Daniel Stephen Sugerman (October 11, 1954 – January 5, 2005) was the second manager of the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

-based rock band

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

. He wrote several books about

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

and the Doors, including ''

No One Here Gets Out Alive ''No One Here Gets Out Alive'' (1980) was the first biography about Jim Morrison, lead singer and lyricist of the L.A. rock band the Doors. Its title is taken from the Doors song " Five to One", and the book is divided into three sections: ''The ...

'' (co-authored with Jerry Hopkins), and the autobiography '' Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess''.

Early life

Sugerman grew up in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

, his neighbors were

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...

and

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

. At eleven, his

Jewish-American American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...

parents divorced and his mother Harriet moved Danny and his siblings to

Westchester, Los Angeles Westchester is a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles and the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside Region of Los Angeles County, California. It is home to Los Angeles International Airport, Loyola Marymount University, Otis College of Art ...

where she lived with a prosecuting attorney who was a harsh disciplinarian. He attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles, where he regularly authored articles about The Doors in the student newspaper. He attended summer camp near Lakeshore City, California with

Todd Fisher Todd Emmanuel Fisher (born February 24, 1958) Abstract; full article requires subscription. is an American director, cinematographer, producer and actor of television films and documentaries. Fisher is the son of singer Eddie Fisher and actress D ...

, Steven Crane Jr. and sons of

Ken Venturi Kenneth Paul Venturi (May 15, 1931May 17, 2013) was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in 20 ...

and

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on '' The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...

. He graduated in 1972.

Career

He began working with the Doors when he was 12 years old, by answering their fan mail. Following the death of Morrison in July 1971, aged 17, he replaced original Doors' manager,

Bill Siddons Bill Siddons (born 1948) is an American music manager. He is best known for managing The Doors from 1968 to 1972. The Doors Siddons began his career as a teenage roadie with The Doors while attending Cal State Long Beach and six months later was as ...

. He later went on to manage

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965. Manzarek was induc ...

's solo-career and first album. He was also

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

's manager for a period, and produced his song " Repo Man", before they both ended up in mental hospitals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. It was during this time that he was also manager for the L.A based glam/punk band,

The Joneses ''The Joneses'' is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Derrick Borte, in his directorial debut. It stars Demi Moore, David Duchovny, Amber Heard, and Ben Hollingsworth. It premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film ...

, whose founder and lead singer,

Jeff Drake Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

, supplied them with high quality heroin. He also wrote ''Appetite For Destruction: The Days of Guns N' Roses'' in 1991.

Personal life

For a time, Sugerman dated Mackenzie Phillips in the 80's. He later married

Fawn Hall Fawn Hall (born September 15, 1959) is a former secretary to Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and had a small role in the Iran-Contra affair by helping North shred confidential documents. Early life Born in Annandale, Virginia, in 1959, Hall gr ...

of the

Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair ( fa, ماجرای ایران-کنترا, es, Caso Irán–Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair (in Iran), or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States ...

fame in 1993 and they remained married until his death. They briefly met MP3.com co-founder Rod Underhill while Hall was employed there. Underhill later stated that "Sugerman was very interesting. He had appeared to go out of his way to appear visually like Jim Morrison. Same type of haircut, similar clothing. The similarity was uncanny." Sugerman discussed his idolization of Morrison in detail, in part of his book '' Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess''. Sugerman was a recovering

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

addict who found solace in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Death

He died on January 5, 2005, in Los Angeles, from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

,Doors Manager Danny Sugerman Dies at 50: Doors manager, writer succumbs to cancer
By Steve Baltin, January 6, 2005 12:00 AM ET. Accessed via the internet June 26, 3013 and is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Books

*''

'' (1980, with Jerry Hopkins) *''The Doors, the Illustrated History'' (1983) *''Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess'' (1989) *''Appetite For Destruction: The Days Of Guns N' Roses'' (1991)

References

External links

*
Sugerman Interview
on addiction, Hollywood, and drug policy from December, 2000, accessed August 20, 2013
Obituary
in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine accessed October 9, 2006
Obituary
in ''

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' accessed October 9, 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugerman, Danny 1954 births 2005 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in California The Doors Jewish American writers Place of birth missing Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery