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In 1966, Jimi Hendrix – who was then still an obscure musician going as Jimmy James -- wandered into a club near Times Square called the African Room. On stage he saw a tall, muscular black man in a black leotard, boots with eight-inch heels, and a spider monkey on his shoulder, doing a voodoo-inspired dance in front of a rock band. Mike Quashie, from Trinidad, had once been famous as the Limbo King. He now helped Jimmy James become Jimi Hendrix, as well as inspiring Lou Reed, the New York Dolls, and David Bowie. Excerpted from my book, "The Village."

#jimihendrix #greenwichvillage #ledzepellin #davidbowie #loureed #mikequashie #rockmusic

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Ronald Reagan was the first television celebrity to become President. That was quite remarkable in the 1980s, when no one knew what the 21st Century would bring. A handful of rehearsed poses, he was less the country's leader than its logo.

#Reagan #Trump #history #presidency #election #WhiteHouse #celebrity #politics #JohnStrausbaugh

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Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven was one of the oddest characters in Greenwich Village in the 1910s. Her bizarre outfits and outlandish behavior were legendary. Was she just a troubled eccentric, or a pioneering feminist and artist? An excerpt from my book, "The Village."

#BaronessElsa #GreenwichVillage #MarcelDuchamp #WilliamCarlosWilliams #art #Dada #fashion #JohnStrausbaugh

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In the 1920s and 1930s, the Russian émigré Nicholas Roerich was one of the most famous painters in America. His work was shown around the country, and widely praised. The art was only part of Roerich’s appeal. His occult side drew not just fans, but disciples. They funded extraordinary missions in the East, searching for the mystical kingdom of Shambhala.

#Roerich #art #occult #mysticism #Russia #Theosophy #JohnStrausbaugh #museum

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In the 20th century, nudists and publications about nudism were subject to all sorts of censorship and legal harassment. Nudist magazine publishers went to great lengths to avoid obscenity charges, which led, sadly, to some unintentionally hilarious results.

#nudism #nudist #obscenity #censorship #nudistmagazine #history #pornography #naturelovers

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In 1956, the pioneering radio host Jean Shepherd orchestrated one of the great literary hoaxes of all time, the saucy novel "I, Libertine."

#hoax #JeanShepherd #libertine #GreenwichVillage #radio #TheodoreSturgeon #KellyFreas #MadMagazine #JohnCassavetes #AChristmasStory

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Gazing at the faces of Guanajuato's famous mummies can make you wonder what kind of expression you'll wear when you face death.

#Mexico #mummies #Guanajuato #Mexicanwrestler #Santo #RayBradbury #OctavioPaz #death

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In the 1920s and 30s, Benito Mussolini and his Fascists enjoyed broad popularity in America. Like certain political figures today, he was seen as a "strongman" who brought order to Italy and was a bulwark against the spread of international bolshevism. But one Italian anarchist in New York City was virulently anti-Fascist -- Carlo Tresca. He was a man, it was said, who "held tenaciously to his hatreds." When he died a violent death on a dark New York street, he had made so many enemies that it was anyone's guess who had killed him.

An excerpt from my book "Victory City."