Glenn O'Brien wasn't just synonymous with NYC's downtown art scene. He helped create it. Amongst his many accolades: editing the first issues of his friend Andy Warhol's Interview magazine, chronicling the city's burgeoning punk scene as part of his "Glenn O'Brien's Beat" column, writing the screenplay for iconic Basquiat-starring art drama Downtown 81, helming the unconventional cable show TV Party, and dictating how thousands of men dressed as the GQ Style Guy. But his lesser known exploits are equally fascinating. In honor of the visionary late legend, here are five of his most iconic, audacious, and culture-shaping moments. RIP, Glenn O'Brien.He coined the term "editor at large" for a very inventive reason.
The term "editor at large" normally implies holding enough sway within any given publication to dictate your own schedule. It did, too, when O'Brien first coined the term in the 70s, though he wasn't just trying to maximize his frequent flier miles by doing so. After being appointed editor in chief at High Times magazine, O'Brien thought it was probably a good idea to avoid the office — and potential scrutiny from the law.He nearly turned TV Party into… the TV Party.
The name of his satire-heavy cable show was evidently too good a double entendre for O'Brien to ignore. During the scariest years of the Reagan era, he considered turning it into an actual political party. "Everything was done in a kind of joking manner. I was going to try to get on the mayoral ballot because I thought if we could get on the ballot and it said 'TV Party,' that everybody would vote for that because everybody likes TV," he told PopMatters. "But we didn't get enough signatures, so we weren't on the ballot." If only it was possible for reality TV hosts to launch successful government campaigns.Continue reading on i-D.
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The term "editor at large" normally implies holding enough sway within any given publication to dictate your own schedule. It did, too, when O'Brien first coined the term in the 70s, though he wasn't just trying to maximize his frequent flier miles by doing so. After being appointed editor in chief at High Times magazine, O'Brien thought it was probably a good idea to avoid the office — and potential scrutiny from the law.He nearly turned TV Party into… the TV Party.
The name of his satire-heavy cable show was evidently too good a double entendre for O'Brien to ignore. During the scariest years of the Reagan era, he considered turning it into an actual political party. "Everything was done in a kind of joking manner. I was going to try to get on the mayoral ballot because I thought if we could get on the ballot and it said 'TV Party,' that everybody would vote for that because everybody likes TV," he told PopMatters. "But we didn't get enough signatures, so we weren't on the ballot." If only it was possible for reality TV hosts to launch successful government campaigns.Continue reading on i-D.