Actors - Jim Morrison

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	Actors - Jim Morrison

James Douglas "Jim" Morrison (December 8, 1943 – 3 July, 1971) was a singer, songwriter, writer, and poet. Born in Melbourne, Florida, he was the lead singer and lyricist of the popular American rock band The Doors, and is considered to be one of the most charismatic frontmen in the history of rock music. He was also an author of several poetry books, a documentary, short film and an early music video ("The Unknown Soldier"). Morrison's untimely death at age 27 in Paris stunned his fans. The circumstances of his death and secret burial have been the subject of endless rumors and play a significant part in the mystique that continues to surround him.

Biography

Early years

Of Scottish ancestry, Morrison was the son of Admiral George Stephen Morrison and Clara Clark Morrison, who met in Hawaii in 1942 where Steve Morrison, then an ensign, was stationed.

In 1943, a pregnant Clara Morrison moved to Clearwater, Florida to live with her in-laws while Stephen Morrison was trained as a pilot at a nearby base for the United States Navy. Once his flight training was complete, in the spring of 1944, he left to serve in the Pacific front for the duration of World War II. Clara stayed in Florida with her new son. In time, Morrison would find himself with a younger sister, Anne and a brother, Andy.

As might be expected in a military household, Morrison's father (Arley Morrison) and grandparents were strict disciplinarians.When fights broke out in the Morrison home,Clara never got in Stephen's way.

According to Morrison, one of the most important events of his life came about in 1947 during a family trip in New Mexico. He described the event as follows:

The first time I discovered death... me and my mother and father, and my grandmother and grandfather, were driving through the desert at dawn. A truckload of Indians had either hit another car or something — there were Indians scattered all over the highway, bleeding to death. I was just a kid, so I had to stay in the car while my father and grandfather went to check it out. I didn't see nothing — all I saw was funny red paint and people lying around, but I knew something was happening, because I could dig the vibrations of the people around me, and all of a sudden I realized that they didn't know what was happening any more than I did. That was the first time I tasted fear... and I do think, at that moment, the souls of those dead Indians — maybe one or two of them — were just running around, freaking out, and just landed in my soul, and I was like a sponge, ready to sit there and absorb it.

Morrison would later revisit this event in the bridge to the song "Peace Frog": "Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding / Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile egg–shell mind."

Both of Morrison's parents claimed that event never happened. In his many comments about this episode, Morrison stated that he was so upset by the incident that his parents eventually told him he was "just having a bad dream," in order to calm him down. Regardless of whether the incident was real, imagined, or fabricated ,Morrison stuck with it and made repeated references to the imagery in his songs, poems, and interviews.

Morrison graduated from George Washington High School in Alexandria, Virginia in June 1961. Following Morrison's father, the family was transferred to Southern California that August. Morrison was sent to live once again with his paternal grandparents in Clearwater, Florida, where he attended classes at St. Petersburg Junior College.

The move made economic sense since Morrison's father maintained his permanent residence at his parent's address in Florida, a common arrangement for those with a career in military service. This would enable Morrison to attend the Florida colleges for a reduced tuition.

But living with his strict, teetotalling grandparents was difficult for Morrison. He later transferred to Florida State University (1962-1963), which still afforded a favorable tuition but was too far away for a reasonable commute. Morrison thus moved close to the F.S.U. campus where, for a time, he was a roommate of George Greer, and appeared in a school recruitment film .

In January 1964, over his parent's objections, Morrison finally headed for Los Angeles, California where he completed his undergraduate education at UCLA, majoring in film.

Artistic roots

As a naval family, the Morrisons relocated frequently. Consequently, Morrison's early education was routinely disrupted as he moved from school to school. Nonetheless, he proved to be an intelligent and capable student drawn to the study of literature, poetry, religion, philosophy, and psychology, among other fields.

Morrison's penchant for academic pursuits is greatly overshadowed by his reputation as a rebel and hedonist but these interests are clearly reflected in his development as a poet/lyricist and are essential to understanding his vision for musical performance coupled with elements of theater.

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Actors - Jim Morrison

Biography

Early years

Artistic roots

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