Kaufman, Phil

Early years

Born in the settlement of Oceanside , New York ^[3] . It has Irish and Jewish descent ^[4] . His father was a musician and in the 30s led a big band ^[3] . At the age of 18, Kaufman almost ended up in jail for hooliganism, but the judge gave him the opportunity to join the army instead of imprisonment ^[5] . From 1952 to 1956 he served in the US Air Force and participated in the Korean War , and in 1957 he moved to Los Angeles ^[3] . There, he worked as a stuntman ^[1] (according to other sources, he starred in extras ^[6] ). During this period, he acquired connections in show business - mainly due to his ability to get drugs ^{[5] [7]} .

With Charles Manson

In the early 60s, Kaufman was convicted of smuggling marijuana ^[8] . He was held in various federal prisons until in the mid-60s he was transferred to a correctional facility on Terminal Island ^{[5] [9]} . There he sat in the same cell with Charles Manson , who composed songs, sang and played the guitar ^[5] . Kaufman liked his fearless character, as well as his creativity and voice, reminiscent of Frankie Lane ^[5] . Manson, in turn, became interested in the cellmate's connections in show business ^[5] . In the end, they became friends - Kaufman gave Manson advice on working on material and provided contacts in the music industry ^[10] . In particular, he arranged for him to meet with producer Gary Stromberg of Universal Studios , who organized the first record sessions of Manson ^{[11] [12]} .

In the spring of 1968, Kaufman left prison and, at the invitation of Manson, lived with him and his Family for two months ^{[13] [12]} . Kaufman was not enthusiastic about Manson’s ideology, but he liked the free sexual morals that reigned in “Family” ^[8] . Along the way, he continued to motivate Manson to record songs ^[14] . Subsequently, their relationship deteriorated - Kaufman allowed himself to publicly argue with Manson, which harmed his authority as a leader ^[15] . At first, Manson invited Kaufman to become one of his followers ^[15] . However, Kaufman refused and he had to leave the Family, having heard goodbye from Manson: “You are too smart to be here” ^[15] . Nevertheless, their relationship was not completely broken and Kaufman visited Manson and the Family from time to time ^[15] .

After Manson’s arrest in 1969 in connection with high-profile murders, Kaufman considered him innocent and did not believe that the “Family” was capable of this ^{[16] [8]} . For this reason, he looked after the followers of Manson, but when he saw their names and accusations in the newspapers, he realized that he “had sex with each of these killers” ^{[8] [17]} . Soon, Manson contacted Kaufman and asked him to release an album of his songs ^[16] . Despite the efforts of Kufman, major record labels refused to publish Manson’s work ^[12] . Therefore, in 1970, Kaufman released Manson's LP entitled Lie: The Love and Terror Cult at his own expense and on his own label Awareness Records ^{[17] [18]} . On this occasion, he organized a press conference and Manson’s famous interview with Rolling Stone magazine ^{[16] [19]} .

Despite all efforts, Manson's album failed commercially - the stores did not want to distribute the killer’s records ^{[17] [20]} . Of the 2000 copies, only 300 were sold ^[14] . Not believing in this, Manson decided that Kaufman left the money from selling the album to himself and sent his followers to it ^[20] . They visited Kafman three times, demanding to give them the proceeds and unsold copies of the record; they threatened him with knives and surrounded his house, chanting “Give us the music” ^[20] . Kaufman refused to fulfill their demands and eventually drove off the attackers with a shotgun and pistol ^[20] . He hoped to continue the implementation of the album in order to recoup his costs of its release, but the son of the scriptwriter Wojciech Frikowski, who was killed by Manson and the “Family”, obtained an injunction on the sale of the record ^[20] .

Subsequently, the song “ Look at Your Game Girl ” from Manson’s first album was sung by Guns' N Roses ^[8] . Kaufman claimed that Manson, in exchange for record production and release services, transferred all rights to his music to him and was about to sue Guns' N Roses for royalties. ^[8] At the same time, he noted that he was not shy to benefit from a relationship with Manson, since he considers this compensation for the threat to his life from his followers ^[8] . Kaufman also suggested that he himself could be one of the goals of the “Family” during the killings of La Bianca ^[8] . However, subsequently, he continued from time to time to communicate with Manson by telephone and after his conviction, although he ceased to publicly call him his friend ^[21] .

With The Rolling Stones

In the summer of 1968, an acquaintance of Kaufman arranged for him to work with The Rolling Stones - an assistant to Mick Jagger ^[22] . Kaufman collaborated with the band during Los Angeles mixing their Beggar's Banquet album ^[7] . He served as a cook, driver, security and other duties for $ 100 per day (equivalent to $ 727 in 2018 ^[23] ) ^[22] . In connection with this, he received the nickname "Executive Nanny" (Main Nanny) from Jagger ^[8] . Jagger also introduced him to Frank Zappa , whom Kaufman later also worked for ^[22] . When The Rolling Stones left the United States, Jagger invited Kaufman to go with them to London and work as an assistant to Brian Jones ^{[24] [22]} . However, he was on parole and therefore could not get a passport and was forced to stay in the United States ^[22] .

With Graham Parsons

When Kaufman worked with The Rolling Stones , their guitarist Keith Richards introduced him to his friend, country musician Graham Parsons . At first, Kufman was skeptical: “There was this guy in velor trousers in a fold and with the manners of a redneck . I had no idea who he was. Then he asked for a loan of 20 bucks for a block of beer. I was not impressed. ” ^[21] After Kaufman’s collaboration with The Rolling Stones ended, Parsons offered him a job as a road manager in his group The Flying Burrito Brothers . Kaufman agreed and in 1969 went with the band on the first tour, becoming a friend of the singer ^[7] . In 1970, Parsons was fired from the group for drunkenness and drug use and began a solo career, and Kaufman followed him.

In 1973, Clarence White , the guitarist of The Byrds , who had previously played Parsons, died ^[25] . During a strict Catholic farewell ceremony with him, Parsons told Kaufman that in the event of his death he did not want the same formal funeral with friends and relatives ^[26] . The singer expressed the wish that instead his body be taken to Joshua Tri National Park and burned in the desert, dispelling the ashes there ^[26] . In response, Kaufman said that he would like the same for himself ^[27] . As a result, they concluded a pact: if one of them dies, the other must implement this plan (according to some friends who witnessed the dialogue between Kaufman and Parsons, all those present finally made this promise) ^[26] . Two months later, Parsons died of a drug overdose at the Joshua Tree Motel.

Abduction and Cremation

Before the advent of the police, Kaufman arrived at the site of Parsons' death, collected drugs and buried them in the desert. ^[21] After the body was taken to the morgue and performed an autopsy, it was sent to the Los Angeles airport for subsequent transportation to Louisiana - Parsons' stepfather decided to bury the singer in New Orleans ^[21] . Learning about this and remembering the pact concluded, Kaufman borrowed a hearse from his acquaintance named Del McElroy, which she used for camping ^[28] . With her boyfriend Michael Martin, who worked as a roadie with Parsons, he drove to the airport under the guise of funeral officers ^{[21] [29]} .

On the spot, Kaufman convinced the guards that the relatives decided to send the singer’s body by private plane from another airport and signed the necessary documents with the fictitious name of Jeremy Noubadi ^[30] . A police officer who parked at that time at the exit from the hangar drove off his hearse car and helped with loading the coffin ^[30] . When Martin, drunk while driving, crashed into the wall of the hangar, the patrol did not check the documents and driver’s condition ^[30] . Later they headed to a place called Cap Rock, located in the Joshua Tree Park, and unloaded the coffin in the desert ^[31] .

Kaufman doused Parsons with gasoline and set it on fire. ^[21] When the corpse burned out, they left him and left. Kaufman and Martin spent the night in the hearse in the hearse, and when he did not start in the morning, they towed to Los Angeles ^[21] . On the freeway, they got into a massive car accident, but were able to hide from the policeman while he was busy with the rest of the incident ^[21] . Kaufman hid for several days, but when he learned that the police had come to his house, he surrendered voluntarily, and the next day Martin followed his example ^[32] . Both were released on bail - at $ 1,000 each (equivalent to $ 5,800 in 2018 ^[33] ) ^[34] .

Consequences of the incident.

Since California was criminally responsible for abducting a living person, but not a corpse, Kaufman and Martin were accused only of stealing the coffin ^[35] . They received a fine of $ 300 each ($ 1,740 in 2018 ^[36] ) and paid compensation to the funeral home for $ 708 ($ 4,100 in 2018 ^[37] ) ^[38] . Kaufman was also sentenced to a suspended sentence of one year, but almost got a real sentence when he jokingly asked the judge: “Does this mean that I can’t abduct corpses for a whole year?” ^[21] . The fine and the cost of the coffin were paid by Del McElroy, Kaufman’s lawyer refused the fee, the agency that provided the money for the pledge did the same ^[38] .

Since Kaufman and Martin were left without money and work, they organized a charity concert in their backyard at the Kauffman house called KKKK: Kaufman's Koffin Kaper Koncert ^[39] . Kaufman and his neighbor made special T-shirts and beer stickers featuring Parsons and the inscription “Gram Pilsner: A Stiff Drink for What Ales You” ^[38] . Speakers that evening included singer Bobby Pickett , the band The Modern Lovers and DJ Dr. Demento . Also, the event was attended by hundreds of guests from among friends and colleagues of Parsons ^[38] .

With Emmylou Harris

In 1973, while working with Graham Parsons , Kaufman met his duet partner and protégé Emmylou Harris ^[1] - at that time an unknown folk singer from Washington clubs. At first he reacted arrogantly to her: “I worked with the Rolling Stones, but who is she like that at all?” Kaufman recalls his attitude ^[40] . However, in the end, they established friendly relations, and Kaufman's girl sat with her daughter Harris during her tour with Parsons ^[1] .

After the death of Parsons, Kaufman, on the basis of total loss, became even closer to Harris ^[1] . Moving away from show business for a while, he and his four-year-old son moved to London , where he worked at the Harley Davidson company ^[1] . Starting in 1975 a successful solo career, Harris went on tour in the UK . Having met in London with Kaufman, she soon invited him to become her road manager ^[1] .

Since 1976, for 25 years, Kaufman worked with Harris, and in 1983, after her, he moved to Nashville , where he has lived since ^{[1] [4]} . Singer Kaufman calls the main source of his authority in the music industry ^[8] . “Emmylou builds up my reputation. When someone as respectable as she regularly hires me, it means that I am doing something good. It is a great honor for me to work for her, ”says Kaufman ^[8] .

In 1996, prostate cancer was discovered in Kaufman ^[1] . In this regard, Harris initiated a charity concert in Ryman Auditorium to raise funds for his treatment called Concert for Manglerdesh (a reference to the famous Concert for Bangladesh ) ^[1] . It was attended by, among others, Steve Earle , Vince Gill , Tricia Yervud , Nancy Griffith , Rodney Crowell , John Prine , Guy Clark and Sam Bush ^{[41] [6] [42]} . Having recovered, Kaufman continued his career.

Motorcycle accident

Kaufman has been riding motorcycles for more than 60 years ^[43] . In July 2015, at the age of 80, while riding his Harley Davidson , he had an accident at a speed of about 130 km / h and suffered fractures of the spine, ribs and ankles, as well as abrasions from contact with asphalt, completely removing one of his tattoos on the leg ^{[2] [43]} . Crucial to Kaufman’s life, in his own words, was the presence of a helmet on his head. The fundraising company for the treatment involved both ordinary fans and celebrities, such as Steve Wozniak and Steve Earle ^{[43] [6]} . After operations in the hospital and subsequent treatment at the rehabilitation center, Kaufman got better, saying that riding motorbikes is now over, and in January 2016 announced on his blog that he could walk again ^{[43] [44]} .

Other activities

In 1993, Kaufman released the Road Mangler Deluxe memoir, which was reprinted twice and supplemented with new chapters ^[45] . Based on the incident of the abduction of Graham Parsons ' body in 2003, the film " Parsons' Abduction " was released, in which the role of Kaufman was played by Johnny Knoxville ^[46] . The manager himself participated in the creation of the picture and played a cameo role in it ^[21] . In 2015, he released Legend of the Road Mangler audio memoirs ^[43] . Since 2009, Kaufman has been running a personal blog on Facebook , where in an informal manner he shares information and photos from his current life, as well as materials from the past ^[47] .

In early 2017, Kaufman began to collect applications from those wishing to take part in a series of excursion tours to the site of the death and cremation of Parsons in Joshua Tree National Park. He planned to conduct this event throughout September and October of the same year ^[48] . However, the idea did not materialize, as Kaufman recruited only 27 of the 120 necessary ^[49] . A similar, but less ambitious event planned for April 2018 was also canceled - this time due to the state of health of Kaufman himself ^{[50] [51]} .

Track record

Throughout his career, Phil Kaufman has worked with the following performers ^[52] :