Wavy Gravy, The ‘Clownglomerate’ Saint

I admit upfront that I am a huge Wavy Gravy fan. After today, I’m tempted to become a Wavy Gravy groupie. Michelle Esrick directed “Saint Misbehavin’,” the film that tells part of the Wavy Gravy Story. (DA Pennebaker was the executive producer on the film.) Wavy and Michelle visited us today in the Full Frame Press Lounge and I had the opportunity to film them while they were being interviewed by Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan of the Herald-Sun. After the interview I got to hang out with Wavy and Michelle, and listen to more of Wavy’s stories. He was extremely gracious and generous with his time. For me, meeting Wavy Gravy was one of the true highlights of the 2009 Full Frame Festival! This guy has more positive energy than anyone I’ve ever met. As far as I’m concerned, Wavy Gravy is as relevant today as he was in the 60’s, in large part because he has chosen to remain relevant through his good works. (Watch the video clip below!)

Here’s an excerpt from Mr. Gravy’s bio on his website:

“Wavy Gravy, Hugh Romney, who is fast approaching official geezerhood, is more active and more effective in the world then he was decades ago. Back then when still known as Hugh Romney he stood on the stage of the original Woodstock concert and announced….” What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 400,000!” He was at Woodstock as a member of an entertainment/activist commune known as the Hog Farm. Today, the Hog Farm still exists, collectively owning and operating the 700-acre Black Oak Ranch and hosting the annual Pig-Nic. And Wavy lives a third of the year in a Berkeley Hog Farm urban outpost, a big communal house he refers to as “hippie Hyannisport” But Mr. Gravy (as he’s known to readers of the New York Times) has expanded his activities over the past two-and-a-half decades to include codirectorship (with his wife, Jahanara) of Camp Winnarainbow, a performing arts program for children which takes over the Hog Farm for 10 weeks every summer, and the organization of all-star rock concerts to raise money for a variety of environmental, progressive, political, and charitable causes, most notably Seva, a foundation he cofounded in 1978, initially to combat preventable and curable blindness in the Third World.”

Check out Wavy Gravy’s website at www.wavygravy.net. For more about Michelle’s film, go to www.rippleeffectfilms.com. Here’s the video footage I shot today during Wavy’s interview:

~ by dandunlop on April 3, 2009.