south of
Puerto VallartaPuerto Vallarta is a Mexican resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2005 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 177,830 making it the fifth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
,
JaliscoJalisco is one of the 31 Mexican states that, together with the Mexican Federal District, conform the 32 federal entities of Mexico.Jalisco is located in central-western Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Nayarit to the northwest, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí to the north,...
, they were joined by Barbara Wilson and Walter Cox. All-night storytelling, speed drives in Walker's
Lotus ElanLotus Elan is the name of two convertible cars and one fixed head coupé produced by Lotus Cars. The original Type 26, 26R Racing version, 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans...
and the use of
LSDLysergic acid diethylamide, LSD-25, LSD, formerly lysergide, commonly known as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family...
made for a classic Cassady performance – "like a trained bear," Carolyn Cassady once said. Cassady was beloved for his ability to inspire others to love life. Yet at rare times he was known to express regret over his wild life, especially as it affected his family. At one point Cassady took Cox, then 19, aside and told him, "Twenty years of fast living – there's just not much left, and my kids are all screwed up. Don't do what I have done."
During the next year, Cassady's life became less stable and the pace of his travels became more frenetic. He left Mexico in May, traveling to San Francisco, California; Denver, Colorado; New York City, New York and points in between: then returned to Mexico in September and October (stopping in San Antonio,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
on the way to visit his oldest daughter who had just given birth to his first grandchild); visited Ken Kesey's
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
farm in December; and spent the
New YearThe New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations...
with Carolyn at a friend's house near San Francisco. Finally, during late January, 1968, Cassady returned to Mexico once again.
On February 3, 1968 Cassady attended a wedding party in
San Miguel de AllendeSan Miguel de Allende is the seat of the municipality of Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, a historic town founded in 1542 that has become an attractive tourist destination for wealthy Mexico City residents and has a large American and Canadian expatriate community composed primarily of retirees.-...
,
GuanajuatoGuanajuato is a state in the central highlands of Mexico. It is named after its capital city, Guanajuato, which comes from the local indigenous language, meaning “Hill of Frogs.” Las Ranas is a nickname for people from this state as frogs are their state animal...
, Mexico. After the party he went walking along a railroad track to reach the next town, but passed out in the cold and rainy night wearing nothing but a T-shirt and jeans. In the morning, he was found in a
comaIn medicine, a coma is a profound state of unconsciousness. A comatose person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to pain or light, does not have sleep-wake cycles, and does not take voluntary actions....
by the track and taken to the closest hospital, where he died a few hours later on February 4, four days short of his forty-second birthday.
The exact cause of Cassady's death remains uncertain. Those who attended the wedding party confirm that he took an unknown quantity of
SecobarbitalSecobarbital is a barbiturate derivative drug that was first synthesized in 1928. It possesses anaesthetic, anticonvulsant, sedative and hypnotic properties...
, a powerful
barbiturateBarbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and, by virtue of this, they produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, hypnotics and as anticonvulsants. They have addiction potential, both physical and...
sold under the brand name of Seconal, that can easily lead to
overdoseThe term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
. Cassady was not a heavy drinker, though he may have participated in a toast to the bride and groom. The
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
who performed the
autopsyAn autopsy–also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction–is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
wrote simply "general congestion in all systems;" when interviewed later he stated that he was unable to give an accurate report, because Cassady was a foreigner and there were drugs involved. 'Exposure' is commonly cited as his cause of death, although his widow disputes this and believes he may have died of renal failure.
Literature
Ken Kesey wrote a fictional account of Cassady's death in a
short storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
named "The Day After Superman Died", where Cassady is quoted mumbling the number of
railroad tieA railroad tie, cross tie, or railway sleeper is a rectangular object used as a base for railroad tracks. Sleepers are members generally laid transverse to the rails, on which the rails are supported and fixed, to transfer the loads from rails to the ballast and subgrade, and to hold the rails to...
s he had counted on the line (sixty-four thousand nine-hundred and twenty-eight) as his last words before dying. It was published as a part of Kesey's 1986 collection
Demon BoxDemon Box may refer to:* For the Motorpsycho album, see: Demon Box * For the Ken Kesey book, see: Demon Box...
.
Cassady's autobiographical novel
The First Third was published posthumously in 1971, three years after his death. His complete surviving letters are published in
Grace Beats Karma: Letters from Prison (Blast, 1993) and
Neal Cassady: Collected Letters, 1944-1967 (Penguin, 2007).
Music
Cassady lived briefly with The Grateful Dead and is immortalized in their song "The Other One" as the bus driver "Cowboy Neal." . A second Grateful Dead song, "Cassidy," by
John Perry BarlowJohn Perry Barlow is an American poet, essayist, retired Wyoming cattle rancher, Republican political activist and former lyricist for the Grateful Dead...
, might seem to be a misspelling of Cassady's name; in fact the song primarily celebrates the 1970 birth of baby girl Cassidy Law into the Grateful Dead family, though the lyrics also include references to Neal Cassady himself.
A
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
based folk duo, Aztec Two Step, in their 1972 debut album memorialized Cassady in the song "The Persecution & Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On The Road)"
The Beat-inspired folk revival band the
Washington SquaresThe Washington Squares were a 1980s neo-beatnik folk revival music group. Modeled after early 1960s groups like The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, the group was named after New York City's Washington Square Park, emblematic of Greenwich Village...
released a song named "Neal Cassady" on their 1989 album
Fair and Square.
The Doobie Brothers guitarist and songwriter
Patrick SimmonsPatrick Simmons is an American singer and guitarist best known as a member of the rock band The Doobie Brothers. He grew up in the San Jose area and went to Oster Elementary School and Leigh High School....
refers to Cassady in his song "Neal's Fandango" as his incentive for taking to the road.
North Jersey-based progressive rock band Children of Dust pay tribute to Cassady in their song "Neal Cassady."
The
progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
band
King CrimsonKing Crimson is a progressive rock band founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969. They have typically been categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, although they have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation drawing from jazz, classical and...
released a song named "
Neal and Jack and Me"Neal and Jack and Me" is the first song on the 1982 King Crimson album Beat. It was released as a b-side to "Heartbeat", the first single and second track on the album. The "Jack" and "Neal" of the title refer to beat writers Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady....
" on their 1982 album
BeatBeat is an album by the British rock band King Crimson, released in 1982.According to the Trouser Press Record Guide, the album focused on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Kerouac's On the Road. The album makes several references to the writings of the beat generation:* "Neal and...
.
Tom Waits composed and recorded a song named "Jack & Neal" (included in his 1977 "Foreign Affairs" album) about a travel to California, with Neal Cassady driving in the company of Jack Kerouac.
Film
Cassady and his life and friendships were portrayed in the 1980 film,
Heart Beat, starring Nick Nolte as Cassady. The ending of the film depicts him as misunderstood by his more youthful Merry Pranksters cohorts. The film was based on Carolyn Cassady's memoir of the same name.
The film
The Last Time I Committed SuicideThe Last Time I Committed Suicide is a 1997 drama film directed by Stephen T. Kay. Based on a letter written by Neal Cassady to Jack Kerouac, it stars Thomas Jane as Cassady. The cast also includes Adrien Brody, Gretchen Mol, Claire Forlani and Keanu Reeves.The film takes place in 1946, and is...
, with
Thomas JaneThomas Jane is an American actor, known for his roles in the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea, the 2004 film The Punisher and the 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist...
as Cassady, was released in 1997 and is based on the "
Joan Anderson letter" written by Cassady to Jack Kerouac in December 1950. Although much of this letter had been lost, a surviving remnant was originally published in an early 1964 edition of John Bryan's magazine
Notes from Underground.
A 2007 film,
Luz Del Mundo, deals with Cassady's friendship and adventures with Jack Kerouac. Cassady is played by
Austin NicholsAustin Nichols is an American television and movie actor. Nichols has appeared in guest spots on television shows such as CSI, Six Feet Under, Friday Night Lights, and Deadwood. His film roles include the 2004 blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow, in which he was cast as an academic and romantic...
and Kerouac is played by
Will EstesWill Estes is an American actor best known for his role as JJ Pryor, on the NBC drama American Dreams. His break-out movie role was Seaman Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker on U-571...
.
Another film, the biopic
Neal Cassady, was also released in 2007. This film focuses more on the Prankster years and stars
Tate DonovanTate Buckley Donovan is an American animated voice actor. He is currently starring in the FX drama Damages, as "Tom Shayes." Prior to this, he was best known for his role as, "Jimmy Cooper," in the American teen drama television series The O.C...
as Neal,
Amy Ryan-Early life:Born in New York City's Queens borough, Ryan and her sister delivered the Daily News by bike when growing up in the 1970s. At a young age, she attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Center in upstate New York. At 17, she graduated from New York's High School of Performing Arts...
as Carolyn Cassady,
Chris BauerMark Christopher Bauer is an American film and television actor.Bauer was born in Los Angeles, California and graduated from Miramonte High School in Orinda, California, in 1984, playing on the Championship football team of the same year...
as Kesey, and
Glenn FitzgeraldGlenn Fitzgerald is an American actor who has had over 30 roles in movies or television series. He played the character of Sean in The Sixth Sense...
as Kerouac.
Noah BuschelNoah Buschel was born May 31, 1978 in Philadelphia and grew up in Greenwich Village.*Writer/Director of Bringing Rain starring Adrian Grenier, Paz de la Huerta, and Alexis Dziena. Produced by Belladonna Productions, Bringing Rain premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and premiered internationally...
wrote and directed the film. The film deals primarily with how Neal became trapped by his fictional alter-ego, Dean Moriarty. In previews, the Cassady family has criticized this film as highly inaccurate.
Published works
- "Pull My Daisy
"Pull My Daisy" is a poem by Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. It was written in the late 1940s in a similar way to the Surrealist “exquisite corpse” game, with one person writing the first line, the other writing the second, and so on sequentially with each person only being shown the...
" (1951, poetry) written with Jack KerouacJack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
- "Genesis West: Volume Seven" (1965, magazine article)
- The First Third (1971, autobiographical novel)
- Grace Beats Karma (1993, collection of poetry and letters)
- Neal Cassady: Collected Letters, 1944-1967 (2004, letters and essays)
Published biographies
- The Holy Goof: A Biography of Neal Cassady, by William Plummer (1981)
- Neal Cassady, Volume One, 1926-1940, by Tom Christopher (1995)
- Neal Cassady, Volume Two, 1941-1946, by Tom Christopher (1998)
- Neal Cassady: The Fast Life of a Beat Hero, by David Sandison & Graham Vickers (2006)
- Off the Road: Twenty Years with Cassady, Kerouac, and Ginsberg, by Carolyn Cassady
Carolyn Elizabeth Robinson Cassady is an American writer associated with the Beat Generation through her marriage to Neal Cassady and her friendships with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and other prominent Beat figures...
(Original version-Penguin, 1990, first revision Black Spring Press, Amazon.co.uk - sole distributor, 2007)
Literary studies
- Friendly and Flowing Savage: The Literary Legend of Neal Cassady, by Gregory Stephenson (1987). Incorporated in The Daybreak Boys: Essays on the Literature of the Beat Generation by Gregory Stephenson (1990)
Appearances in literature
- John Clellon Holmes
John Clellon Holmes , born in Holyoke Massachusetts, was an author, poet and professor, best known for his 1952 novel Go. Go is considered the first "Beat" novel, and depicted events in his life with friends Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady and Allen Ginsberg. He was often referred to as the "quiet...
— GoGo is a semi-autobiographical novel by John Clellon Holmes. It is considered to be the first novel depicting the beat generation. Set in New York, it concerns the lives of a collection of characters largely based on the friends Holmes used to hang around with in the 1940s and 1950s in Manhattan...
(1952) as "Hart Kennedy"
- Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet. Ginsberg is best known for the poem "Howl" , in which he celebrates fellow members of the Beat Generation and critiques what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States.-Early life and family:Ginsberg was born into...
— "The Green Automobile" (1953) as "my old companion"
- Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet. Ginsberg is best known for the poem "Howl" , in which he celebrates fellow members of the Beat Generation and critiques what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States.-Early life and family:Ginsberg was born into...
— "Howl"Howl" is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems. The poem is considered to be one of the principal works of the Beat Generation along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch...
" (1956) as "N.C."
- Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet. Ginsberg is best known for the poem "Howl" , in which he celebrates fellow members of the Beat Generation and critiques what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States.-Early life and family:Ginsberg was born into...
— "Many Loves" (1956)
- Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
— On the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
(1957) as "Dean Moriarty"
- On the Road — The Original Scroll, as Neal Cassady
- Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
— The SubterraneansThe Subterraneans is a 1958 novella by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. It is a semi-fictional account of his short romance with an African American woman named Alene Lee in New York in 1953. In the novel she is renamed "Mardou Fox," and described as a carefree spirit who frequents the jazz...
(1958) as "Leroy"
- Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
— The Dharma BumsThe Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The semi-fictional accounts in the novel are based upon events that occurred years after the events of On the Road...
(1958) as "Cody"
- John Clellon Holmes
John Clellon Holmes , born in Holyoke Massachusetts, was an author, poet and professor, best known for his 1952 novel Go. Go is considered the first "Beat" novel, and depicted events in his life with friends Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady and Allen Ginsberg. He was often referred to as the "quiet...
— The Horn (1958) as "the driver"
- Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
— Visions of CodyVisions of Cody is a novel by Jack Kerouac, perhaps his most stylistically free and varied. It was written in 1951-1952, and though not published in its entirety until 1973, it had by then achieved an underground reputation...
(1960) as "Cody Pomeray"
- Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
— Book of DreamsBook of Dreams is the tenth album by American rock band The Steve Miller Band, released in 1977. It has been certified 3x Platinum in the United States.-Track listing:#"Threshold" - 1:06...
(1961) as "Cody Pomeray"
- Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
— Big SurBig Sur is a sparsely populated region of the central California coast where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big country...
(1962) as "Cody Pomeray"
- Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
— Desolation AngelsDesolation Angels is a 1979 album by the hard rock band Bad Company. It was their 5th studio release. Paul Rodgers revealed on In the Studio with Redbeard that the album's title came from the novel of the same name by Jack Kerouac.Desolation Angels was recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey,...
(1965) as "Cody Pomeray"
- Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author, most famous for his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of...
— Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (1966)
- Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly Wolfe, Jr. , known as Tom Wolfe, is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
— The Electric Kool-Aid Acid TestThe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a work of literary journalism by Tom Wolfe, published in 1968. Using techniques from the genre of hysterical realism and pioneering new journalism, the novel tells the story of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters...
(1968)
- Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet. Ginsberg is best known for the poem "Howl" , in which he celebrates fellow members of the Beat Generation and critiques what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States.-Early life and family:Ginsberg was born into...
— "On Neal's Ashes" (1968)
- Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was a German American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Bukowski's writing was heavily influenced by the geography and atmosphere of his home city of Los Angeles, and is marked by an emphasis on the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol,...
— Notes of a Dirty Old ManNotes of a Dirty Old Man is a collection of articles written by Charles Bukowski for the Open City newspaper. His articles ranged from angry rants to calm recollections of events in his life. The book has been praised by many of his fans for giving more insight into his life and general life...
(1969) as "Kerouac's boy Neal C."
- Robert Stone
Robert Stone is an American novelist. His work is typically characterized by psychological complexity, political concerns, and dark humor...
— "Porque No Tiene, Porque Le Falta" as "Willie Wings" (1969)
- Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s...
— "Over the Border" as "Houlihan" (1973)
- Robert Stone
Robert Stone is an American novelist. His work is typically characterized by psychological complexity, political concerns, and dark humor...
— Dog Soldiers as "Ray Hicks" (1974)
- Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s...
— The Day After Superman Died as "Houlihan" (1979)
- Chuck Rosenthal
Chuck Rosenthal may refer to:*Chuck Rosenthal or C.P. Rosenthal, American novelist and short story writer*Chuck Rosenthal - Charles A. Rosenthal, Jr., Republican district attorney of Harris County, Texas, United States...
— Jack Kerouac's Avatar Angel: His Last Novel as "Cody Pomeray" (2001)
- Nick Mamatas
Nick Mamatas is an American author and editor. His most recent novel, Under My Roof, was published in January 2007.-Biography:...
— Move Under GroundMove Under Ground is a horror novel by Nick Mamatas which combines the Beat style of Jack Kerouac with the cosmic horror of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. It was recently made available as a free download via a Creative Commons license at ....
(2004)
- Phil Lesh
Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
— Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead (2005)
- Robert Stone
Robert Stone is an American novelist. His work is typically characterized by psychological complexity, political concerns, and dark humor...
— Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties (2007)
Appearances in film
- Neal Cassady (2008) played by Tate Donovan
Tate Buckley Donovan is an American animated voice actor. He is currently starring in the FX drama Damages, as "Tom Shayes." Prior to this, he was best known for his role as, "Jimmy Cooper," in the American teen drama television series The O.C...
- Heart Beat (1980) played by Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor, film producer and former model.-Early life:Nolte was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Helen , a department store buyer, and Franklin A. Nolte, a farmer's son who worked in irrigation pump sales and was an All-American candidate at Iowa State in...
- What Happened to Kerouac (1986)
- The Last Time I Committed Suicide
The Last Time I Committed Suicide is a 1997 drama film directed by Stephen T. Kay. Based on a letter written by Neal Cassady to Jack Kerouac, it stars Thomas Jane as Cassady. The cast also includes Adrien Brody, Gretchen Mol, Claire Forlani and Keanu Reeves.The film takes place in 1946, and is...
(1997) played by Thomas JaneThomas Jane is an American actor, known for his roles in the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea, the 2004 film The Punisher and the 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist...
External links
- Neal Cassady Official site of Neal Cassady's estate, with stories and photos contributed by the family; Carolyn Cassady, Cathy Cassady Sylvia, Jami Cassady Ratto and John Allen Cassady.]
- Photos, Neal Cassady Sr. Gravesite
- Denver Colorado, Neal Cassady, and the Beat Generation
- Neal's Denver at Literary Kicks
- Neal Cassady at Literary Kicks
- Cassady Pages at Art and Leisure
- Neal Cassady at rotten.com
- Neal Cassady at IntrepidTrips.com
- Kerouac Alley - Neal Cassady directory
- Denver Beat Photo Tour, Cassady Haunts and Homes, More
- A selection of Neal Cassady related book covers
- Neal Cassady Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas, United States, and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol...
- Neal Cassady letter to Allen Ginsberg