Wavy Gravy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wavy Gravy
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Wavy Gravy in 2009
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Hugh Nanton Romney Jr.
May 15, 1936 East Greenbush, New York, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
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| Spouse(s) |
Bonnie Beecher
(m. 1965) |
| Children | 1 |
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Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. (born May 15, 1936), known as Wavy Gravy, is an American entertainer and peace activist. He is famous for his role at the Woodstock music festival. He is also known for his friendly "hippie" style and his beliefs from the 1960s movement.
Wavy Gravy has started or helped start several groups. These include the community called the Hog Farm. Later, as Wavy Gravy, he helped create Camp Winnarainbow and the Seva Foundation. In the 1960s, he founded the Phurst Church of Phun. This was a group of comics and clowns who used humor to protest the Vietnam War. He often dresses as a clown to support his peace work and to entertain people. He was even the official clown for the famous band, the Grateful Dead.
Wavy Gravy has hosted two radio shows on Sirius Satellite Radio's Jam On station. A movie about his life, Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie, was released in 2010. It received good reviews. In 1992, he received the Kate Wolf Memorial Award for his work.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. was born in East Greenbush, New York, on May 15, 1936. His father was an architect. Hugh grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. When he was in middle school, his family moved to West Hartford, Connecticut. He finished high school in 1954. After high school, he joined the United States Army. He worked as a sign painter. He left the Army honorably after 22 months.
In the late 1950s, Romney studied theater at Boston University. He also attended the Neighborhood Playhouse for the Theater in New York City.
In 1958, he started reading poetry regularly at The Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village in New York City. He became the cafe's entertainment director. There, he became friends with musicians like Bob Dylan and Tom Paxton.
Career Highlights
His early career was managed by Lenny Bruce. Bruce brought Romney to California in 1962. There, Romney recorded a live comedy album. He opened for jazz musician Thelonious Monk.
The Hog Farm Community
The Hog Farm was a group of people who lived and worked together. It started after some friends were stranded in Los Angeles. Romney gathered a group in North Hollywood. Musicians like Ravi Shankar visited them.
Later, Romney and his group moved to Sunland. He was asked to leave his home because too many people were staying there. Soon after, he found a nearby hog farm that needed caretakers. He agreed to work there in exchange for a place to live. Many local people, musicians, and artists joined the farm. Wavy Gravy described this time as a "bizarre communal experiment". He said that "people began to outnumber the pigs."
In the mid-1960s, Romney and his wife, Bonnie Beecher, worked in Los Angeles. He taught acting skills for Columbia Pictures. His wife was a successful TV actress. She appeared in shows like The Twilight Zone and Star Trek.
By 1966, the Hog Farm became an entertainment group. They created light shows for concerts in Los Angeles. They worked with bands like the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix. In 1967, the group started traveling across the country. They used old school buses that they had fixed up. They bought the buses with money they earned as extras in a movie.
The Hog Farm later moved to the Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville, Northern California.
Woodstock Festival Role
At the first Woodstock Festival in 1969, Romney and the Hog Farm group helped with preparations. They were asked to help keep order at the event.
Romney called his group the "Please Force." This name showed their gentle way of keeping peace. For example, they would say, "Please don't do that, please do this instead." When reporters asked how he would keep order, he joked, "Cream pies and seltzer bottles!" These are funny props used by clowns. He later realized how powerful it was to use humor with the media.
Romney made announcements from the stage throughout the festival. He said he got to do this because of his friendship with the stage builder, Chip Monck.
At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Wavy Gravy's sleeping bag and tie-dyed false teeth were displayed. This was part of a 1960s tribute exhibit.
Wavy Gravy has been the Master of Ceremonies for all three Woodstock festivals. He was at the original festival in 1969. He also attended the 25th anniversary Woodstock '94 in 1994 and the 30th anniversary Woodstock '99 in 1999.
How Wavy Gravy Got His Name
Wavy Gravy got his name at the 1969 Texas International Pop Festival. This was two weeks after Woodstock. He was resting on stage, tired from trying to get people to put their clothes back on. He heard someone say, "Don't dance on the wavy gravy." Then, the famous musician B.B. King arrived. B.B. King asked him, "Are you Wavy Gravy?" Romney said, "Yes, sir." B.B. King then said, "Wavy Gravy, I can work around you." He stood Romney next to his amplifier, and they played music all night. Romney felt this was a special moment. After that, he officially changed his name to Wavy Gravy.
Phurst Church of Phun and Clowning
After being arrested often at protests, Wavy Gravy decided that dressing as a clown might help him avoid arrest. So, in 1960, he helped start the Phurst Church of Phun. This was a group of comics and clowns. They used funny performances to protest the Vietnam War. Wavy Gravy also performs as a clown to entertain children. He tells jokes and does magic tricks. He has even been the official clown for the Grateful Dead band.
Art and Creativity
Wavy Gravy is also known for his collage art. A collage is a piece of art made by gluing different materials, like paper or fabric, onto a surface. His artwork was shown in a special exhibit in New York in 1999. He also had an exhibit called Wavy Gravy Retrospective in New Jersey in 1996.
He started making collages in the early 1960s. He was inspired by a collage he saw by artist Max Ernst. His collage work includes larger pieces made for famous people in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ventures and Projects
Seva Foundation
Wavy Gravy helped start the Seva Foundation in 1978. He co-founded it with spiritual leader Ram Dass and public health expert Dr. Larry Brilliant. The Seva Foundation is an international health group. It helps people around the world get eye care and restore their sight. Wavy Gravy is famous for organizing big benefit concerts to raise money for Seva. These concerts often feature famous musicians like Bonnie Raitt and members of the Grateful Dead.
Camp Winnarainbow
Wavy Gravy and his wife also co-founded Camp Winnarainbow. This is a circus and performing arts camp for kids. It is located in Laytonville, California, near the Hog Farm. He helped run the camp with Txi Whizz, also known as Barbara Hanna.
"Tornado of Talent"
In September 1981, there was a protest against a nuclear power plant. Many protesters were arrested. Wavy Gravy and musician Jackson Browne were there.
Jackson Browne played an acoustic guitar for the arrested men. Wavy Gravy organized a talent show for them. He called it the "Tornado of Talent." Wavy arrived dressed in bright green overalls. After settling in, he took off the overalls to show a Santa Claus suit underneath!
Nobody for President
Wavy Gravy ran a "Nobody for President" campaign. In 1980, he held a rally across from the White House. The campaign promoted the idea of choosing "none of the above" on the ballot. Their slogans included "Nobody's Perfect" and "Nobody Should Have That Much Power." Wavy Gravy told the crowd that "Nobody makes apple pie better than Mom."
He also started a store called Nobody's Business. It was located across the road from the Hog Farm. This store was named after his "Nobody for President" campaign.
Personal Life
Wavy Gravy was briefly married to a Frenchwoman in the early 1960s. That marriage ended in divorce.
In 1965, Wavy Gravy married actress Bonnie Beecher. She later changed her name to Jahanara Romney. They have a son, born in 1971. His name is Jordan Romney.
Radio Programs
Wavy Gravy has hosted two radio shows on Sirius Satellite Radio's Jam On station.
- Gravy in Your Ear: This show airs on the 15th of each month, including his birthday on May 15.
- The Wavy Files: These are short commentary segments by Wavy Gravy. They are played randomly throughout the Jam On radio programming.
Film Appearances
Wavy Gravy has appeared in several films, often playing himself in documentaries.
- Woodstock (1970) - Himself (Documentary)
- Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie (2009) - Himself (Documentary)
- Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation (2019) - Himself (Documentary)
Recognition
The ice cream company Ben & Jerry's created a flavor named "Wavy Gravy" after him. This flavor helped raise money for a scholarship fund. The fund allowed kids from less fortunate backgrounds to attend his Camp Winnarainbow.
See also
In Spanish: Wavy Gravy para niños
- List of peace activists
