Sandy Lehmann-Haupt

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Hellmut Alexander Lehmann-Haupt , called "Sandy" (born March 22, 1942 in Manhattan, New York City ; † October 28, 2001 ibid) was an American sound engineer for the Merry Pranksters , whom he met in 1964 on their Magic Bus trip across the USA accompanied. Sandy Lehmann-Haupt also provided numerous, diverse insider insights into Tom Wolfe's documentary novel The Elektric Kool-Aid Acid Test , in which he himself appears as the protagonist.

Life

Alexander Lehmann-Haupt was the youngest son of the German-American bookseller Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt . The father had emigrated to the USA in 1929 and had made a career in the university environment. Alexander Lehrmann-Haupt left the university after just six months. Instead, Sandy Lehmann became the main sound engineer . "He was a genius with tapes, audio systems, everything to do with sound ..."

Sandy's older brother, graphic designer Carl Lehmann-Haupt, knew the author Ken Kesey from their time together in Perry Lane, the bohemian neighborhood of Stanford. When Kesey traveled to New York via the cuckoo's nest for the premiere of the stage version of his hit novel One Flew , Carl introduced him to his little brother. That was November 14, 1963, Kirk Douglas had given McMurphy.

Lehmann-Haupt suffered from psychological and family problems from childhood. His parents separated early and his mother left him. Because of a severe depression he had just gone to a psychiatric hospital when Carl visited him there, appeased him and instead persuaded him to go to the premiere. The play, which takes place in an asylum itself, must have made a strong impression on Sandy. Carl encouraged him to move to California with Kesey, on his La Honda farm .

Sandy went with them, wired the woods around the farmhouse and installed a powerful stereo system. In spring 1964, Kesey bought a large International Harvester school bus from his royalties , built in 1939, which was named Further . And again Sandy wired everything and installed the complete sound system. Anyone could communicate with anyone via microphones and speakers; Noises from outside were transmitted inwards on headphones; you could record your own voice and talk over it with a time delay and record that again, etc. The mixed consumption of drugs such as LSD , speed and cannabis during the bus trip made the unstable Sandy even more unstable. He was constantly oscillating between a state of belonging to the travel group and alienation, which earned him the nickname Dismount ("the dropout"). Sandy came into violent opposition to Ken Kesey's charismatic leader.

When Tom Wolfe retrospectively planned a report on the psychedelic bus tour, the acid tests , the creation of the Grateful Dead and the hippie scene in San Francisco , Sandy Lehmann-Haupt became his most important insider source. On long walks through Central Park, Sandy described the bus trip and the many small trips from his direct experience to the journalist.

Alexander Lehmann-Haupt died in October 2001.

literature

Individual notes

  1. ↑ Funeral for Alexander “Sandy” Lehmann-Haupt .
  2. ↑ a b Tom Wolfe: The Elektric Kool-Aid Acid Test , p. 84.
  3. ↑ Tom Wolfe: The Electrical Kool-Aid Acid Test , p. 52.
  4. ↑ a b c Rachel Lehmann-Haupt (niece): For a Merry Prankster, A Day-Glo-Free Funeral in: Observer from April 1, 2002.
  5. ↑ Douglas Martin: Sandy Lehmann-Haupt, 59, One of Ken Kesey's Busmates , in: The New York Times, November 3, 2001.
personal data
SURNAME Lehmann-Haupt, Sandy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lehmann-Haupt, Hellmut Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American sound engineer
DATE OF BIRTH March 22, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Manhattan, New York City
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 2001
Place of death Manhattan, New York City