Heroin, Acting, and Comedy in New York City

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Barry Spunt

   Pages 1-40

3. Mainstream Actors

   • Barry Spunt

   Pages 41-75

4. Non-Mainstream Actors

   • Barry Spunt

   Pages 77-112

5. Films (and Plays)

   • Barry Spunt

   Pages 113-139

6. Comedians

   • Barry Spunt

   Pages 141-169

7. Conclusion

   • Barry Spunt

   Pages 171-179

8. Back Matter

   Pages 181-191

   PDF

This book focuses on New York City-based actors and comedians who are self-acknowledged heroin users. Barry Spunt examines a number of hypotheses about the reasons why actors and comedians use heroin as well as the impact of heroin on performance, creativity, and career trajectory.  A primary concern of the book is the role that subculture and identity play in helping us to understand the heroin use of these entertainers. Spunt captures the voices of actors and comedians through narrative accounts from a variety of secondary sources. He also examines how New York-based films about heroin relate to the major themes of his research.

• Film
• Drugs
• Andy Warhol
• Pop Culture
• Theatre
• Comedians
• Entertainment Industry
• New York City-based actors
• New York City-based comedians
• actors
• heroin
• self-acknowledged heroin users
• subculture
• drug subculture
• New York-based films
• entertainers
• The Panic in Needle Park
• film analysis
• New York city drug culture
• career trajectory

• Department of Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY, New York, USA

  Barry Spunt

Barry Spunt is Associate Professor of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at CUNY, USA.

Policies and ethics