Coca Crystal

Coca Crystal (December 21, 1947 – March 1, 2016) was an American counterculture personality, political activist and provocateur.[1] Best known for her cable-access, weekly variety show television show The Coca Crystal Show: If I Can’t Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution, which ran from 1977 until 1995.[2][3]

Biography

Born as Jacqueline Diamond on December 21, 1947, to Jack Diamond, owner of J. Diamond Furs and Rita Dunn, a former fur model.[4] She was born in Manhattan and raised in Mamaroneck.[4]

Starting in 1969, she was a contributor to the East Village Other (EVO) and the name Coca Crystal was created as her pen name.[5] She would write about politics, women’s issues and personal events, many of which earned her the title "slumgoddess".[6]

Her cable-access, weekly variety show television show The Coca Crystal Show: If I Can’t Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution would always start out with lighting a joint, oftentimes she would be pulling the joint from a flower pot and then smoking it.[3] She would talk about protests, anti-nuke activism, local and world news with special segment called Newborn News and invite a wide variety of guests. Some guests on her show include; Philip Glass, Debbie Harry, Abbie Hoffman, Judith Malina, Cesar Chavez, and Tuli Kupferberg of the Fugs.[3][4] One of her guests, Glenn O'Brien went on to host his own long running public-access television show, TV Party after he appearing on Coca's show.[7]

In 2013, a play written, via interview with Coca Crystal and titled If I Can't Dance You Can Keep Your Revolution: The Coca Crystal Story was performed by Danielle Quisenberry.[8] The play was shown at Emerging Artists Theatre, TADA! Theater, and part of the East Village Theater Festival at Metropolitan Playhouse in New York City.[8][9][10]

Crystal died of respiratory failure on March 1, 2016 in Rochelle Park, New Jersey at age 68.[4] In 2006 she was diagnosed with lung cancer and had struggled with many treatments prior to her passing.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Forgotten Female Saints of the Counterculture". Flavorwire. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  2. 1 2 Oldershausen, Sasha Von (2012-05-13). "Coca Crystal, a Wild Child Turned 'Unconventional' Mother". Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  3. 1 2 3 Irrational, Unconscious And (2009-03-21). "Unconscious and Irrational: Coca Crystal's Dance Revolution". Unconscious and Irrational. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Grimes, William (2016-04-02). "Coca Crystal, Avatar of Counterculture and Provocateur, Dies at 68". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  5. ↑ "RIP Coca Crystal". EV Grieve. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  6. ↑ "Recollections, Crystal". East Village Other. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  7. ↑ Hawkins, Joan (2015). Downtown Film and TV Culture: 1975–2001. Intellect Books. ISBN 1783204222.
  8. 1 2 Maurer, Daniel. "On Stage, Coca Crystal Gets an East Village Other". The Local East Village. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  9. ↑ "If I Cant Dance You Can Keep Your Revolution: The Coca Crystal Story". allevents.in. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  10. ↑ "One Woman Standing". Brown Paper Tickets (BPT). Retrieved 2016-04-19.
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