Everybody Thought We Were Crazy: Dennis Hopper, Brooke Hayward, and 1960s Los Angeles Hardcover – May 3, 2022

This is a great read for anyone interested in American contemporary art of the sixties, the development of the counterculture, the brief cinematic period called New Hollywood (and the death spasms of Old Hollywood), and, of course the two individuals in the photo on the cover!What I liked:The multitude of interviews and other source material provides a great balance and attempt to get to some semblance of truth. Memories from decades ago are often all over the place - especially when the story tellers were children at the time and/or with all the drugs these people were doing - and the author shows this over and over again.. what actually happened, instance by instance, isn't as important as gaining a better understanding of the people telling the stories. I thought that was done really well.I also found it very informative, but not dry. Maybe it's because I'm into the subject, but I loved learning more about some of those iconic films and people. For instance, I didn't know Dennis Hopper did the second unit directing on "The Trip." I think I had heard Dennis Jakob had shot most of the Sunset Strip portion of the film (maybe he did?), but I guess I assumed he also directed the shots.The book is also filled with names and events on which I have started further research. There's so much to jump off from in this book!And I LOVE that Vito gets several mentions!!! One of the best American sculptors I've come across (and an amazing dancer and scene maker!). The world needs a biography on him and the Freaks.What I didn't like:Other reviewers have written this as well: MORE PHOTOS! Maybe it was just my paperback version, but if one of the two lead characters is a PHOTOGRAPHER, maybe there should be more PHOTOGRAPHS. I'd love to see an updated edition that looks more like what Steven Watson did with his book "Factory Made." Just a thought.. didn't mean to sound rude there.There's no mention of UCLA's film school in this book about art in LA in the sixties. Before I read this, if you asked me about those three things (art/LA/sixties), that would've been my go-to. I'm no expert and could be completely wrong, but wouldn't that scene be worthy of a mention?The notes/bibliography/index portion is awesome in the truest sense of the word - why not make it a companion to the book (separate bound book somehow)? And maybe make it a downloadable and more easily searchable .pdf document? I think it would get more use from the reader. As is, it just seems like it's there because that's what you do with a huge research paper like this, which, of course, is not a reason to do something.All in all, I loved the book and highly recommend it! Thanks for reading this :)

A lot of this book originally appeared as articles in Vanity Fair, but it's still a fine, sometimes frenzied account of how the marriage of Brooke Hayward and Dennis Hopper didn't survive amidst the turmoil of the 1960s. What a cast of characters and what lives they led.

It was a great book, so hard to put down, so incredibly researched with 222 pages of bibliography/footnotes. I found it well worth the price, most informative about the 1960s Los Angeles Pop Art era populated with many now famous artists. I'm glad I read Brooke Hayward's "Haywire" first a few weeks ago to have more background information on her life leading up to the eight-year marriage to Dennis Hopper, about whom I learned so much new history about his own life and early experiences. I immensely enjoyed Rozzo's writing, his detailed data regarding the many artists in the LA and NYC Pop Art milieu from its inception and future amazing fame. The later information about the development of "Easy Rider" with Peter Fonda (and its aftermath), along with Hopper's friendships with actors like Vincent Price and his film work with Roger Corman was fascinating. Like many biographies the ending is not necessarily a happy one, but the detail Rozzo provided about so many famous artists, musicians, and film luminaries was a real page-turner. I was a bit sad to finish the book this morning, having stayed up all night, unable to put it down, and look forward to passing it on to my art teacher son-in-law to read as I'm certain he'll find it as captivating as I have. I greatly respect the author's painstaking research and writing style. There was never a dull moment in his work that brought back so many of my own fond memories of the explosive creativity of the Sixties! There are numerous cool photographs also included in the volume!I highly recommend this amazing work for anyone interested in the 1960s era of Los Angeles and Pop Art!

The book takes you to a time when the world was changing, and Hollywood was at the heart of it. While it centers on two enigmatic characters whose own stories in itself makes for a great read, it goes deeper into the burgeoning art scene of Los Angeles in the 60s. I knew Hopper the mad actor. This book showed me a whole other side of the story. Hopper the artist, the photographer, and yes, the crazy genius. A great read that takes you back to a time when everything seemed possible, before it didn't.

This is a fairly straightforward narrative of a truly legendary era in the history of Los Angeles. It gives the reader all the facts but fails to capture the zany crossover energy of the 1960s in the city that really went a long way in defining American culture. It was a great idea to use the relationship of Hopper and Hayward as a lens to take a wider picture of the times, but the story, though well researched and honestly told, lacks spark.

A quintessential Hollywood couple was immersed in the culture and lifestyle and their house was the epicenter.It was rock and roll, pop art, drugs, making movies, and what a wild ride. Dennis Hopper, an actor who lived hard, had some extraordinary roles on the big screen, an art collector, and married to a descendant of Hollywood royalty. Brooke Hayward, the daughter of a famous agent/producer and a big-time actress, whose own career didn’t take off as planned after marriage and children. Theirs was a tumultuous relationship filled with his drug and alcohol abuse and violence too. Everyone who was anyone gravitated to the Hopper/Hayward’s eclectic house where a party was always happening. Guests ranged from Andy Warhol to Jane Fonda and her brother to the Hell’s Angels.They were the life of the party. Until they weren’t.It’s a deep dive into a period as seen through a celebrity marriage gone awry.

I was so looking forward to lots more pictures then are in the book ….