Swami X Explained

Harry W. Hart, known by the stage name Swami X, (November 1925, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—August 29, 2015, Los Angeles, California) was an American boardwalk 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.^[1]

Biography

Hart was born in mid-November 1925 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died at age 89 on August 29, 2015 at the home of former Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl.^{[2] [3]}

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.^[1] His notable lines include:

• "Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. 'Yes' is the answer."^[4]
• "How do we know Jesus Christ was Jewish? Because he went into His Father's business."^[1]
• "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.^[5] In 2009 the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, presented him with an official proclamation.^[6]

Swami X appears as a character in Roger L. Simon's mystery novel, The Straight Man^[7] and is referenced in Pat Hartman's volume of Venice vignettes, Call Someplace Paradise.^[8]

See also

• Busking
• List of well-known busking locations

Further reading

• Jeffrey Stanton, Venice California: 'Coney Island of the Pacific' (2005), page 273
• Priority Records . March 10, 1992 . 30 November 2010--> . 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
• Brief article and recent photos of Swami X with quotations

Notes and References

1. Book: Campbell, Patricia J . Passing the Hat - Street Performers in America . 1981 . New York . Delacorte Press. 978-0-440-06824-2-->,978-0-385-28771-5 . 7461199 .
2. Web site: Venice Beach Comic Swami X Is Dead at 89. L.A. Weekly . 1 September 2015.
3. Web site: Swami X Has Left the Building. Free Venice. Beachhead . 1 September 2015.
4. Book: Weiss . Stefanie Iris. . Eco-sex : go green between the sheets and make your love life sustainable . 2010 . Ten Speed Press . New York . 978-1-58008-118-4 . 197.
5. Web site: SWAMI X - Comedian. KCET website. 29 November 2010. 2010-03-25.
6. Web site: Villaraigosa Honors Swami X; Blows Off Officially Running for Gov. The Venice Paper. 22 June 2009. 30 November 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20110724121111/http://www.venicepaper.net/pmt_more.php?id=454_0_1_0_M. 24 July 2011. dead.
7. Book: Simon, Roger L.. The Straight Man. 1986. Villard Books. 46, 88, 91. 978-0-394-55837-0. registration.
8. Book: Hartman, Pat . Call Someplace Paradise. Xlibris . 2000. 978-0-7388-2005-7. 93.