- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAbbott Howard Hoffman
- Abbie Hoffman was born on November 30, 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Steal This Movie (2000) and Brand X (1970). He was married to Anita Hoffman and Sheila Karklin. He died on April 12, 1989 in New Hope, Pennsylvania, USA.
- SpousesAnita Hoffman(June 2, 1967 - September 10, 1980) (divorced, 1 child)Sheila Karklin(July 10, 1960 - November 4, 1966) (divorced, 2 children)
- Suffered from bouts of manic depression throughout his life (this may have been a contributing factor in his suicide).
- He emerged from hiding in 1980 after trying to evade a prison sentence on a drug charge. He revealed that he had his features altered by a plastic surgeon prior to going underground and led a very public life while "in hiding". Under the name Barry Freed, he worked as an environmental activist, fighting to save the St. Lawrence River. After coming out from hiding, he served a brief sentence in a minimum security prison.
- One of the Chicago Seven
- Among his many pranks with members of the Youth International Party (the "Yippies"), was to plaster the outside of a US Army recruitment booth in New York City with hundreds of bumperstickers reading "SEE CANADA NOW", and disrupting trading on the New York Stock Exchange by throwing 100 $1 bills from the observation balcony.
- Was pushed off the stage at Woodstock (1970) by Pete Townshend when he interrupted The Who during their performance to make a speech about the recent drug arrest of radical leader John Sinclair. A snippet of the incident can be heard on The Who's four-CD boxed set: "Thirty Years of Maximum R&B".
- Avoid all needle drugs, the only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon.
- [on the success of "Steal This Book"] It's embarrassing when you try to overthrow the government and you wind up on the Best Seller's List.
- The key to organizing an alternative society is to organize people around what they can do, and more importantly, what they want to do.
- The only way to support a revolution is to make your own.
- The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it!
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