Philip Baine Austin (April 6, 1941 – June 18, 2015) was an American comedian and writer, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre.

Early life and education

Austin was born in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and later grew up in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, attending Fresno High School. His mother was a drama teacher which influenced his upbringing as an actor. He attended

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Brunswick is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part o ...

, because it was nearly the most distant point in the continental United States from Fresno. He also attended

Fresno State College California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, but did not graduate from any of them. He was in the UCLA Drama Department at the same time as another dropout,

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. ( Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the rock band the Doors, co-founding the group in 1965 with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Te ...

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

Career

Radio

In Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he was one of the first apprentices for the Center Theatre Group and worked on the staff of

KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, which serves Southern California. It was the second of five stations in the non-commercial, listener-sponsored Pacifica Radio network. KPFK 90.7 FM be ...

radio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. At KPFK he worked with other staffers David Ossman and Peter Bergman who hosted Radio Free Oz on that station. Along with Bergman's friend Phil Proctor, they formed The Firesign Theatre. Starting as live radio actors, the group would go on to record a series of

surrealistic Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

albums that were a hit amongst an underground audience. Austin played the group's best-known creation, private investigator Nick Danger. Other prominent roles were as (Happy) Harry Cox, the narrator of '' Everything You Know Is Wrong'' and Bebop Loco/Lobo on '' Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death''. He had also served as the troupe's musician and record producer.

Short story writer

His collection of short stories, ''Tales of the Old Detective and Other Big Fat Lies'', is published by Audio Editions. Two of his stories appear in the third volume of ''Mirth of a Nation''.

Record albums

Austin also wrote a solo work, '' Roller Maidens From Outer Space'', and directed (and acted in) ''Eat Or Be Eaten''. Stage versions of '' Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers''; '' The Further Adventures of Nick Danger, Third Eye''; '' Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him''; and ''Temporarily Humboldt County'' are published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc.

Death

Austin died at his home in Fox Island, Washington, on June 18, 2015, at the age of 74. The cause of death was originally given as

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

, but this was later changed to an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

. When he died, his wife Oona mentioned that Austin also had been diagnosed with cancer months before.

References

External links

Phil Austin's Blog of the Unknown

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Phil 1941 births 2015 deaths American male stage actors American male comedians Comedians from Denver American male radio actors 21st-century American male writers Bowdoin College alumni Deaths from aneurysm The Firesign Theatre Writers from Denver Writers from Fresno, California People from Fox Island, Washington Comedians from California