A cult figure or cult icon is a person who attracts the attention of a small band of aficionados. Some cult figures are well-known to the general public (Andy Warhol, Christopher Walken) while others are mostly obscure outside of a subculture (Ed Wood Jr., Vanessa Duriès). Fans can refer to: The webcomic by T Campbell of that name. ... Andy Warhol, photographed by Helmut Newton. ... Christopher Walken in The Dogs of War (1981). ... As understood in sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a distinct set of behavior and beliefs that differentiate them from a larger culture of which they are a part. ... Edward D. Wood, Jr. ... Vanessa Duriès Vanessa Duriès (a. ...

In most of the cases, the work of a cult figure is unusual or exists outside current trends in his or her field. Thus, his or her appeal is limited to only a small group.

Although most cult figures are artists and entertainers who are genuinely recognized for their talent, others gain a following mostly for strange behavior (Wesley Willis, Ellen Feiss) or particularly memorable 15 minutes of fame (William Hung, Clara Peller) This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ellen Feiss Ellen Feiss (born 1987) became an Internet phenomenon after her 2002 Errol Morris-directed television commercial for Apple Computers Switch campaign grew into a cult hit. ... In popular culture, 15 minutes of fame refers to a sudden state of celebrity that is believed unlikely to continue to contain fame long enough to affect the new celebritys life. ... William Hung on American Idol William Hung (Traditional Chinese: 孔慶翔, Simplified Chinese: 孔庆翔, Cantonese Yale: Hung2 Hing3 Cheung4, Pinyin: Kǒng Qìngxiáng) (born January 13, 1983 in Hong Kong, China) is a Chinese American college student and American entertainer who gained fame and notoriety in early 2004 as a result... The picture sleeve of a Wheres the Beef single, recorded by Coyote McCloud and Clara Peller, based on her legendary advertisement Clara Peller (August 4, 1902 – August 11, 1987), was an American who, as a senior citizen, starred in the legendary Wheres the beef? advertisement for Wendys...

Who is a cult figure?

The term cult figure is difficult to define and different people may or may not qualify as cult figures by different standards.

The term usually refers to someone who is admired by a small group of fans and not by the general public or at least not for the same reasons he or she is admired by the general public. For example, Christopher Walken and Crispin Glover are both known for their acting abilities to the general public but to their cult followings, Walken is better known for his recognizable mannerisms and Glover for his strange behavior. Christopher Walken in The Dogs of War (1981). ... Crispin Glover as Willard Stiles Crispy Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is a multifaceted American artist. ... Acting is the work of an actor, a person in theatre, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The term usually does not refer to a person who is both a widely celebrated figure in culture at large and the object of the acute interest of many dedicated fans, such as Johnny Cash, J.D. Salinger or George Lucas. The term also usually does not refer to a widely significant figure who is particularly important to a subculture, such as Madonna in gay culture or John Lennon in hippie and neo-hippie culture. John R. (Johnny) Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an influential American country and rock music singer and songwriter. ... Jerome David Salinger (born January 1, 1919) is an American author best known for The Catcher in the Rye, a classic coming-of-age story that has enjoyed enduring popularity since its publication in 1951. ... George Walton Lucas, Jr. ... As understood in sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a distinct set of behavior and beliefs that differentiate them from a larger culture of which they are a part. ... Madonna Louise Ciccone (born August 16, 1958), better known worldwide by only her first name, is an Italian-American pop singer, songwriter, musician, record and film producer, dancer, actress, and author. ... See labrys, black triangle. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), was an iconic English 20th century composer and singer of popular music, best known as the founding member of The Beatles, in which he and Paul McCartney formed the massively successful Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership... Dancing Hippies Berkeley, California 1969 By Robert Altman Hippie, occasionally spelled hippy, is a term commonly used to refer to some of the disaffected youth of the 1960s and early 1970s. ...

In some cases, a cult following is so large or so infamous that the figure becomes a household name. Examples include The Grateful Dead, Bruce Lee and Elvira. Still these people are usually considered cult figures because a relatively small group of fans are responsible for their fame. Jerry Garcia later in life The Grateful Dead was an American rock band, which was formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions. ... Bruce Jun Fan Lee (Chinese: 李振藩 Cantonese: Léi Janfàan Pinyin: Lǐ Zhènfán); born November 27, 1940 in San Francisco - died July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong. ... Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is better known for her on-screen persona Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ wearing a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation. ...

Selected list of cult figures

Actors and actresses

• André the Giant - 7 foot, 3 inch actor and professional wrestler dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world," also the inspiration of the street art campaign André the Giant Has a Posse
• Bruce Campbell - self-proclaimed B-movie actor, known for dropping memorable one-liners as Ash in the comedy/horror film The Evil Dead and its sequels
• Mara Corday - Playboy magazine centerfold and Earl Carroll showgirl who became a "B-movie" actress in the 1950s
• Zbigniew Cybulski - actor known as the "Polish James Dean"
• Divine - drag queen who starred in many underground films of John Waters
• Crispin Glover - Actor, director and general renaissance man known for his eccentric behavior
• Bruce Lee - Slim, well-toned Chinese American actor and martial artist who has become the most recognizable icon of martial arts films
• Traci Lords - Infamous underage porn star who went on to act in several non-pornographic cult films
• Chuck Norris - martial artist and actor who starred in the television series Walker, Texas Ranger and is the subject of an Internet meme attributing fantastic, often superhuman, feats and characteristics to the actor (See Chuck Norris facts).
• William Shatner - actor best known for playing the over-emotional Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek series and its film sequels. He is also known for his often mismanaged and bizarre attempts to advance his profile beyond his best-known role, including his much-satirized singing career
• Mr. T - Mohawked, jewelry-studded 1980s icon best known from the television series The A-Team and the film Rocky III, in which he said the ubiquitous catch phrase "I pity the fool." He also appeared in several kitschy educational videos in which he strangely kept-up his "tough guy" tone.
• Dyanne Thorne - actress known for playing the icecold Ilsa the She-Wolf in a series of women in prison films, currently an ordained minister
• Christopher Walken - Widely respected film actor known for his slow intonation, intense gaze and droll sense of humor, winner of Mutant Viewers' 2005 Cult Lifetime Achievement Award [1]
• Adam West - actor known for playing Batman in the campy 1960s television series and for his willingness to make odd meta-references to his best-known role and inability to escape its shadow, including his portrayal of “Mayor Adam West” on the animated series Family Guy and his "Catman" persona on The Fairly Odd Parents.
• Judy Garland - a huge icon amongst gay people so much that the stereotypical gay man is a huge fan of hers.

André the Giant (May 19, 1946 – January 27, 1993) was a professional wrestler and actor, born André René Roussimoff in Grenoble, France. ... Professional wrestling is generally any form of wrestling in which the wrestlers receive payment for participating. ... The Seven Wonders of the World (from top to bottom, left to right): Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Maussollos, Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. ... Example of small sized street art on a public building street art in Frankfurt Street art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, in the streets — though the term usually refers to art of an illicit nature (as opposed to, for instance, government or community art initiatives). ... Andre the Giant has a posse sticker on a stop sign. ... Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958, Royal Oak, Michigan) is an American actor of Irish-Scottish descent. ... The term B-movie originally referred to a film designed to be distributed as the lower half of a double feature, often a genre film featuring cowboys, gangsters or vampires. ... One-liner may mean: a one-liner joke a one-liner program This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ashley J. Williams, portrayed by Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness Ashley J. Ash Williams is the main character in the Evil Dead horror film franchise, played by Bruce Campbell. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as—in metonymy—the field in general. ... The Evil Dead (also known as The Book of The Dead , Sam Raimis The Evil Dead and The Evil Dead, the Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror) is a 1981 horror film directed and written by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell. ... A sequel is a work of fiction in literature, film, and other creative works that is produced after a completed work, and is set in the same universe but at a later time. ... Mara Corday, 1954 Mara Corday (born Marilyn Watts on January 3, 1930 in Santa Monica, California) is a showgirl, model, actress Playboy Centerfold and a 1950s cult figure. ... Playboy is an adult entertainment magazine, or pornography magazine, founded in 1953 by Hugh Hefner, which has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc. ... Standard Lenna image famously used in many image processing experiments, taken from the (non-revealing) top third of a November 1972 Playboy centerfold. ... Earl Carroll Theatre, New York City, 1922 The Earl Carroll Theatre was the name of two major theatres, one on Broadway in New York City and the other on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, owned by Broadway impresario and showman Earl Carroll. ... A Las Vegas showgirl, from the Folies Bergere. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... Zbigniew Cybulski (better known as Zbyszek Cybulski; 1927-1967) was a Polish actor, one of the best known and most popular personalities of the Polish cinema after World War II. For his unique style of play, he is often called the Polish James Dean. ... James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American film actor who epitomized youthful angst. ... Divine with dogs Harris Glenn Milstead (born October 19, 1945 in Towson, Maryland - died March 7, 1988) was better known by his drag persona Divine. ... Drag queens Luc DArcy and Jerry Cyr and friend at Montreals 2003 Divers/Cité pride parade. ... John Waters at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. ... Crispin Glover as Willard Stiles Crispy Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is a multifaceted American artist. ... This article is about the 1994 film. ... Bruce Jun Fan Lee (Chinese: 李振藩 Cantonese: Léi Janfàan Pinyin: Lǐ Zhènfán); born November 27, 1940 in San Francisco - died July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong. ... A Chinese American is an American who is of ethnic Chinese descent. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Martial arts film is a film genre that originated in the Pacific Rim. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A pornographic actor or a porn star is somebody who appears in pornographic movies, live sex shows or peep shows. ... Cult film is a colloquial term for a film that has accrued a small but devoted group of fans, having failed to achieve fame outside that group. ... Chuck Norris reciving the Veteran of the Year award by the U.S Air Force Carlos Ray Chuck Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist, action star, and Hollywood actor. ... Walker, Texas Ranger was an American action/drama television series starring Chuck Norris. ... An Internet phenomenon (sometimes called an Internet meme) occurs when something relatively unknown becomes increasingly popular, often quite suddenly, through the mass propagation of media content made feasible by the Internet; however, the popularity of the phenomenon usually wanes as rapidly as it was acquired: the Internets lack of... Chuck Norris Facts in Rolling Stone. ... William Shatner (born March 22, 1931 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian actor, who gained fame for his starring role as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven of the subsequent movies. ... James Tiberius Kirk (2233 - 2293/2371), played by William Shatner, was the leading character in the original Star Trek series and the films based on it. ... The starship Enterprise as it appeared on Star Trek Star Trek is a culturally significant science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. ... William Shatners musical career has yielded a unique, much-criticized, and much-parodied body of work. ... Mr. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jewelry (the American spelling; spelled jewellery in Commonwealth English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces who are on the run from the military while working as soldiers of fortune. ... Rocky 3 is also a nickname for Sergei Rachmaninoffs 3rd Piano Concerto. ... Kitsch is a German term that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. ... Cover of the 2004 DVD release of Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS. Dyanne Thorne (Born October 14, 1932 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA) is an American actress and model. ... Cover of the 2004 DVD release of Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS. Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS is a 1974 pornographic motion picture produced in the United States of America. ... Women in prison films are a subgenre of exploitation film. ... A minister can mean several things: A government minister is a politician who heads a government ministry A minister of religion is a member of the clergy A minister is the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages... Christopher Walken in The Dogs of War (1981). ... Adam West Adam West (born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington, USA) is best known as the actor who played the role of Batman on the original television program that ran from 1966 to 1968. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Batman was the title of an exceptionally popular 1960s TV series based on the comic-book character Batman that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) for 2 1/2 seasons from 12 January, 1966 to 14 March, 1968. ... Meta-reference, a meta-fiction technique, is a situation in a form of media whereby fictional characters display an awareness that they are in a film, television show or book. ... Family Guy is an American animated comedy created by Seth MacFarlane for FOX in 1999. ... The Fairly OddParents is one of the most popular cartoons on Nickelodeon The Fairly OddParents is an animated series created by Butch Hartman and was first aired in March 30, 2001. ... Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota on June 10, 1922 – died June 22, 1969) was an American film actress considered by many to be one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywoods Golden Era of musical film. ... For other uses, see Gay (disambiguation). ...

Directors

• Roger Corman - Prolific producer and director of offbeat, low-budget horror films, whose resourcefulness and budgeting have been widely studied by amateur filmmakers.
• David Lynch - Director who balances Hollywood ethos with artistic surrealism, deemed "Jimmy Stewart from Mars" by Mel Brooks
• Lloyd Kaufman - co-founder of Troma Entertainment and director of low-budget films known for their plentiful nudity, gore, violence, and black humor
• John Waters - Filmmaker known for his campy style, outrageous subject matters and edgy sense of humor; his films have been both complimented and derided as in bad taste.
• Ed Wood, Jr. - Prolific director of movies that have been deemed "z-grade." Wood was named the "the worst filmmaker of all time" by The Golden Turkey Awards although some movie buffs appreciate his sheer passion for filmmaking.

Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American producer and director of low-budget films. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... David Lynch at Cannes in 2001. ... ... Centuries from now, any art that takes new paths toward a greater emancipation of the mind will be Surrealist. ... Jimmy Stewart, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American film actor beloved for his persona as an average guy who faces adversity and tries to do the right thing, an image which was largely reflected in his own... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Mel Brooks in the 2005 film of The Producers Mel Brooks (born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies, or as he says, spoofs. ... Troma co-founder and president; Lloyd Kaufman Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director and producer. ... Troma is a film production and distribution company, founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. ... Black comedy, also known as black humor, is a subgenre of comedy and satire that deals with serious subjects – death, divorce, drug abuse, et cetera in a humorous manner. ... John Waters at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Edward D. Wood, Jr. ... Z-movie is a term applied to films with an extremely low budget and a miserable quality. ... The Golden Turkey Awards is a book by film critic Michael Medved and his brother Harry Medved. ...

Singers and musicians

• Syd Barrett - Original Pink Floyd front man and psych folk artist known for his gleeful, childlike songs; strange behavior and eventual mental breakdown
• The Grateful Dead - Long-running, psychedelic rock band known for their improvisational live shows. They have become symbols of the hippie lifestyle, especially to those who have embraced it long after it was fashionable.
• Roky Erickson - Singer/songwriter known for his fervent, growling vocals and abrasive musical techniques as leader of The 13th Floor Elevators and as a solo artist, also known for his reclusive lifestyle and erratic behavior
• Kool Keith - Prolific rapper and hip-hop producer, known for his complex, stream-of-consciousness verbal flow, raunchy lyrics, multiple onstage personas, and eccentric behavior
• William Hung - Chinese American college student who developed a cult following after he performed an off-key rendition of Ricky Martin’s "She Bangs" while auditioning for the television series American Idol.
• Jandek - Downbeat Texas-based singer-songwriter known for, until recently, his carefully kept autonomy and extreme mysteriousness
• Morrissey - Activist, poet and former lead singer of The Smiths, known for droll, sardonically humorous lyrics
• The Residents - Costumed, avant-garde quartet that has maintained complete anonymity for over two decades.
• John Stewart - genre-defying American songwriter, known for his work in folk, rock, alternative and country music
• Swans - Industrial rock band known for their bleak lyrics, diverse styles and for concerts so loud they caused audience members to vomit and the police to break stop their performances. Their style has been described as a "wall of noise" and "the most aggressive music on earth".
• Tiny Tim - Six-foot tall, red-haired, falsetto-voiced singer and ukulele-player, called “master of the disturbing.”
• Wesley Willis - 350 lb., six-foot-tall schizophrenic who recorded thousands of simplistic, repetitive and often obscene songs using the prerecorded backing music of his keyboards [2]
• Thom Yorke - Lead Singer of Radiohead
• Frank Zappa - Sardonic and offbeat guitarist, songwriter and composer. Although his music was often unconventional, Zappa is considered an extremely ambitious and versatile musician.

Roger Keith Syd Barrett (January 6, 1946 – July 7, 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and artist. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band noted for philosophical lyrics, classical rock compositions, sonic experimentation, innovative cover art, and elaborate live shows. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Although not a medical term, the phrase nervous breakdown is often used by laymen to describe a sudden and acute attack of mental illness clinical depression, anxiety disorder, in a previously outwardly healthy person. ... Jerry Garcia later in life The Grateful Dead was an American rock band, which was formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions. ... Psychedelic rock is a musical style inspired by or attempting to replicate the mind-altering experience of drugs such as cannabis, psilocybin, mescaline, salvia divinorum, and especially LSD. There are also other forms of psychedelic music that started from the same roots and diverged from the prevalent rock style into... The term jam band is commonly used to describe psychedelic rock-influenced bands whose concerts largely consist of bands reinterpreting their songs as springboards into extended improvisational pieces of music. ... Dancing Hippies Berkeley, California 1969 By Robert Altman Hippie, occasionally spelled hippy, is a term commonly used to refer to some of the disaffected youth of the 1960s and early 1970s. ... Roky Erickson, born Roger Kynard Erickson on July 15, 1947, is an American singer, songwriter, harmonica player and guitarist from Texas. ... The 13th Floor Elevators were a rock music group founded in Austin, Texas in late 1965. ... Keith Matthew Thornton, better known as Kool Keith, is an American hip hop artist and record producer. ... Popular West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg performing for the US Navy. ... Hip hop music (also referred to as rap or rap music) is a style of popular music which came into existence roughly the mid 70s but became a large part of modern day pop culture in the late 80s. ... In literary criticism, stream of consciousness denotes a literary technique which seeks to describe an individuals point of view by giving the written equivalent of the characters thought processes. ... William Hung on American Idol William Hung (Traditional Chinese: 孔慶翔, Simplified Chinese: 孔庆翔, Cantonese Yale: Hung2 Hing3 Cheung4, Pinyin: KÇ’ng Qìngxiáng) (born January 13, 1983 in Hong Kong, China) is a Chinese American college student and American entertainer who gained fame and notoriety in early 2004 as a result... A Chinese American is an American who is of ethnic Chinese descent. ... Ricky Martin (born Enrique Martín Morales on December 24, 1971 in Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico), is a successful Latin American pop singer who rose to fame, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1990. ... She Bangs is a song originally performed by Ricky Martin, from his 2000 album Sound Loaded. ... American Idol, formerly known as American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, is an American television series. ... Jandek is an outsider musician presumably from Houston, Texas. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Steven Patrick Morrissey from Morrissey (born May 22, 1959) is a singer and songwriter from Stretford, Manchester, in Lancashire, England. ... The Smiths were an English rock group active from 1982 to 1987. ... The Residents The Residents are an avant garde music and visual arts group. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... John Stewart (b. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and for the common people. ... Rock is a form of popular music from the late 20th century which typically features a vocal melody (often with vocal harmony) that is supported by accompaniment of electric guitars, a bass guitar, and drums, often with a strong back beat. ... The terms alternative rock and alternative music[1] (also simply called alternative) were coined in the 1980s to describe punk rock-inspired bands on independent record labels that didnt fit into the mainstream genres of the time. ... country music, see Country music (disambiguation) In popular music, country music, also called country and western music or country-western, is an amalgam of popular musical forms developed in the Southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, Celtic music, blues, gospel music, and old-time music that began... Swans were an American industrial/rock band active from 1982 to 1997, lead by Michael Gira. ... Industrial music is a loose term for a number of different styles of electronic and experimental music. ... Tiny Tim on the cover of his live Albert Hall album Herbert Buckingham Khaury (April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996), better known by the stage name Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. ... Falsetto (IPA: Italian , General American , RP ) is a singing technique that produces sounds that are pitched higher than the singers normal range. ... Ukulele The ukulele (pronounced , or the Anglicised ), or uke, is a fretted string instrument which is, in its construction, essentially a smaller, four-stringed version of the guitar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis denoting a persistent, often chronic, mental illness variously affecting behavior, thinking, and emotion. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, film director, and satirist. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Writers

• Kathy Acker - Feminist punk writer known for her ambitious mixing of literary techniques and frank portrayals of sex, violence and American subcultures.
• Douglas Adams - author of the satirical science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Charles Bukowski - novelist and poet known for his tales of drinking, womanizing and loafing.
• William S. Burroughs - beatnik author known for the novel Naked Lunch and other hallucinary fiction that draws on his experiences as an opiate addict.
• Jack T. Chick - Christian Comic book author responsible for Chick Publications, which attacks evolution, the Roman Catholic Church, Paganism, Atheism, and others. Ironically, his cult following is often largest among these groups.
• Philip K. Dick - prolific science fiction author known for his reality-bending work. He has posthumously been called a genius.
• Vanessa Duriès - short-lived writer who recounted her experiences as a BDSM slave [3].
• Chuck Palahniuk - Transgressional author of Fight Club, Choke and other novels known for their protagonists’ anti-social behavior and dark sense of humor.
• Hunter S. Thompson - Journalist known for his edgy, hyperbolic "gonzo" style of writing in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and other books.

Kathy Acker (born April 18, 1947 in Manhattan and died November 30, 1997 in Tijuana, Mexico) was an American sex-positive feminist writer. ... ... A group of punks at a music festival. ... Douglas Noël Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001) was a cult British author, comic radio dramatist, and amateur musician. ... The World According To Ronald Reagan - a Finnish satirical poster from 1984 Satire is a technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Henry Charles Bukowski (August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994), was a Los Angeles poet and novelist. ... Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... A poet is some one who writes poetry. ... William Seward Burroughs II (pronounced ) (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. ... Beatnik cartoon The term beatnik was coined by Herb Caen in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 2, 1958. ... Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Naked Lunch (alternately titled The Naked Lunch in some editions) is a novel by William S. Burroughs. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... The term opiate refers to the alkaloids found in opium, an extract from the seed pods of the opium poppy (). It has also traditionally referred to natural and semi-synthetic derivatives of morphine. ... A frame from the Chick tract Doom Town Jack Thomas Chick (born April 13, 1924) of Chick Publications is the creator of comic-style tracts and larger comic books for the purpose of Christian evangelism in a fundamentalist theology. ... Chick Publications is an American publishing company run by Jack Chick which produces and markets Protestant fundamentalist pamphlets, DVDs, VCDs, videos, books, a poster, and (most famously) comic tracts in many languages. ... A hypothetical phylogenetic tree of all extant organisms, based on 16S rRNA gene sequence data, showing the evolutionary history of the three domains of life, bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning a country dweller or civilian) is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. ... Atheism, in its broadest sense, is the absence of belief in the existence of deities. ... Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American science fiction writer. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Vanessa Duriès Vanessa Duriès (a. ... Slave is a term often used in BDSM to connote a specific form of submissive. ... Charles Michael Chuck Palahniuk (IPA: )[1] (born February 21, 1962) is an American satirical novelist and freelance journalist living in Portland, Oregon. ... Transgressional fiction or transgressive fiction is a genre of literature that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who use unusual and/or illicit ways to break free of those confines. ... Fight Club[1] (1996) is the first published novel by American author Chuck Palahniuk. ... Look up Choke in Wiktionary, the free dictionary As a verb, to choke generally means to restrict airflow, or to suffer restricted airflow, whether caused by such a device or by accidental obstruction; see choking. ... The protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story. ... Anti-social behaviour is that lacking in judgement and consideration for others, ranging from careless negligence to deliberately damaging activity, vandalism and graffiti for example. ... Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The hard cover version of the book. ...

Television and radio personalities

• Art Bell, founder and host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM
• Dr. Demento - radio DJ known for his showcase of novelty songs and pop music parodies
• Elvira - Self-proclaimed "Mistress of the Dark" and host of a syndicated horror film television presentation
• Pee-wee Herman - Host of the children's television series Pee-wee's Playhouse, which appealed to adults for its campy undertones, double entendres, surreal atmosphere, and lavish production values.

Arthur Bell III (c. ... Anomalous phenomena are phenomena which are observed and for which there are no suitable explanations in the context of a specific body of scientific knowledge, e. ... Coast to Coast AM is a late-night syndicated radio talk show which deals with a variety of topics, but usually ones that relate to the paranormal. ... Dr. Demento (born April 2, 1941 in Minneapolis, MN) is the stage name of Barret Hansen , who has made a successful career as a radio disc jockey specializing in novelty songs and pop music parodies. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ... A novelty song is a song, usually in a recorded form, that defies the usual categorisation of music, or may not even be music. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Parody. ... Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is better known for her on-screen persona Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ wearing a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation. ... In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee in Pee-wees Big Adventure. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Pee-wees Playhouse was a childrens television program starring Pee-wee Herman (played by Paul Reubens) that aired on Saturday mornings on CBS. The show originally ran from September 13, 1986 to July 27, 1991, and was enormously popular with both children and adults. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Profanity. ...

Comedians

• Bill Hicks - Stand-up comedian known for his candid stories of substance abuse and harsh criticism of the American right
• Mitch Hedberg - Stand-up comedian known for his one-to-two sentence non sequiturs ("I’m against picketing but I don’t know how to show it")
• Andy Kaufman - Stand-up comedian and actor known for his seemingly innocuous persona, his unpredictable pranks on his audience and collaborators and his unconventional anti-humor, also appeared on the television series Taxi

William Melvin Hicks better known as Bill Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994), was a controversial American stand-up comedian, satirist, and social critic. ... Substance abuse refers to the overindulgence in and dependence on a stimulant, depressant, chemical substance, herb (plant) or fungus leading to effects that are detrimental to the individuals physical health or mental health, or the welfare of others. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply The Right, are terms that refer to the segment of the political spectrum often associated with any of several strains of conservatism, the religious right, and areas of classical liberalism, or simply the opposite of left-wing politics. ... Mitchell Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his odd subject matter, stylistic elocution and memorable routines that often consisted of a string of one-line non sequiturs. ... A non sequitur is a literary device; used in comedy (as opposed to its use in formal logic) it is a comment which, due to its lack of meaning relative to the comment it follows, is absurd to the point of being humorous. ... Employees of the BBC form a picket line during a strike in May 2005. ... Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was a New York-born American entertainer. ... Anti-humor is a type of indirect humor that involves the joke-teller delivering something which is deliberately not funny, or lacking in intrinsic meaning. ... Taxi is a American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC, and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series focused on the every day life of a handful of New York City taxi drivers working for the Sunshine Cab Company, as well as their abusive boss...

Advertising people

• Ellen Feiss - teenage girl featured in a 2002 Apple Computer commercial, whose slurred speech and disoriented eyes provoked speculation that she was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol [4]
• Fred the Baker - sleepy-eyed Dunkin' Donuts mascot, known for the catch phrase "Time to make the donuts"
• Miss Cleo - Self-proclaimed psychic known for her late night infomercials, her aggressive spam mailing and doubts about her Jamaican heritage. [5]
• Clara Peller - Senior citizen known for uttering the catch phrase "Where's the beef?" in 1980s commercials for Wendy's fast-food restaurant. This lead to a popular novelty record.

Ellen Feiss Ellen Feiss (born 1987) became an Internet phenomenon after her 2002 Errol Morris-directed television commercial for Apple Computers Switch campaign grew into a cult hit. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Apple Computer, Inc. ... Fred the Baker was a popular advertising character portrayed by actor Michael Vale in commercials for Dunkin Donuts from 1982 to 1997. ... Dunkin Donuts is an international doughnut purveyor founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts by William Rosenberg. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... A chocolate-glazed doughnut A doughnut, or donut, is a deep-fried piece of dough or batter. ... Miss Cleo Youree Dell Harris (born August 12, 1962 in Los Angeles, California), better known as Miss Cleo, is a self-proclaimed psychic who claims to be able to tell the future. ... A psychic is a person who claims or who is believed to possess extra-sensory abilities, including: Clairvoyance, Psychometry and Precognition. ... Infomercials are television commercials that run as long as a typical television program (roughly thirty minutes or an hour). ... Typical junkmail. ... The picture sleeve of a Wheres the Beef single, recorded by Coyote McCloud and Clara Peller, based on her legendary advertisement Clara Peller (August 4, 1902 – August 11, 1987), was an American who, as a senior citizen, starred in the legendary Wheres the beef? advertisement for Wendys... Old age consists of ages nearing the average lifespan of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. ... The picture sleeve of a Wheres the Beef single, recorded by Coyote McCloud and Clara Peller, based on her legendary advertisement Wheres the beef? is a catch phrase, which has, since its first usage, become a somewhat universal, all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Wendys International, Inc. ... A fast-food restaurant is a restaurant characterized both by food which is supplied quickly after ordering, and by minimal service. ... Novelty records are whole albums or singles that capitalize on something interesting (novel) or a current fad. ...

Others

• Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf aka "Baghdad Bob" or "Comical Ali"- Iraqi Information Minister during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq known for his ridiculously false statements about the "defeat" of coalition forces. He became the subject of several satirical Web sites [6] [7] [8] and merchandizing in the United States and England
• Robert Crumb - Cartoonist who helped found the American underground comics movement
• Bobby Fischer - Chess champion, known for his extreme political views and erratic behavior
• Timothy Leary - Writer, psychologist and campaigner for the spiritual and therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs, coined 1960s-era catch phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out."
• Bettie Page - 1950s-era Model and pin-up girl known for her dark allure and bondage-themed pictorials
• Christer Pettersson - Swedish "outlaw", suspected for the killing of Prime Minister Olof Palme.
• Mark Roberts - British streaker who has successfully interupted many high-profile sporting events [9].
• Andy Warhol - Pop artist known for his images of commercial products and celebrities, also a filmmaker and operator of the New York City underground culture center The Factory
• Steve Wozniak - Computer engineer famous for the co-founding of Apple, creation of both the Apple I and Apple II and his numerous acts of philantropy and pranks.

Former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf (Arabic محمد سعيد الصحاف also Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf) (born 1940) is a former Iraqi diplomat and politician. ... Ali Hassan al-Majid (born 1941), a first cousin of former President Saddam Hussein, was the Defense Minister of Iraq. ... Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom South Korea Italy Poland Romania Australia Denmark others. ... Coalition of the willing is a phrase which has been used since the 1980s to refer to groups of nations acting collectively and often militarily outside of United States position in the Iraq disarmament crisis and later the March 2003 invasion of Iraq (see Occupation of Iraq, 2003_2004). ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... Self-portrait. ... The term underground comics or comix describes the self-published or small press comic books that sprang up in the US in the late 1960s. ... Bobby Fischer. ... Chess (Sanskrit: Chaturanga) is an abstract strategy board game and mental sport for two players. ... For the American baseball player use Tim Leary (baseball player) Timothy Francis Leary, Ph. ... A psychologist is a scientist who studies psychology, the systematic investigation of the human behavior and mental processes. ... The psychedelic (from the Greek words for mind, ψυχη psyche, and manifest, δηλειν delein) drugs are classified as those whose primary action is that of enhancing or amplifying the thought processes of the brain. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out (Original Movie Soundtrack) Turn on, tune in, drop out is a counterculture phrase coined by Timothy Leary in the 1960s. ... Bettie Mae Page (born April 22, 1923), more commonly known as Bettie Page, was an American model and pin-up girl, active mostly in the 1950s. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... Fashion model Daniella Sarahyba. ... This image of Betty Grable became the archetype of pin-ups during World War II A pin-up girl or pin-up model is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as pop culture. ... A collar is a common symbol in BDSM. BDSM is a term which describes a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. ... Christer Pettersson (April 23, 1947 - September 29, 2004) was a suspect in the assassination of Olof Palme, the Prime Minister of Sweden. ... Sven Olof Joachim Palme ( ) (January 30, 1927 – February 28, 1986) was a Swedish politician. ... Mark Roberts (born December 12, 1964 in Liverpool, England) is a famous British streaker, who has run naked during several international events. ... Streaking is the non-sexual act of taking off ones clothes and running naked through a public place. ... Andy Warhol, photographed by Helmut Newton. ... House I, created by Roy Lichtenstein in 1996, is designed to be an optical illusion. ... For the 1998 movie, see Celebrity (1998 movie). ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... The Factory was Andy Warhols New York studio from 1963 to 1968. ... Steve Wozniak or Woz co-founded Apple Computer and designed the Apple II, contributing greatly to the personal computer revolution. ... Binomial name Malus domestica Borkh. ... The Apple I was an early personal computer, and the first to combine a keyboard with a microprocessor and a connection to a monitor. ... The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ...

See also

• Cult film
• Cult following
• Cult television
• Cult radio
• Outsider music
• Transgressional fiction