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American Prankster — Documentary
American Prankster

There aren’t very many original Beatniks left on planet earth and as of this writing, Wavy Gravy is one of the last original Beatnik poets standing. But Wavy isn’t just an original Beatnik poet – he’s also a improv comedy trailblazer and international comedic activist who’s antics included running a pig for president. This series travels from Wavy’s childhood to the Gaslight Café Beatnik years to San Francisco where the convergence of psychedelic and comedy history collided, steering Wavy to Hollywood where his comedy career soared, propelling him to the famed Acid Tests and the birth of his Hog Farm commune, bringing Wavy to the Woodstock Peace and Music Festival’s stage enshrining him as a global symbol for peace, love and Rock’n’Roll. Wavy’s historic and hilarious adventures include his involvement in countless cultural watershed moments in American history… like the fabrication of snapping for applause, the introduction of granola to hippies and in fact, the actual creation of the ethos of the hippie. American Prankster is a chronological deep dive with Wavy, unfolding never-before-heard stories about his life that even he had forgotten until interviews with Rainbow Valentine from Disorganized Crime: Smuggler’s Daughter, retrieved them. Stories about Wavy’s psychedelic shenanigans with countless icons like: Lenny Bruce, Groucho Marx, BB King, Janis Joplin, Tiny Tim, Del Close, Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady, Margo St. James, Thelonius Monk, Bob Dylan, Ram Dass, Albert Einstein, Peter, Paul & Mary, Marlene Dietrich, Severin Darden, Joan Baez, Martha Graham, Alice Cooper, David Crosby, Jackson Brown, Abbie Hoffman, Bob Weir, Mama Cass, John Coltrane, Grace Slick, Jerry Garcia, Paul Krassner, Bill Graham, Tim Harden, Robin Williams, Viola Spolin, Pink Floyd and many more. Guests on this series include members of the Hog Farm, the Merry Pranksters, Grateful Dead Family, KMPX, The Committee, the Family Dog, the Medicine Ball Caravan, the Yippies and other counter culture institutions. Produced by Rainbow Valentine Studios, www.rainbowvalentine.com

Copyright: © Copyright 2022 All rights reserved.

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Trailer for Psychedelic Women: Conversations with the Women of the Counterculture Apr 26, 2025

Show notes

Producer/Host, Rainbow Valentine was born into the inner circle of the San Francisco counterculture which didn’t seem unusual until she grew up and discovered not everyone’s family and friends were pot smugglers, rock stars and artists activating for peace, justice and equality. Rainbow Valentine’s mom, her friend’s moms and her mom’s friends were the bedrock of the world famous 1960’s counterculture - they were the first women in history to have access to (and take advantage of) The Pill, LSD and Rock’n’Roll. Psychedelic Women: Conversations with the Women of the Counterculture reveals never-before recorded stories of the sex, drugs and rock’n’roll of the paradigm-shifting 1960’s American counterculture. Search Psychedelic Women in podcasts.

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Bonus Ep 02: Wavy and his Celebrity Friends May 05, 2023

Show notes

Released in celebration of Wavy Gravy’s 87th birthday!

Wavy tells us about a few celebrity friends not discussed in the first 11 episodes, including Robin Williams, Bo Diddley, Sly and the Family Stone, the Jefferson Airplane, Joan Baez, Mimi Farina and more. Plus The Committee’s psychedelic adventures in Big Sur, Wavy goes Down Under and infamous West Coast LSD chemist, Owlsey, gives LSD to hippies headed to hot springs…. With music by Noodle McDoodle, Will Collins, Hope for a Golden Summer and The Ukulady.

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Bonus Ep 01: World Peace Through Smoking Jell-O Dec 09, 2022

Show notes

Step inside the psychedelic mind of original Beatnik-Hippie Icon-Comedy Pioneer and Pioneering Activist Wavy Gravy as Producer Rainbow Valentine continues bringing curated Wavy to your ears with non-chronological stories of Wavy’s rainbow chompers, the origin of his ektar and Jell-O with the High Times magazine founder. Plus Wavy breaks down the Architecture of Comedy, gushes about Gilda Radner, SNL, Mr. Rogers and gets into his Simpsons moment of glory. Also, find out what Beatniks drank for breakfast, hear about Wavy’s hit single by the Ace of Cups and Hog Farmer, Casper Vandermei tells us about growing up on a hippie bus with Wavy. Presented by Rainbow Valentine Studios and Hemlock Creatives.

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American Prankster 11: The Labyrinth Jul 15, 2022

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After the death of his comedy manager, Lenny Bruce in 1966, standup comedian, Hugh Romney, retreats to the Hopi Indian Reservation where he discovers the master plan of the universe…leading to Wavy Gravy’s lifelong obsession with labyrinths…. In our final episode Wavy gets into the projects he’s most proud of, unpacking the origin stories of his legacies: Camp Winnarainbow, Seva and planet Earth. Plus, Mutant Sponges, Harvey Milk, the Grateful Dead, the history of the Answering Machine and Rainbow Valentine investigates Wavy’s ultimate secret for over 75 years, unknown to anyone (except his wife)… his hated childhood nickname… Will Wavy reveal his abhorred-kiddie nickname along the master plan of the universe? Find out! With special guests Hog Farmers, Jordan & Jahanarah Romney, Casper Vandermei, Taliah Sykes and Dr. Larry Brilliant. Presented by Rainbow Valentine Studios and Hemlock Creatives.

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American Prankster 10: Too Weird to Arrest Jun 17, 2022

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Running the first black and white candidate for president, Pigasus, was merely Wavy’s first foray into national politics… in this episode we get into Wavy’s theatrical, activist extravaganzas, criss-crossing the country promoting Nobody for President, challenging the status quo with the belief Nobody should run the country because Nobody should have that much Power and Nobody Keeps All Campaign Promises…. Plus Wavy and the Hog Farm redefine family with the birth of over a dozen hippie kids, Santa Claus under arrest, FBI spies, Wavy’s prison talent shows with Jackson Browne and more. Guests, Jordan Gravy, Casper Vandermei, Jahanarah Romney and Susie Barsotti join Wavy Gravy and Rainbow Valentine to weave the saga of how Wavy uses humor as a weapon. Presented by Rainbow Valentine Studios and Hemlock Creatives.

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American Prankster 09: The Psychedelic Silk Road May 27, 2022

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After playing Canterbury with Pink Floyd, Wavy and the Hog Farm adventure in psychedelic buses across Europe through the Middle East to the Himalayas, having countless adventures and providing basic human needs along the way as they endeavor to deliver emergency supplies to hurricane victims in Bangladesh. Stories of golf in Pakistan, hashish in Afghanistan, Turkish prisons, Salvador Dali, Nepalese monks and an uncommon cruise over the Khyber Pass. Guests include Hog Farmers, Jahanarah Romney, Dorje Bond and Dr. Larry Brilliant. Presented by Rainbow Valentine Studios and Hemlock Creatives.

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American Prankster 08: Woodstock on Wheels May 20, 2022

Show notes

This episode unfolds Wavy’s pivot from Hollywood Beatnik Comedian to Rock’n’Roll Humanitarian Hippie Clown, providing basic human needs at festivals, saving the planet and more. We dig into the Texas Pop Fest ’69, Altamont and the Medicine Ball Caravan documentary, which aimed to recreate Woodstock in rural towns across America before depositing Wavy and friends in Europe, setting the stage for their international hippie bus caravan to the Himalayas. Wavy shares stories of his relationships with Jerry Garcia, Bill Graham, BB King, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, the Jefferson Airplane and more. Special guests include KMPX/KSAN radio pioneer, Raechel Donohue and Hog Farmers, Dr. Larry Brilliant, Jahanarah Romney and Dorje Bond. Presented by Rainbow Valentine Studios and Hemlock Creatives.

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American Prankster 07: The Woodstock Unicorn May 13, 2022

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Why do hippies eat granola and wear tie dye? Because of the Woodstock Peace and Music Festival in 1969, when Hugh Romney became a global symbol for Peace, Love and Rock’n’Roll! After Wavy and the Hog Farm commune are hired to work at the iconic music festival, American’s opinions of hippies shift, along with the ethos of festival-partying. Diving into Woodstock’s unicorn moments, this episode unfolds why Woodstock was a unicorn and how Wavy and the Hog Farm commune were instrumental in the event’s success as they helped transform America’s notions of hippies, establishing a conscious, humanitarian way to party imitated by today’s festivals worldwide PLUS how granola and tie dye became synonymous with hippies. With guests Lisa Law, Jahanarah Romney, Laura Foster Corbin, Erica Miller and Jean Nichols. Presented by Rainbow Valentine Studios and Hemlock Creatives

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American Prankster 06: Hog Farm High-Jinks May 06, 2022

Show notes

40 psychedelic houseguests in Hugh and Bonnie Jean’s 1 bedroom apartment leads to eviction, propelling Wavy and the Merry Pranksters to a literal hog farm as they morph from Beatniks into a new subculture the media calls “Hippies”. Starting with Hugh and Bonnie Jean’s 1966 wedding and honeymoon, Wavy unfolds origin stories of the Hog Farm commune and their groundbreaking theatrical parties, which attract attention from the media, movie stars and murderers. Hollywood windfall launches The Hog Farm and Friends Open Celebration, a traveling college roadshow tour PLUS Wavy joins forces with Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies, challenging the core of American politics when they run America’s first black and white candidate for president: Pigasus the Immortal! Episode guests include Abbie Hoffman’s archivist, Adrian Marin, Hog Farmers Dorje Bond, Laura Foster Corbin and Jahanarah Romney. Presented by Rainbow Valentine Studios and Hemlock Creatives.

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American Prankster 05: Can You Pass the Acid Test? Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

Hollywood and Psychedelic history collide when comedian Hugh Romney, moves to LA where Lenny Bruce becomes his manager, improv icon Del Close becomes his roommate and writer-LSD-enthusiast Ken Kesey, becomes his fan! Wavy tells stories of Lenny’s tragic demise plus theatrical psychedelic shows and shenanigans with Del introducing history’s early laser light displays. Find out why The Byrds were involved in Hugh’s courtship of his lifelong love, Bonnie Jean aka Jahanarah and how the infamous Acid Tests (accompanied by house band, The Grateful Dead) evolved when 40 Merry Pranksters appeared unannounced on Hugh and Bonnie Jean’s doorstep, ushering in the memorable question, “Can You Pass the Acid Test?”. Guests include Sunshine Kesey, original Merry Pranksters Denise Kaufman and Laura Foster Corbin, historian, Dennis McNally and more. Presented by Rainbow Valentine Studios and Hemlock Creatives.

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