1. James Broughton was an American poet and poetic filmmaker.
15 Facts About James Broughton
1. 2.
James Broughton was part of the San Francisco Renaissance, a precursor to the Beat poets.
3.
James Broughton's father died when he was five years old in the 1918 influenza epidemic, and he spent his childhood in San Francisco.
4.
James Broughton was at least three years older than I but he looked all ages at once.
5.
James Broughton was kicked out of military school for having an affair with a classmate, and attended Stanford University before dropping out just before his class graduated in 1935.
6.
James Broughton spent time in Europe during the 1950s, culminating with an award at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival from Jean Cocteau for the "poetic fantasy" of his film The Pleasure Garden, made in England with partner Kermit Sheets.
7.
In 1967's "summer of love", James Broughton made a film, The Bed, which broke taboos against frontal nudity and won prizes at many film festivals.
8.
James Broughton's films developed a following, especially among students at the San Francisco Art Institute, where he taught film and artistic ritual.
9.
James Broughton's meeting with Singer was a life-changing, life-determining moment, that animated his consciousness with a power that lasted until his death.
10.
James Broughton died in May 1999 with champagne on his lips, in the house in Port Townsend, Washington, where he and Singer had lived for 10 years.
11.
James Broughton had many creative love affairs during the San Francisco Beat Scene.
12.
James Broughton briefly lived with the film critic Pauline Kael and they had a daughter, Gina, who was born in 1948.
13.
James Broughton put off marriage until the age of 49, when he married Suzanna Hart in a three-day ceremony on the Pacific coast, documented by his friend, the experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage.
14.
Hart and James Broughton had two children, and built a counter-culture community along with friends including Alan Watts, Michael McClure, Anna Halprin, and Imogen Cunningham.
15.
The 2012 documentary Big Joy: the Adventures of James Broughton was directed by Stephen Silha, Eric Slade, and Dawn Logsdon, with cinematographer Ian Hinkle.