Doors Manager Danny Sugerman Dead at 50

[7/4]

Doors Manager Danny Sugerman Dead at 50

Thu Jan 6, 2005 08:21 PM ET

By Chris Morris

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Danny Sugerman, longtime manager of the Doors and the principal caretaker of the Los Angeles band's legend, died Wednesday in West Hollywood after a long battle with cancer. He was 50.

Sugerman became involved with the Doors as a teenage fan during the group's heyday in the late '60s. He worked as a go-fer for the band, and idolized flamboyant lead singer Jim Morrison. After Morrison's death in Paris in 1971, he became increasingly involved with the surviving members' career and eventually served as their manager.

At his death, he was partnered with co-manager Jeff Jambol. Beyond his work on the business side, Sugerman promoted the Doors tirelessly and prolifically as a writer. With Jerry Hopkins, he co-authored the lurid 1980 Doors biography "No One Here Gets Out Alive," which became a best seller and reignited interest in the band's music. He also wrote or edited other books about Morrison and the band, including "The Doors" and "The Complete Illustrated Lyrics." Sugerman served as a technical advisor on Oliver Stone's 1991 biopic "The Doors." He also penned an autobiographical novel, "Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess," and a book about the L.A. hard rock band Guns N' Roses, "Appetite for Destruction."

Sugerman is survived by his wife Fawn Hall Sugerman, and a brother and sister.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[jazzypaul]

I think every adolescent caucasian male has to go through one of two phases as an early teenager:

1) A heavy metal phase: this should include, but not be limited to old Metallica, Megadeth and Iron Maiden, with copious amounts of Motorhead and Judas Priest.

or

2) A Doors phase: wearing all black and thinking that Jim Morrison is deep are both key components of this phase.

I actually went through both, and in the heavy metal phase, discovered both Frank Zappa and Bitches Brew. I haven't been the same since.

[7/4]

The Doors were a footnote until he wrote "the lurid 1980 Doors biography".

[7/4]

Sorry to hear he's gone...human, w/ family & friends....a too young too.

[RDK]

"footnote?"

"WTF?"

This is the soriest excuse for a RIP/tribute thread I've ever read. Why bother even starting it or posting in it if you couldn't care less about the band or the deceased?

[Chuck Nessa]

I deleted my post. Sorry if I offended any.

[7/4]

"footnote?"

"WTF?"

This is the soriest excuse for a RIP/tribute thread I've ever read.  Why bother even starting it or posting in it if you couldn't care less about the band or the deceased?   

The Doors were a footnote RDK. He made them more than that.

Edited January 8, 2005 by 7/4

[GregK]

I don't mean any disrespect, but the Doors were/are terrible. And boring

[jlhoots]

I wanted to stay out of this, but were any of you alive in the 60's???

Other than Chuck that is.

Hopefully this won't get as ugly as the Gourse thread elsewhere.

Edited January 8, 2005 by jlhoots

[Leeway]

I wanted to stay out of this, but were any of you alive in the 60's???

Other than Chuck that is.

Hopefully this won't get as ugly as the Gourse thread elsewhere.

I was. I saw the Doors several time. Boring? Hardly. That's flat-out ridiculous. That's like calling The Who a chamber music group.

The Doors brought tremendous excitement to the rock scene, and a sense of wild romanticism. Maybe you have to be a teenager to really feel all that. Yes, they (Morrison particularly) succumbed to the excess of the rock scene at that time, same as Hendrix, Joplin and others. But they made an indelible impression, and they are still tremendously popular- not a footnote. I believe their albums are still strong sellers. Dudes, let down your hair and rock on.

[Jazzmoose]

I deleted my post. Sorry if I offended any.

I'm offended by your post deletion.

[BFrank]

Hey....don't mess with "my" Doors!!

BTW, did anyone catch this tidbit in the obits??

"Sugerman is survived by his wife, Fawn Hall, who testified against her former boss Oliver North in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, ... "

- Who knew??

[7/4]

I wanted to stay out of this, but were any of you alive in the 60's???

Other than Chuck that is.

Hopefully this won't get as ugly as the Gourse thread elsewhere.

I was young so I never saw them, but I've heard the albums.

[brownie]

I wanted to stay out of this, but were any of you alive in the 60's???

Other than Chuck that is.

Hopefully this won't get as ugly as the Gourse thread elsewhere.

Saw the Doors at the London Roundhouse at an all night concert in the summer of 1968. The Jefferson Airplane was the other group on the bill. THAT was an amazing concert.

Jim Morrison was at the top of his game then! And looked great!

And while they were changing the setup for the bands, the loudspeakers were blaring out 'Street Fighting Man' from the Rolling Stones 'Beggars Banquet' album which had just been released!

I wrote a review (with accompanying photos) of the concert in the French magazine 'Rock and Folk'.

Also ran into Jim Morrison a couple of times near the Place de l'Odeon on the Left Bank of Paris shortly before his death in 1971. He was staying in a hotel in the area by then. He had gained weight and had a thick beard by then. And looked in bad shape!

[Big Al]

2) A Doors phase: wearing all black and thinking that Jim Morrison is deep are both key components of this phase.

Yup! Also, reading/memorizing of Sugerman's book about the Doors is required during this phase.

Stone's biopic, OTOH, was awful.

[J.A.W.]

I wanted to stay out of this, but were any of you alive in the 60's???

Other than Chuck that is.

Hopefully this won't get as ugly as the Gourse thread elsewhere.

Saw the Doors at the London Roundhouse at an all night concert in the summer of 1968. The Jefferson Airplane was the other group on the bill. THAT was an amazing concert.

Jim Morrison was at the top of his game then! And looked great!

And while they were changing the setup for the bands, the loudspeakers were blaring out 'Street Fighting Man' from the Rolling Stones 'Beggars Banquet' album which had just been released!

I wrote a review (with accompanying photos) of the concert in the French magazine 'Rock and Folk'.

Also ran into Jim Morrison a couple of times near the Place de l'Odeon on the Left Bank of Paris shortly before his death in 1971. He was staying in a hotel in the area by then. He had gained weight and had a thick beard by then. And looked in bad shape!

Saw both bands in Amsterdam in 1968; it was probably the same tour. During the Jefferson Airplane concert Jim Morrison ran on stage and started dancing wildly, probably high as a kite... During the intermission he collapsed (or so I heard), and the Doors had to do their gig as a trio. They were worse than awful... The Airplane were great, though; Gracie Slick was wonderful.

[jlhoots]

To answer my own question, I was around & saw The Doors live a number of times. They were great when I saw them. So was Jefferson Airplane.

[AmirBagachelles]

Big Jim checked out a little after The Doors peaked, a little rust and a paunch, so what? They were a force for change for a few important minutes in '66 and '67, and so they get to keep all due props in my book. How ironic that they were used by FM radio programmers in suits starting about '75 to ignite the toxic sludge of nostalgic "classic rock". (Isn't that when that album w/ poetry came out?) I don't think Jim cared to look back, and he didn't see the next lurch forward, and I guess it got to him. To the extent the 60s were about getting laid more easily and freely as much as anything else in white America, what could really match The Doors influence?

[BERIGAN]

Man, what a weird thread!!! You could say most anything about the Doors, EXCEPT boring. You might not like them...but boring??? Morrison had about the best voice of any Rock musican, IMHO. You won't confuse them with anyone else either. And Morrison's lyrics are so different than His persona onstage. But, I doubt I am going to change any minds at this point!

For real fans, if you didn't get it already, keep an out for the complete studio recordings box set. Sound is soooooo much better than the earlier cds, it isn't even funny. (Seems to be out of print!)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00...8602282-4872952

Edited January 8, 2005 by BERIGAN

[street singer]

For real fans, if you didn't get it already, keep an out for the complete studio recordings box set. Sound is soooooo much better than the earlier cds, it isn't even funny. (Seems to be out of print!)

This is available from yourmusic.com for $34.93.

I just ordered a copy for myself!

[ghost of miles]

"Father?"

"Yes, son?"

"I want to... BORROW THE CAR KEYS!!"

Edited January 8, 2005 by ghost of miles

[BFrank]

For real fans, if you didn't get it already, keep an out for the complete studio recordings box set. Sound is soooooo much better than the earlier cds, it isn't even funny.  (Seems to be out of print!)

This is available from yourmusic.com for $34.93.

I just ordered a copy for myself!

That's a GREAT price. I may have to spring for that........finally.

For the record, I agree with EVERYTHING that Berigan just said about the band. B-)

[AfricaBrass]

Man, what a weird thread!!! You could say most anything about the Doors, EXCEPT boring. You might not like them...but boring??? Morrison had about the best voice of any Rock musican, IMHO. You won't confuse them with anyone else either. And Morrison's lyrics are so different than His persona onstage. But, I doubt I am going to change any minds at this point!

Berigan,

It's nice to agree with you on something again.

I dig the Doors. I like the fact that they were doing their own thing in the late sixties. I love the instrumentation of their songs. I dig Kreiger's guitar playing. I like the fact that they were a jazzy band behind Morrison.

I know ol' Jimbo could be a bit of an ass, but anyone on that much drugs or booze will eventually be an ass. Trust me I know.

Oh yeah, JazzyPaul's comments about the Morrison phase apply to me. I went through it when I was around 19 or 20, but I skipped the Heavy Metal phase. The closest I got to that was wanting to be like Jimmy Page. Hell, I even got into Crowley. Bad stuff! Stay away kiddies.

[mikeweil]

Man, what a weird thread!!! You could say most anything about the Doors, EXCEPT boring. You might not like them...but boring??? Morrison had about the best voice of any Rock musican, IMHO. You won't confuse them with anyone else either. And Morrison's lyrics are so different than His persona onstage. But, I doubt I am going to change any minds at this point!

I heard them play some things that really were boring, where the whole band was noodling away on the same rhythm and Morrison was almost too drunk or high to really sing on top. Musically, they were not so thrilling. But the message they had ..... as a whole, that is something else.

Funny - I happened to see an old clip on TV a few nights ago where I thought "what jazzy rock band in all the world is this" - and the the camera, after the organ solo, took a turn, and I recognized Jim Morrison. So I know they had some chops, too.

[Leeway]

I saw the surviving members of the Doors on a TV program about a year or two ago, where they had sifferent lead singers fill in the vocal roleformerly occupied by Jim Morrison. Sounds strange and maybe it was, but I realized a coupel of things. The music, whoever sang it, still had a lot of kick-ass power to it. Second, some of the guys (and I think one female) that they brought it seemed to be inspired by the whole thing-- not quite channeling Morrison but definitely enthused or inspired by the experience. The fellow from Creed gave a suprisingly powerful performance. I can't remember al the singers who were on-- maybe someone can fill in the gap?

Also, has anyone visited the Morrison gravesite at pere Lachaise in Paris? It's the most visited site in that famous cemetery. Morrison has had several grave stones, as the original and later ones have been worn and chipped away by devoted fans. It's kind of an experience in itself to vit the garve. Hordes of fans milling about all day. Footnote? I don't think so.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I saw the Doors in concert several times. Morrison in his prime was a totally compelling figure. I saw a lot of the great rock bands and few, if any, came close. The only ones I saw with that kind of charisma was Janis Joplin when she was with Big Brother, and Hendrix.

BREAK ON THROUGH