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Ken Kelley | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Kelley by filmmaker George Csicsery | |
| Born | Kenneth M. Kelley September 24, 1949 Ann Arbor, MI |
| Died | January 13, 2008 (aged 58) Pleasanton, CA |
| Occupation | journalist, editor, publisher |
| Language | English |
| Education | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (attended) |
| Literary movement | underground press |
| Years active | 1969–1990s |
| Notable works |
|
Ken Kelley (September 24, 1949 – January 13, 2008) was an American journalist and publisher, active in the underground press movement. He founded and edited the underground magazines the Ann Arbor Argus and SunDance, and was a notable interviewer for Playboy magazine.
Early life
[edit]Ken Kelley was born on September 24, 1949, in Ann Arbor and grew up in Monroe, MI.[1]
He attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor on a full scholarship,[1] studying chemistry but dropping out after three semesters.[2] While at University of Michigan, he worked on the student newspaper, the Michigan Daily,[3] lived at the Trans-Love Energies commune off campus, and was involved in the White Panther Party.[4]
Career
[edit]In 1969, Kelley founded the Ann Arbor Argus, which ran until 1971 and reached a circulation of 14,000.[5]
In the early 1970s, Kelley moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and, along with Craig Pyes, founded SunDance, an underground magazine funded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.[4]
Kelley joined the staff of the Berkeley Barb in February 1973 and became managing editor that summer.[2] Alongside fellow Berkeley Barb columnists Dancing Bear and Gabrielle Schang, Kelley was a correspondent on Earthquake News, a 1973 alternative television news pilot in San Francisco.[6]
Starting in 1976, Kelley became a regular writer for Playboy, best known for his interviews of notable figures.[4] His most well-known interview was of Anita Bryant in the May 1978 issue, in which she revealed her homophobic and anti-Semitic views.[7] Kelley had traveled with Bryant and her husband for a week and protected her from a pieing incident while conducting the interview.[4][8] The Kelley–Bryant interview is portrayed in the comedic play, Anita Bryant's Playboy Interview, which premiered in 2016 in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.[9] Kelley also interviewed Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, Cheech & Chong, Abbie Hoffman, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury, among others, for Playboy.[10]
Kelley won a Maggie Award for his 1987 interview of Lyndon LaRouche for Focus Magazine.[11]
Personal life
[edit]In 1971, Kelley was issued a subpoena from a federal grand jury probing the 1971 United States Capitol bombing, and subsequently burned the subpoena during a press conference with Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman.[12]
Kelley became interested in the Divine Light Mission in 1973 and wrote about it extensively.[13][14] He started writing a book about the Divine Light Mission entitled Brave New Bliss, but left it unfinished at the time of his death.[15]
Kelley was a press aide to Huey P. Newton. After Newton's death, Kelley wrote that Newton had admitted to ordering the murder of Betty Van Patter.[16]
Later life and death
[edit]In 2005, Kelley was arrested on charges of possession of child pornography.[11] While awaiting the outcome of an appeal, he had a heart attack in jail and died on January 13, 2008. In April 2008, federal prosecutors asked to drop charges against Kelley.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Ken Kelley (deceased)". roosevelt67.org. Roosevelt High School Class of '67.
- ^ a b Ramella, Richard (July 9, 1973). "Barb changes with the times". The Berkeley Gazette. "But he has turned many chores over to his managing editor, who is Ken Kelley, now 22 and a veteran underground newspaper worker ... Young Kelley went to Ann Arbor to be a chemistry major, managed three semesters before it stuck in his craw and left to write for underground newspapers ... He has been with the Barb since February."
- ^ Michael, Thoryn; Howard, Kohn (March 23, 1969). "A 100-eyed monster comes alive". Michigan Daily.
- ^ a b c d e Taylor, Michael (22 April 2008). "U.S. would drop porn charges against dead man". SFGate.
- ^ "The underground press: a special report" by John Burks. Rolling Stone, Oct. 4, 1969.
- ^ Pyes, Craig (September 7–13, 1973). "'Earthquake News' to Shake Up Media". Berkeley Barb. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "What Anita told Playboy about gays, God, and Jews". The Miami News. April 4, 1978.
- ^ Keeper, Charles (April 23, 1978). "Writer Calls Miss Bryant Fun-Loving, Exploited". The Palm Beach Post.
- ^ "ANITA BRYANT'S PLAYBOY INTERVIEW". Cavernclubtheater.com. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
- ^ "The PlayBoy Interview". www.pseudology.org.
- ^ a b Taylor, Michael (15 February 2005). "SAN FRANCISCO / Writer arrested on federal child-porn charges". SFGate. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "Protesters Burn Subpoenas". San Bernardino County Sun. August 17, 1971. "Three leaders of the Washington May Day demonstrations yesterday burned what they said were new subpoenas from a Detroit federal grand jury probing the U.S. Capitol bombing. With Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman, the trio also announced that massive protests were being planned for San Diego during next year's Republican convention."
- ^ Kelley, Ken (January 19, 1974). "Get Your Red-Hot Panaceas!". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Kelley, Ken (December 13, 1973). "Blackjack Love". The New York Review of Books.
- ^ "Ken Kelley - Journalist". prem-rawat-bio.org.
- ^ Martinez, Don (August 2, 1991). "Reporter's notes ruling delayed in Newton case". San Francisco Examiner. "In an effort to bolster the defense, Robinson's attorney Alfons Wagner has subpoenaed Kelley, who was once Newton's press aide and who wrote after the slaying that Newton admitted ordering the execution of a former Black Panther Party bookkeeper in 1974 and shooting to death an Oakland prostitute in 1979."