Harry W. Hart, known by the stage name Swami X, (November 1925,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
—August 29, 2015,
Los Angeles, California
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, ...
) was an American
boardwalk
A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...
performer and stand-up comedian. Active from the 1970s to 1985, he performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, and New York. He was known for bawdy sexual humor and political invective.
Biography
Hart was born in mid-November 1925 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. He died at age 89 on August 29, 2015 at the home of former Los Angeles City Councilman
Bill Rosendahl
William Joseph Rosendahl (May 15, 1945 – March 30, 2016) was an American politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council, representing Council District 11 from 2005 to 2013. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Prior to being a cou ...
.
Career
Swami X's act was a monologue mixing pithy sociopolitical observations with poetry, sarcasm and humor, which typically included blasphemy, profanity, and attacking "sacred cows"—producing "pleased shock and delighted outrage" in observers.
[ His notable lines include:
*"Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. 'Yes' is the answer."
*"How do we know ]Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
was Jewish? Because he went into His Father's business."[
*"If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself".
*"You are what you eat. If that's true, then I'm a nymphomaniac".
He was known for appearing on the Venice Boardwalk, at the UCLA and U.C. Berkeley campuses, in San Francisco, and at Washington Park in New York City. He retired in 1985.]Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr. on January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary C ...
, presented him with an official proclamation.
Swami X appears as a character in Roger L. Simon
Roger Lichtenberg Simon (born November 22, 1943) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He was formerly CEO of PJ Media (formerly known as Pajamas Media) and is now its CEO Emeritus. He is the author of eleven novels, including the Moses Win ...
's mystery novel, ''The Straight Man'' and is referenced in Pat Hartman's volume of Venice vignettes, ''Call Someplace Paradise''.
See also
*Busking
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...
References
Further reading
*Jeffrey Stanton, ''Venice California: 'Coney Island of the Pacific' '' (2005), page 273
*{{cite video , url= , title=Spirit of Venice, California (contains an audio version of a spoken word performance by Swami X) , publisher=Priority Records , date=March 10, 1992 , asin=B00000E7DU
*Sweet William, 'X Swami X, The Sidewalk Comic', Los Angeles Times, Calendar Section, p. 170 (Dec. 23, 1979).
External links
Archive of blog postings by Swami X
on the ''Free Venice Beachhead'' blog
Video of Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa presenting Swami X with official proclamation and recounting his experiences with Swami X at UCLA in the early 1970s
Excerpts Video of SWAMI X Performing on the Venice Beach Boardwalk 1981, taken from "STREET LIFE" the documentary film by Mark S Shepherd
American street performers
American male comedians
2015 deaths
1925 births
Comedians from Philadelphia