# Today I Learned *connecting Peter Bogdonavich to the Grateful Dead:* By [Connections](https://paragraph.com/@alb1) · 2025-03-10 --- Peter Bogdanovich, who directed The Last Picture Show, co-wrote it with Larry McMurtry. McMurtry joined Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters on his bus Further. I have been reading about Roger Corman in the book Fast, Cheap and Under Control, which details his methods and the directors he mentored, such as Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, and Bogdanovich. Bogdonavich also authored the books "Who the Devil Made It" and "Who the Hell's in It". Ken Kesey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the royalties of which financed his Merry Pranksters, which was detailed by Tom Wolfe in his book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. At those tests a band was hired to play in the background, or not play, whatever they wanted, and you can see the remnants of that band at the Sphere in Las Vegas these days. Wolfe also wrote The Right Stuff and Bonfire of the Vanities, the latter of which is required primary reading by all men seeking their fortune; best practice would be to read it once per decade at the age of 25, 35, and 45. As Munger is said to have said (but where and when?), "There are some things you learn best by experience. But there are some things you don’t have to learn by experiencing yourself—like not pissing on an electric fence." [ The Last Picture Show - Wikipedia --------------------------------- The Last Picture Show is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and co-written by Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtry, adapted from the 1966 semi-autobiographical novel by McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, and Cybill Shepherd. http://wikipedia.org ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/15fdb795e0aaf66f9d2297f2816ed7a2.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Picture_Show) [ Larry McMurtry - Wikipedia -------------------------- Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936 - March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas. His novels included Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966), and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films. Films adapted from McMurtry's works earned 34 Oscar nominations (13 wins). http://wikipedia.org ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/a5c0bfa3cd4de1a821c7a82cf3d69b1d.png) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_McMurtry) [ Peter Bogdanovich - Wikipedia ----------------------------- Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 - January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started out his career as a young actor studying under Stella Adler before working as a film critic for Film Culture and and finally becoming a prominent filmmaker of the New Hollywood movement. http://wikipedia.org ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b07232699df72d74899abb1714d9146b.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bogdanovich) [ Roger Corman - Wikipedia ------------------------ Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 - May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. http://wikipedia.org ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/f32ec1489938bf7be657e5a554d83435.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Corman) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry\_Pranksters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Pranksters) [ Merry Pranksters - Wikipedia ---------------------------- The Merry Pranksters were followers of American author Ken Kesey. Kesey and the Merry Pranksters lived communally at Kesey's homes in California and Oregon, and are noted for the sociological significance of a lengthy road trip they took in the summer of 1964, traveling across the United States in a psychedelic painted school bus called , organizing parties, and giving out LSD. http://wikipedia.org ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/61fe830857e8ab1a83f6f78ebaa0b75f.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Pranksters) [ Tom Wolfe - Wikipedia --------------------- Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 - May 14, 2018) was an American author and journalist widely known for his association with New Journalism, a style of news writing and journalism developed in the 1960s and 1970s that incorporated literary techniques. http://wikipedia.org ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/af7515611867acad38627d258922607f.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolfe) --- *Originally published on [Connections](https://paragraph.com/@alb1/today-i-learned)*