carl franzoni

Carl Franzoni was one the L.A. freaks in the early sixties. Frank Zappa wrote 'Hungry Freaks, Daddy' for him.

Carl was part of Vito Paulekas' troupe that danced and freaked out at the early Mothers concerts. Various photographs of the early Mothers include Carl Franzoni.

Carl Franzoni took part in some of the early recordings of the first Mothers Of Invention. In more recent years, John Trubee walked in to a Carl Franzoni art exhibition in Santa Rosa, and conducted an excellent interview.

The picture on the right shows Vito Paulekas, Leslie J Michel and Carl Franzoni.
Thanks to Leslie J Michel (http://LJMichel.com) for the picture.


David Borboa made a documentary about Carl Franzoni, entitled: "Freak Out! - The Carl O. Franzoni Movie". The picture on the right shows Carl Franzoni, and was sent in by David Borboa. "franzoni early morning wile wearing a catheter".

	the mothers of invention: freak out! (1) (1966, 2lp, usa, verve)
	kaosmik kitty: kitty o'nine tales... or the nine lives of kaosmikitty - volume 2 (2004, cdr, usa, private release) = kaosmikitty interviewed by john trubee, cover-picture by carl franzoni
	frank zappa: the mofo project/object (77) (2006, 2cd, usa, zappa records)
	frank zappa: the mofo project/object (78) (2006, 4cd, usa, zappa records)
	"freak out! - the carl o. franzoni movie" by david borboa (unrleased, dvd, usa, david barboa)

the sundazed interview (http://www.sundazed.com/scene/exclusives/franzoni_exclusive.html)

     From: Frank Zappa (The Real FZ Book)
Next stop: Dallas. We flew into Love Field and found ourselves walking down a long hall, full of soldiers and sailors- stopped dead in their tracks, staring in utter disbelief. They didn't say anything. They didn't throw anything at us. They didn't shoot us like Easy Rider- they just stood there.
The high point of the performance was Carl Franzoni, our 'go-go boy.' He was wearing ballet tights, frugging violently. Carl has testicles which are bigger than a breadbox. Much bigger than a breadbox. The looks on the faces of the Baptist teens experiencing their grandeur is a treasured memory.

     From: Randy Cech (Sam_Pharroh@email.msn.com)
     Subject: David Crosby, Carl Franzoni and Vito: Freakout liner note connection revealed

In the 1990 Byrds box set which got from my Library there is a photograph with the caption "The Byrds with Carl Franzoni and "Some Weird Friends". "In the photograph David Crosby is wearing a cloak or a cape and doing a vampire pose. The other people in the photograph's attention seems to be split between Carl Franzoni and the photographer.

Later in the story "inside The Byrds" : Personal Reflections by Derek Taylor, original Byrds publicist and press agent.
....
    "The Jefferson Airplane, and all the good San Francisco others, not least the Grateful Dead, were all endorsed by David Crosby, just as in L.A., Love, the Lovin' Spoonful, and the Mamas And Papas picked up similar encouragement from the Byrds. But the wellspring of sincere commercial group-weirdness was the Byrds and it was made manifest in Ciro's in the
spring of 1965. Audiences at first small at Ciro's grew to capacity and overflow. In time, anybody who was anybody was there again!
    "Mr.. Tambourine Man" was released in May. (snip) There was no "rock press" then. (snip)There was absolutely no "underground." (snip)
    Meantime, after more residencies at Ciro's, a kind of rolling "Byrds Meander Across America With Some Weird Friends" jaunt was put together. They did now have a following of some really way-out freaks, led by an older beat type called Vito and a memorable corkscrew-haired maybe-hipster named Carl Franzoni, reeking of Patchouli and usually very, very high.
There was also a gaggle of flower-children. I was frightened of the effect of all this on a totally unprepared and very jumpy Middle America, but the Byrds pooh-poohed my anxiety and went ahead with it. It was, of course, quite okay."

Ciro's was at 8433 Sunset, on the strip in Hollywood California.

     From: Bossk (R) (wikberg@mbox301.swipnet.se)
I found this web page so maybe all the film the Mothers did on this film is not lost.
http://radfilms.com/mondo_hollywood_photo_album.htm

     From: Patrick Neve (splat@darkwing.uoregon.edu)
Also see: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~splat/Mondo_Hollywood.html

     From: Craig Jones (good_king_zog@msn.com.au)
Footage of Vito & Carl can be seen in a LSD-is-evil-film from 1967 called, "LSD-25", in which Vito & Carl are seen in a short scene entering a shop & trying on some mod glasses...

     From: computeruser (computeruser69@hotmail.com0
     Subject: Re: You Are What You Eat (1968)
Animal Huxley, Vito & Carl Franzoni mostly. Some footage from some presumably Hollywood Strip club, Mothers on stage.
Music did seem to be FZ. Tiny Tim and David Crosby also appear in film, together with the names above. All were mentioned in the Freak Out liner notes. Apparently Tower records had a soundtrack album of this film.

     From: Hustler Magazine, August 1974:
Hustler: Where'd you get those shoes?
Zappa: These are regular shoes that were painted by a crazy person.
Hustler: Anybody we know about?
Zappa: Yes, Carl Franzoni. Do you remember Carl? Carl Franzoni, believe it or not, is now the commissioner of parks and recreation in a town in California.

     From: robert cohen (radfilms@usa.net)
Karl Franzoni (aka CAPTAIN FUCK) was a disciple of VITO THE MAGNIFICENT - KING OF THE HIPPIES, who introduced us in 1965. I don't recall Capt. Fuck ever saying much in my presence. I recall having heard that he had to
flee to Canada in the 1970s due to having become involved in some sort of drug deal. The only story I know about him is that, in addition to enhancing his manly appearance at Cantor's Delicatessen on Fairfax Avenue by wearing a rolled-up towel in his tights, he was selected one night by a lesbian who desperately needed to be initiated into heterosexual activities. The poor thing awoke a few days later to find herself not only pregnant, but also afflicted with syphilis, gonorrhea, and trenchmouth! Was this factually correct? Perhaps not, but it certainly mirrored his public image.

     From: crawlingwageslave@juno.com
     To: liquidmoamo@aol.com
This is a true story--I'm not shitting you.
I was at the local Santa Rosa Junior College today--there was an open house, people milling about, tables with brochures on 'em etc. I went into an art lounge gallery to look at pictures--and I heard somebody introduce this older hippie type guy as 'Carl Franzoni' . I remembered his name from the FREAKOUT liner notes, I started yakking with him--and he was THE Carl
Fanzoni who inspired HUNGRY FREAKS, DADDY. Pretty weird. He was telling me old Mothers crap--he is an artist and lives right here in Santa Rosa. He seemed eager to talk and was flattered that a mere damn bystander would
recognize him as a reference in a 35 year old LP liner note. He gave me his number--mebbe I'll learn more about the freak days in LA. Do I sound like one of those idiots on the Zappa news group? 'Hungry Freaks, Daddy' was one of the anthems of my youth--so it was kinda nifty meeting the guy about whom the song was written. Next I gotta get David Cassidy's autograph. So what's gonna be yer sarcastic response?
Peace, baby--
John Trubee

* * * * *
and there's more to be found on carl franzoni & the early l.a. freaks:

"When LOVE played the still hipper Whisky A Go-Go, further west along Sunset, Arthur Lee claims they 'started the whole hippy thing' in tandem with an in-crowd of freaks led by aging beatnik sculptor Vito Paulekas. It was Vito, Carl Franzoni, Sue, Beatle Bob, Bryan Maclean and me…people would come to Ben Frank's to hang out with us after we played shows."

-Barney Hoskins

(from "LOVE - Through the Keyhole" - MOJO Magazine)

"... The original Beatle Bob, who went on the road with Vito Paulekas' 9 (?)-person dance troupe from the Byrds' Ciro's gigs, today works at a Tatoo Parlor on Melrose. The Byrds actually brought these people out on the road, because the 1965 freak scene in L.A. was so different than anything else anyone had seen before, that the Byrds felt it necassary to bring the Sunset Strip hardcore audience out on the road with them. Kim Fowley related to me that both the Byrds and Love did their early rehersals at Vito's clay sculpture studio, the location (303 Laurel) of which is cattycorner to a hip little diner on Beverly (which I've forgottent the name of, sorry.) Anyway, you can sit in this rennovated-by-alt.rock-kids '50s diner, and orb the old Clay Vito location across the street. Vito's troupe used to dance at all the Mothers of Invention gigs too, and can be seen dancing at Whisky a Go Go in THE COOL ONES. Vito also shows up in MONDO HOLLYWOOD in an interview segment, and his troupe are dancing to the Mothers '66 gig at the Shrine in YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT... you can even see them putting on their body paint at Clay Vito in the film, and one of the bodies is painted by Von Dutch, the Mad Martian Pinstriper who influenced Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Too bad the Shrine footage has Electric Flag music dubbed over it. Calling Greg Shaw on this one: Does anyone out there know what the operating name of this dance troupe was? Vito cut a record as Vito & the Hands (thanks, Mr. Fowley), so that's not it. Anyways, one of the Vito troupe members had a nickname, "Johnny Fuck Fuck" that you never read in the liner notes or anthologies...

Who Were They?-- Vito Paulekas, Rory Flynn, Emerald, Carl Franzoni, Suzy Creamcheese (Pamela Zarbica), Linda Bopp, Szou, Beatle Bob, Butchie, Karen Yum Yum.

We used to go to the cemetery, Catherine and Dara and i, and take pictures and i did a small movie in the rain. Carr st. leads to cemetery, Catherine family are in the crept, on the sunny side. Just thinking of U. i happen to be very intuitive , about people i like, Is that as scary as the dead people. Remember my Indian astrology, is death and the wind. Now poem i wrote:

The year 2001 en-ron failing, pg&e stealing from california, martha stuart rip off, cushbush going in- to political toilet after 9 months in office, talaban inbush's pocket, this planned with the last president and gore the whore. who never contested the vote. and then wallstreet stealing from it's customers, that was what the hopi prediction is about, because they are stock customers too, several tribes and greenpeace protested and did one hour drumming in front of #7 building wallstreet, then were asked to come upstairs 37th. floor, and they protested and gave a prediction of total destruction of wall-street, this happened in april 2001. leman-brothers#7 building falling three weeks after u.s. marshals demolished their holly grounds august 2001 in mesa arizona . wall street had to fall, to hide everything. and to make sure, it was boomed from the inside with plastic.

Xavier Filliol from Paris, wants me to write about my life story, in 60s & up until now.

Are you interested, in knowing it was me that whispered in Jane Fonda's ear about the War in Vietnam! We were all siting in Canters Restaurant in Hollywood, Dennis Hopper was sitting there also .God have you all forgotten about old carl franzoni
Remember it was Vito that had the Teen Dance that was busted by the local police , on the walls were placards and signs about stopping the WARinVietnam and the same Cop that busted the dance, tried to assassinate me in a house on Fairfax Blvd. in Hollywood in 1968;
the cop said to me as he hit me across my temple with his blue steele automatic pistol, 'You don't know who I am do you franzoni, You dirty fucking commie bastard!!! all the people in Hollywood heard what happened, and only Frank and Gail Zappa helped me get out of jail, it was a phony dope charge, the US government threw it out of court in early 1969 but i stayed underground in till 1/1/1970 but have been afraid to say any thing until resently being probed and filmed, By Xavier Filliol, a producer and Rock musician from Paris, France.who came this last March to film us in Hollywood We do not know the out come of the footage Xavier took, and we did do a shoot in Gail Z's house, at that time! Just write a book thats what they say to do.

here in Santa Rosa, California, me, i just keep making small movies,About local Indians and another called Karl's Kitchen. # 5 will be shown on local TV Community Media Channel this next 11/13/2006 .

Trailer for the up coming documentary on Carl O. Franzoni by David Borboa. www.DavidBorboa.com

David Borboa is currently seeking funding to complete this project. Go to his website and donate, or e-mail him suggestions at his website.

On Saturday, February 2, Esotouric, the eclectic collective whose offbeat bus tours expose LA's secret history, presents a special edition of "Where the Action Was" with guest stars Carl "King of the Freaks" Franzoni, and John "King of the Prank Callers" Trubee. The four-hour tour, co-hosted by pop critics Kim Cooper and Gene Sculatti, explores the musical history of Hollywood and the Sunset Strip through visits to celebrated nightclubs, recording studios, record label offices and other places of subcultural importance, and includes avant garde gelato from Scoops. On the bus Carl Franzoni will share personal tales of how his troupe danced across the US with the Byrds on their first tour and later with Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, and answer your questions on the weird and wonderful world of freaky 1960s Los Angeles, and John Trubee will share hilarious tales from his time as an Enigma Records artist and Dr. Demento Show favorite for his single "Blind Man's Penis."


John Trubee did a couple of interviews with Carl Franzoni. An edited version of these got published in Scram number 17. Scram n°17 (2003, mag, usa, scram)