1. Peter Ivers was the host of the experimental music television show New Wave Theatre.
20 Facts About Peter Ivers
1. 2.
Peter Ivers made his live debut opening for the New York Dolls, and shared concert bills with such acts as Fleetwood Mac and John Cale.
3.
Peter Ivers scored the 1977 David Lynch film Eraserhead and contributed both songwriting and vocals to the piece "In Heaven ".
4.
In 1983, Peter Ivers was murdered under mysterious circumstances, and the crime remains unsolved.
5.
Peter Ivers was born in Illinois on September 20,1946, and spent the first two years of his life in Chicago.
6.
Peter Ivers's mother Merle Rose was a homemaker; his father Jordan Rose was a physician, and became ill with lung cancer when Peter was two years old.
7.
From about age four, Peter Ivers was raised in Brookline, a suburb of Boston.
8.
Peter Ivers attended the Roxbury Latin School and then Harvard University, majoring in classical languages, but chose a career in music.
9.
Peter Ivers started playing harmonica with the Boston-based band Street Choir.
10.
Peter Ivers embarked on a solo career in 1969 with the Epic release of his debut, Knight of the Blue Communion, featuring lyrics written by Tim Mayer and sung by Sri Lankan jazz diva Yolande Bavan.
11.
In 1976, Peter Ivers was asked by David Lynch to write a song for his movie, Eraserhead.
12.
Peter Ivers penned "In Heaven ", which became the most well-known composition from the film.
13.
Peter Ivers scored the Ron Howard film Grand Theft Auto the following year.
14.
Peter Ivers played "Beautiful Dreamer" on the harmonica at Kenney's funeral.
15.
Peter Ivers was a close friend of comedian John Belushi, who likewise preceded him in death.
16.
In 1981, Peter Ivers produced the Circus Mort EP featuring Swans front man Michael Gira and avant-garde drummer Jonathan Kane.
17.
On March 3,1983, Peter Ivers was found bludgeoned to death with a hammer in his Los Angeles loft space apartment.
18.
Several of Peter Ivers' friends told biographer Josh Frank they suspected David Jove, with whom the musician had a sometimes contentious relationship.
19.
At the time of his death, Peter Ivers had been dating film executive Lucy Fisher for many years.
20.
Shortly after Ivers' death, Lucy Fisher helped establish the Peter Ivers Visiting Artist Program at Harvard in the artist's memory.