Swami X
Encyclopedia
Swami X is an American boardwalk
performer and stand-up comedian. Active from the 1970s to 1985, he performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, and New York. He was known for bawdy sexual humor and political invective.
Swami X's act involved blasphemy, profanity, and attacking "sacred cows"—producing "pleased shock and delighted outrage" in observers. His notable lines include:
He was known for appearing on the Venice Boardwalk, at the UCLA and U.C. Berkeley campuses, in San Francisco, and at Washington Park in New York City. He retired in 1985. In 2009 the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa
, presented him with an official proclamation.
Swami X appears as a character in Roger L. Simon
's mystery novel, The Straight Man and is referenced in Pat Hartman's volume of Venice vignettes, Call Someplace Paradise.
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
performer and stand-up comedian. Active from the 1970s to 1985, he performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, and New York. He was known for bawdy sexual humor and political invective.
Swami X's act involved blasphemy, profanity, and attacking "sacred cows"—producing "pleased shock and delighted outrage" in observers. His notable lines include:
- "Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. 'Yes' is the answer."
- "How do we know Jesus Christ was Jewish? Because he went into His Father's business."
He was known for appearing on the Venice Boardwalk, at the UCLA and U.C. Berkeley campuses, in San Francisco, and at Washington Park in New York City. He retired in 1985. In 2009 the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
, presented him with an official proclamation.
Swami X appears as a character in Roger L. Simon
Roger L. Simon
Roger Lichtenberg Simon is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is currently CEO of Pajamas Media. He is the author of ten novels, including the Moses Wine detective series, and six screenplays...
's mystery novel, The Straight Man and is referenced in Pat Hartman's volume of Venice vignettes, Call Someplace Paradise.
Further reading
- Jeffrey Stanton, Venice California: 'Coney Island of the Pacific' (2005), page 273
- Sweet William, 'X Swami X, The Sidewalk Comic', Los Angeles Times, Calendar Section, p. 170 (Dec. 23, 1979).