Synopsis
When a tavern stages a “Jack Kerouac Death Day” poetry slam, a
homeless bum staggers in and falls dead---then mysteriously
comes back to life as "Jack...Jack Kerouac!"
Jack delights in needling Gerard, a secretive writer and vocal
“Kerouac hater” who plays the cynic and declares Jack a fraud.
But Jack becomes the star of the slam! He coaches Mary, a shy
young writer, and inspires Carol, a former painter and Gerard’s
sometimes-girlfriend. After the party, they follow Jack through
a night of revelation and awakening, until Gerard finds the path
to Desolation Peak and his earliest inspiration---the spirit of
Jack Kerouac.
Actors and Movie Makers:
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
The Bum / Jack..............................Vincent Balestri
Gerard Tripp...................................Frank Tabbita
Carol.............................................Lisa Niemi
Mary.............................................Amy Humphrey
Vic................................................Ross Douglas
Chester..........................................Jeff Kuehn
Ronald...........................................Aaron Reid
Shaggy..........................................Boris Schleinkofer
Slam Emcee..................................Jimmy Henry
Miss Lydia.....................................Sharon Bell
Hobo Angel....................................David Jennings
Jack Kerouac.................................Doug Phillips
Nuns..............................................Laurel Burke & Alicia tenBos
Elder Poet......................................Russel M. Thorson
Cowboy Poet..................................Richard Diersing
Bob...............................................Joe Crowe
Chris.............................................Chris Hrisko
Sweater Girl...................................Susan Goforth
Slam Judge....................................Lyle Pearson
Street Bum / Violinist......................Swil Kanim
Charlie Parker.................................Leon Scott
Workmen.......................................Tom Phillips & Ike Eichelkraut
Mr. Hightower.................................Adam Ward
Asylum Inmate...............................Doug Greene
Special appearance by
Graham Kerr...................................Himself
Written by.......................................Bruce Boyle, Frank Tabbita
and Randy Allred
with Vincent Balestri
Directed by.....................................Randy Allred
The Spirit of Kerouac
JACK KEROUAC
Jack Kerouac was a writer with vision; he inhaled his
countrymen's dreams into his soul and exhaled the love of his
country in his writing. Brilliant, with a photographic memory,
he wrote constantly about real people and real events. He
exploded into the nation's consciousness in 1957 with the
publication of On the Road. Like a mirror held up to
Eisenhower's America, the book reflected not Ozzy & Harriet but
hobo camps and juke joints across the continent. The novel was
a torch ablaze against the dreary Cold War landscape, and the
Beat Generation had found its voice.
Jean-Louis Kerouac was born in Lowell, Massachusetts to French- Canadian parents. Brought up in a mystical form of Catholicism, and deeply spiritual by nature, his life's quest included religious exploration. In the mid-1950s, while attending
college, he and his best friend, the poet Allen Ginsberg, began
to study Buddhism. Much of Kerouac’s work reflects the journey
towards enlightenment.
Jack's novel, The Dharma Bums, relates the search for Dharma, or Truth, taken by two young men, centering on a mountain climb
into the high Sierras with detours into the Bohemian scene in
San Francisco. The book remains a how-to guide for both
spiritual and physical seekers.
In October 1969, while watching the Galloping Gourmet on
television, Jack began to hemorrhage and died hours later, a
classic drunkard's death. He became a mythic figure, his
writings directly influencing artists such as the Doors, Lenny
Bruce and Bob Dylan. With over 22 works in print, his "beatific quest for peace and joy" is still embraced today.
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