Elisha Gerald Hopkins (November 9, 1935 – June 3, 2018) was an American journalist and author best known for writing the first
biographies
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
of
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
and
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 e ...
of
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 ...
, as well as serving for 20 years as a
correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locat ...
and contributing editor of ''
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 co ...
'' magazine. He also penned several other biographies, wrote history and humor, and was a writer-producer for
Mike Wallace
Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...
,
Steve Allen
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...
and
Mort Sahl
Morton Lyon Sahl (May 11, 1927 – October 26, 2021) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social satirist, considered the first modern comedian. Sahl pioneered a style of social satire that pokes fun at political and current event t ...
.Best-selling author Jerry Hopkins dies Bangkok Post, 4 Jun 2018
Hopkins published 37 books and an estimated one thousand magazine articles. Some of his books have been translated into over a dozen languages.
Early life
Hopkins was born in Camden, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Haddonfield, a town founded by
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
. His parents operated a
dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water.
Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known in ...
store.
Education
He attended a Quaker school through 6th grade and public schools through 12th. He earned a BA in journalism from
Washington & Lee University
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexing ...
in
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...
, in 1957 and, following a short period as a reporter for the ''
Twin City Sentinel
The ''Twin-City Sentinel'' was the name of the afternoon newspaper published in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The ''Sentinel''s masthead was dropped in 1985 when operations were absorbed into its sister paper, the morning ''Winston-Salem Journal ...
'' in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...
, and brief service in the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, c ...
, an MS in journalism from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 1959.
Early life
After freelancing articles to the then-young ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' while at Columbia, he worked as a reporter for the ''
Times-Picayune
''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...
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 wor ...
where he was a talent coordinator and writer-producer for Steve Allen (1962–1964). He also wrote and produced television programs for Mort Sahl, ABC-TV and
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
(1964–1966; 1971). He wrote his first books during this period, an as-told-to autobiography of a health faddist, ''Bare Feet and Good Things to Eat'' (1965) and an astrological spoof, ''You Were Born on a Rotten Day'' (1969).
Career
From the mid-1960s, when he left television to open the first
head shop
A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures. They emerged from the hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, and ...
in Los Angeles and the third in the nation (1965,
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
citation) and then wrote for
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 co ...
as Los Angeles correspondent (1967–1969), he wrote features and columns for alternative newspapers, including the popular "Making It" column for the ''
Los Angeles Free Press
The ''Los Angeles Free Press'', also called the "''Freep''", is often cited as the first, and certainly was the largest, of the underground newspapers of the 1960s. The ''Freep'' was founded in 1964 by Art Kunkin, who served as its publisher un ...
''. He contributed articles to ''
TeenSet
''TeenSet'' (originally ''The Teen Set'') was an American music and fan magazine published by Capitol Records. Beginning in 1964 as a free album insert for fans of the Beach Boys, the magazine was sold separately in 1965 and it grew in popularity ...
'' magazine and its successor ''AUM''. He MC'ed the first love-ins in Los Angeles, edited a collection of material from the underground press, ''The Hippie Papers'' (1968) and wrote a history of rock and roll, ''The Rock Story'' (1970).
Leaving ''Rolling Stone'' temporarily in 1969 to write ''Elvis: A Biography'' (1971), it was while serving as the magazine's
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
correspondent (1972) that he began researching his Morrison biography, ''No One Here Gets Out Alive''. It was rejected by more than 30 publishers before publication in 1980, when it topped the
New York Times bestseller
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States.John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
chart and was credited by many with helping kick-start the Doors' revival as well as inspiring a new publishing genre, the rock biography. A sequel to the Elvis biography, ''Elvis: The Final Years'' (1981) followed, along with biographies of Jimi Hendrix,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
, 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 Hammer ...
, the latter of which was authorized but not published.
By now he had moved to
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...
, where he edited a monthly newsletter about
Hawaiian music
The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent part ...
and dance and published several books taking Hawaiian culture as their subject, including ''The Hula'' (1981), a history; ''How to Make Your Own Hawaiian Musical Instruments'' (1988); ''Elvis in Hawaii'' (2002); and ''Don Ho: My Life, My Music'' (2007). He also was an editor at
Pacific Business News
American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...
in Honolulu and a speechwriter for Mayor
Frank Fasi
Frank Francis Fasi (August 27, 1920 – February 3, 2010) was an American politician who was the longest-serving Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii, serving for 22 years. He also served as a territorial senator and member of the Honolulu City Council ...
.
After moving to
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
in 1993, he wrote for numerous travel, food and airline magazines and collaborated with photographer Michael Freeman on ''Strange Foods: An Epicurean Adventure Around the World'' (1999), which was expanded and reissued as ''Extreme Cuisine'' with a foreword by Anthony Bourdain (2004). A collection of expatriate profiles, ''Bangkok Babylon'' (2005); a book of stories and essays, ''Thailand Confidential'' (2005); and ''Asian Aphrodisiacs'' (2006) followed. His 37th book, profiling Western novelists who helped forge the Asian myth, ''Romancing the East'', was published in 2013.
Personal life
Hopkins was married four times, to Sara Cordell (1959–1963), Jane Hollingsworth (1968–1976), Rebecca Erickson Crockett (1980–1988); he had two children by his second wife, Erin Hendershot (b. 1970) and Nick Hopkins (b. 1972), and eight grandchildren. He and his wife, Lamyai (m. 2003), a citizen of Thailand, divided their time between a flat in Bangkok and a house and farm six hours away in rice country near the Cambodian border.
Bibliography
* ''Bare Feet & Good Things to Eat'' (1965) with Gypsy Boots
* ''The Hippie Papers'' (1968) Editor
* ''You Were Born on a Rotten Day'' (1969) with Jim Critchfield
* ''The Rock Story'' (1970)
* ''Groupies & Other Girls'' (1970) with John Burks
* ''Festival: An American Celebration'' (1970) with Jim Marshall & Baron Wolman (photographers)
* ''Elvis: A Biography'' (1971)
* ''The Last Sex Manual'' (1978) with Ron Pion, MD
* '' No One Here Gets Out Alive'' (1980) with Danny Sugerman
* ''The Hula'' (1981)
* ''Elvis: The Final Years'' (1981)
* ''Hit & Run: The Jimi Hendrix Story'' (1983)
* ''Bowie'' (1985)
* ''Fax to Da Max'' (1985) with Peppo (illustrator)
* ''Yoko Ono'' (1986)
* ''The L.A. Book of Lists'' (1987)
* ''Vinny: Part II, The Habilitat Story'' (1987) with Vincent Marino
* ''Fax 2 Da Max'' (1988)
* ''How to Make Your Own Hawaiian Musical Instruments'' (1988) with Martin Charlot (illustrator)
* ''The Westin Maui'' (1989) with William Waterfall (photographer)
* ''Kauai Lagoons'' (1990) with William Waterfall (photographer)
* ''50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save Hawaii'' (1990) with Susan Manual
* ''Frank DeLima's Joke Book'' (1991) with Frank DeLima
* ''The Lizard King: The Essential Jim Morrison'' (1992)
* ''The Jimi Hendrix Experience'' (1996) Updated reprint
* ''Strange Foods'' (1999) with Michael Freeman (photographer)
* ''Elvis in Hawaii'' (2002)
* ''Extreme Cuisine'' (2004) with Michael Freeman (photographer)
* ''In the Name of the Boss Upstairs: The Father Ray Brennan Story'' (2004)
* ''Thailand Confidential'' (2005)
* ''Bangkok Babylon'' (2005)
* ''The Pacific Showman'' (2005) with Tom Moffatt
* ''Asian Aphrodisiacs'' (2006)
* ''Aloha Elvis'' (2007)
* ''Don Ho: My Life, My Music'' (2007) with Don Ho
* ''Elvis: The Biography'' (2007)
* ''Romancing The East'' (2013)
* ''Behind Closed Doors'' (2013)