a personal list of
cOo L PEoPL e

We aren't supposed to believe in heroes anymore, and little wonder. The men once paraded in front of us as the best that humankind had to offer have lost most of their luster: Christopher Columbus was a vicious slave-trader who calmly ordered the torture, rape and execution of hundreds of native Americans. J. Edgar Hoover was a cross-dressing, self-hating homosexual who used his position as Director of the FBI to subvert the civil rights of thousands of law-abiding citizens. John F. Kennedy deliberately made false statements about the Soviet missile program during the Presidential debates against Richard Nixon, knowing that Nixon could not refute them without revealing classified information. Kennedy was only in possession of this information because he was a candidate for the office of President and had been briefed by the White House. And these guys were supposed to be our heroes. Well, my definition of hero has changed over the years. I don't require perfection, just talent, decency, courage, honesty, or even a good laugh. This is a list of some people I think are deserving of our respect. They've become a sort of personal pantheon; the men and women I think about when I'm tempted to make the easy choice instead of the right one.

Akira Kurosawa Motion picture director and writer. Laurie Anderson Musician and artist. Jack Arnold Motion picture producer, writer and director. Tex Avery Animator. Isaac Asimov Writer. Jack Benny Radio, film and television comedian. Ambrose Bierce Writer and social satirist. Mel Blanc Actor. Humphrey Bogart Actor and political activist. Bertolt Brecht Expressionist playwright. Charles Bukowski Writer and poet. William S. Burroughs Avant-garde writer. Sir Richard Burton Explorer and linguist. Cab Calloway Bandleader and actor. Neal Cassidy Force of Nature. Raymond Chandler Mystery writer. Arthur C. Clarke Scientist and science fiction writer. Samuel Langhorn Clemens Writer and social satirist. Imogene Coca Actress and writer. Elisha Cook, Jr. Actor. Aaron Copeland Composer. Robert Crumb Cartoonist. Eugene W. Debs Writer and politician. Ellen DeGeneres Actress, humorist and social activist. Bernal Diaz Conquistador and honest chronicler. Philip K. Dick Science fiction writer. Charles Dodgson Writer, logician and social satirist. William O. Douglas Jurist. Marcel Duchamp Avant-garde artist and theoretician. Albert Einstein Physicist and political activist. Brian Eno Musician, producer, electronic artist and theoretician. Hugh Ferris Architect. Richard Feynman Physicist and educator. Max and Dave Fleischer Animators. Errol Flynn Actor. Anne Frank Diarist. Al Franken Actor, writer and political satirist. Benjamin Franklin Writer, inventor and politician. R. Buckminster Fuller Futurist, inventor and architect. Uri Gagarin Explorer. William H. Gaines Publisher and warper of young minds. Martin Gardner Writer and mathematician. Siddhartha Gatauma Teacher. Alan Ginsburg Poet. Robert Goddard Rocketry pioneer. Emma Goldman Exiled American writer and politician. Henry B. Gonzales Politician. Robert Graves Poet and novelist. Matt Groening Cartoonist and social commentator. Dashiel Hammett Mystery writer. Jean Harlowe Motion picture actress. Herodotus Tourist and the first historian. Alfred Jarry Absurdist writer and playwright. Thomas Jefferson Writer, inventor and politician. Jeshua the Nazarene Essene rabbi and political activist. Robert Johnson Musician. Charles M. Jones Animator. Barbara Jordan Politician. Karl Jung Psychologist. Bob Kane Cartoonist. Buster Keaton Actor and motion picture director. Helen Keller Writer and political activist. Walt Kelly Cartoonist. Jack Kerouac Writer. Kobo Abe Writer. Kathe Kolwicz Artist. Yaphet Kotto Royal actor. Ernie Kovacs Television comedian and theorist. Stanley Kubrick Motion picture director. Elsa Lanchester Actress. Fritz Lang Motion picture director. Charles Laughton Actor and motion picture director. Timothy Leary Educator, writer and philosopher. John Lennon Musician, actor and political activist. Lotte Lenya Stage and screen actress and singer. Li Po Poet and philosopher. Peter Lorre Actor and motion picture director. Winsor McKay Cartoonist and animator. Russ Meyer Motion picture director and social satirist. Spike Milligan Humorist, musician, soldier and actor. J. Robert Oppenheimer Physicist and political activist. George Pal Animator, motion picture director and producer. Slim Pickens Actor. Edgar Allen Poe Writer and poet. Stephen S. Potter Humorist and philosopher. William H. Prescott Historian. Man Ray Artist and photographer. Gene Roddenberry Writer, philosopher, social engineer, policeman and television producer. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Politician and social engineer. Carl Sagan Astronomer and writer. Egon Schiele Artist. Gilbert Sheldon Cartoonist. John Steinbeck Writer. Tacitus Historian and Roman senator. Emma Tenayuca Labor activist. Hunter S. Thompson Writer, journalist and doctor of divinity. James Thurber Humorist and cartoonist. Mel Torme Singer and actor. Toshiro Mifune Actor. Barbara W. Tuchman Historian. Tom Waits Musician, playwright and actor. Jay Ward Animator. John Waters Motion picture director and actor. Orson Welles Motion picture director and actor. Nathanial West Writer. William Windom Actor and Thurber enthusiast. Ed Wood, Jr. Motion picture director and actor. Wallace Wood Artist, cartoonist and writer. Frank Lloyd Wright Architect. Grace Zabriskie Artist, writer and actress. Howard Zinn Writer, professor and political activist.