Emmett Grogan: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American anarchist (1942–1978)}}

'''Emmett Grogan''' (c. [[1943]]&ndash[[1978]]) was one of the founders of the '''[[Diggers (theater)|Diggers]]''' in the Haight-Ashbury district of [[San Francisco]], [[California]] who inspired [[Abbie Hoffman]] to undertake a similar venture on the Lower East Side of [[New York City]] during the mid-1960s. The Diggers were a [[hippie]] group that scrounged for and provided food and other services. They took their name from the [[Diggers (True Levellers)|Diggers]] of [[17th Century]] [[England]] who were a radical movement opposed [[feudalism]], the [[Church of England]] and the [[British Crown]]. The Diggers of the [[1960s]] can be compared with the present-day [[Food Not Bombs]] who feed homeless youth.

{{Use American English|date = October 2019}}

Grogan's penchant for personal myth making and distrust of the mainstream media resulted in few details of his life being reliably recorded. His [[1972]] autobiography, ''Ringolevio (A life played for keeps)'', is filled with embellishments and large portions of his pre-Digger life appear to be outright fabrications. This flexibility with the truth was part of Grogan's larger social and political analysis and was meant to further Digger ideals.

{{Use mdy dates|date = October 2019}}

{{infobox person

| name = Emmett Grogan

| image = Emmett Grogan.jpg

| caption = Grogan, photographed by John Dominis.

| birth_name = Eugene Leo Grogan

| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|11|28}}

| birth_place = [[Bay Ridge, Brooklyn]], New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1978|04|06|1942|11|28}}

| death_place = [[Coney Island]], Brooklyn, NY

| occupation = Activist, Author

| alias = Kenny Wisdom

| alma_mater =

| known_for = [[Diggers (theater)|The Diggers]]

| notable works = ''Ringolevio, a Life Played for Keeps'' (1972)<br />''Final Score'' (1976)

| spouse = {{ill|Louise Latraverse|fr|Louise Latraverse}}

| children = 1 son

}}

'''Emmett Grogan''' (born '''Eugene Leo Grogan''', November 28, 1942 &ndash; April 6, 1978) was a founder of the [[Diggers (theater)|Diggers]], a radical community-action group of [[Improvisational theatre|Improvisational]] actors in the [[Haight-Ashbury]] district of San Francisco. The Diggers took their name from the English [[Diggers]] (1649–1650), a radical movement opposed to [[feudalism]], the [[Church of England]] and the [[British Crown]].

== Biography ==

Grogan's distrust of the mainstream media made it difficult for reporters to acquire more than a few details of his life. He was born on November 28, 1942, as '''Eugene Leo Grogan''' into an Irish-American family in the [[Bay Ridge, Brooklyn|Bay Ridge]] neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. According to his publisher, [[New York Review Books]], "Grogan grew up on New York City’s mean streets, getting hooked on heroin before he was in his teens, kicking the habit and winning a scholarship to a swanky Manhattan private school, pursuing a highly profitable sideline as a [[Park Avenue]] burglar, then skipping town to enjoy the ''dolce vita'' in Italy."<ref name="NYRB">{{cite web|url=http://www.nyrb.com/products/ringolevio|title= Ringolevio |date= October 14, 2008 | publisher = New York Review Books | access-date=18 Oct 2015}}</ref> After high school, he attended Duke University for one year before moving to San Francisco.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

The [[San Francisco Diggers]] evolved out of two radical traditions that thrived in the Bay Area in the mid-1960s: the bohemian/underground art/theater scene, and the [[New Left]]/[[Civil rights movement (1896–1954)|civil rights]]/[[peace movement]]. The Diggers combined [[street theatre]], [[direct action]], and art [[happenings]] in their social agenda of creating a Free City. Their most characteristic activities were distributing free food<ref name=DiggerOverview /> ("Free because it's yours!") every day in [[Golden Gate Park]], and distributing "surplus energy" at a series of Free Stores, where everything in the store was free.<ref>[http://www.diggers.org/free_store.htm "Digger Virtual Free Store,"] The Diggers Archives. Accessed Dec. 13, 2019.</ref>

The Diggers coined various slogans that became part of the counterculture and even the larger society, such as, "Do your own thing," and "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."<ref name=DiggerOverview>{{cite web | url=http://www.diggers.org/overview.htm | title=Overview: who were (are) the Diggers? | publisher=The Digger Archives | access-date=24 Oct 2019}}</ref>

Grogan's 1972 autobiography ''Ringolevio, a Life Played for Keeps'', is regarded by some<ref>[[Dennis Hopper]], quoted on the ''Ringolevio'' page, New York Review Books website. Retrieved October 18, 2015.</ref> as the best and only authentic book written about the [[underground culture]] of the 1960s. In the book, Grogan refers to himself by the alias Kenny Wisdom. In his 1990 introduction to ''Ringolevio'',[[Peter Coyote]], another founding member of the Diggers, states that Grogan's choice of the alias is "no accident", as the protagonist stood in for the young Grogan's "undirected self".<ref name=Coyote />

Grogan was also the author of ''Final Score,'' a crime novel published in 1976.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

==Criticism of counterculture==

Grogan shunned media attention and became increasingly suspicious of those who sought publicity. In ''Ringolevio'', Grogan discussed the 1967 [[Human Be-In]], criticizing counterculture luminaries [[Timothy Leary]],<ref>''Ringolevio'' page, New York Review Books website. Retrieved October 18, 2015

{{blockquote|[''Ringolevio''] is a hard-boiled, sometimes hard-to-believe, wildly entertaining tale that takes a totally unexpected turn when Grogan washes up in sixties San Francisco and becomes a leader of the anarchist group known as the Diggers. The Diggers, devoted to street theater, direct action, and distributing free food, were in the thick of the legendary Summer of Love, and soon Grogan is struggling with the naive narcissism of the hippies, the marketing of revolution as a brand, dogmatic radicals, and false prophets like tripster Timothy Leary.}}</ref> [[Jerry Rubin]], and especially [[Abbie Hoffman]].<ref>Grogran, Emmett. ''Ringolevio: A Life Played for Keeps'', pp. 400–443. [http://www.diggers.org/ring_compilation/ring_compilation_400_443.htm Archived at The Digger Archives]. Accessed Dec. 13, 2019.</ref>

Grogan thought the HIP (Haight Independent Proprietors) merchants, led by Ron and Jay Thelin, who had sponsored events like the Human Be-In, were the primary beneficiaries of the events: "The HIP merchants were astounded by their own triumph by promoting such a large market for their wares. They became the Western world's taste makers overnight..." He objected to the "[[Summer of Love]]" enticing of young people to the Haight-Ashbury to experience hippie life, noting that an influx of residents would cause an "immigration crisis" and the kids who came expecting an already-formed Utopia would end up living a desperate hand-to-mouth existence on the streets. He also decried the HIP merchants' "HIP Job Co-Op," revealing that much of the work they offered was [[sweatshop]] labor. He pointed out that unskilled and clerical jobs would be taken away from poor residents who depended on such work to survive.<ref>Grogan, Emmett. ''Ringolevio: A Life Played for Keeps'', pp. 264–308; excerpts concerning Grogan's work in the Haight-Ashbury. [http://www.diggers.org/ring_compilation/ring_compilation_264_308.htm Archived at The Diggers Archive]. Accessed Dec. 13, 2019.</ref>

== Death ==

On April 6, 1978, 35-year-old Grogan was found dead on a [[New York City Subway]] train on the [[F (New York City Subway service)|F train]] in Coney Island; he had suffered a heart attack.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/08/archives/obituary-1-no-title.html?_r=0 Emmett Grogan obituary], ''New York Times'' April 8, 1978.</ref> Close friend and Digger co-founder [[Peter Coyote]] stated in his foreword to Grogan's autobiography ''Ringolevio'' that his death was due to a heroin overdose.<ref name=Coyote>{{cite web|last1=Coyote|first1=Peter|title=Intro to Ringolevio|url=http://www.petercoyote.com/ringo.html|website=The Official Peter Coyote Web Site|access-date=15 January 2017|archive-date=June 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612150852/http://www.petercoyote.com/ringo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Bob Dylan]] dedicated his 1978 album ''[[Street Legal (album)|Street Legal]]'' to Grogan.<ref>[http://bobdylan.com/albums/street-legal/ ''Street Legal'' page], BobDylan.com. Accessed Dec. 13, 2019.</ref> [[Richard Brautigan]] dedicated his poem "Death Is a Beautiful Car Parked Only" to Grogan.<ref>[http://brautigan.cybernetic-meadows.net/tiki-index.php?page=Emmett+Grogan "Information about Emmett Grogan,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116102518/http://brautigan.cybernetic-meadows.net/tiki-index.php?page=Emmett+Grogan |date=November 16, 2016 }} The Richard Brautigan Archives. Accessed 2016 Nov. 15.</ref>

== Personal life ==

Grogan was married to the French-Canadian actress {{ill|Louise Latraverse|fr|Louise Latraverse}}; they had one son.

==Further reading==

*{{cite book

| last = Grogan

| first = Emmett

| title = Ringolevio: A Life Played for Keeps

| publisher = New York Review Books

| year = 2008

| url = http://www.diggers.org/ringolevio.htm

| isbn = 978-1-59017-286-5

}}

==References==

{{reflist}}

*Ringolevio (A life played for keeps), by [[Emmett Grogan|Grogan, Emmett]]. - Little Brown & Company, 1972. Library of Congress No.78-186970. (The story of the revival of the Diggers in the Haight-Ashbury district of [[San Francisco]], [[California]] and [[New York]] during the mid-1960s.

*Emmett Grogan sang back-up with [[Ramblin' Jack Elliott]] on ''[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]'' written by [[Bob Dylan]]. Dylan also dedicated his 1978 album "[[Street Legal]]" to Grogan.

==External links==

* {{Wikiquote inline|Emmett Grogan}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category{{DEFAULTSORT:Anarchists|Grogan, Emmett]]}}

[[Category:1942 births]]

[[Category:1978 deaths]]

[[Category:American anarchists]]

[[Category:Deaths by heroin overdose in New York (state)]]

[[Category:Diggers (theater)]]

[[Category:Far-left politics in the United States]]

[[Category:American free speech activists]]

[[Category:Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco]]

[[Category:People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn]]

[[Category:Drug-related deaths in New York City]]