The Toronto Star recently ran a sidebar on a Bergman/Antonioni retrospective, showcasing long-lived figures in the arts. The first nine artists cover a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds: 92-year-old Les Paul, who "pioneered the solid-body electric guitar" that rock music depended on for years; 91-year-old actress Olivia de Havilland, who's been in show business since 1935; 93-year-old screenwriter Budd Schulberg, who won an Oscar for
On The Waterfront; etc. But who should top off this already excellent list?
Albert Hofman [sic], 101. Not strictly an artist, but this European scientist's creation of LSD in 1938 made acid rock, Robert Crumb and other '60s innovations possible. Here's a one-hour NFB documentary on him.
We'll forgive the misspelling of Hofmann's name for the insight to include him on this list in the first place. It's hardly an understatement to credit Hofmann's influence on several generations of artists across multiple disciplines, thanks to his precipitous discovery of LSD. I realize this is not the place for another one of my "LSD is a performance-enhancing substance!" rants, but... well, those rants continue to lurk just around the corner, and for good reason. Aaaaanyway...
