Carl Franzoni

Franzoni was the archetypal 'King of the Freaks' of the Californian happenings of the 1960s. 'Captain' of a large Laurel Canyon dance troupe, with artistic talent supplied by Vito Paulekas, the regularly spliffed-out Franzoni would perform in Ciro's at 8433 Sunset Strip. It was here in early 1965 that The Byrds residencies led to them journeying on a tour of Middle America with a group of 'flower children' and dancers that included Paulekas and Franzoni. An inspiration to Frank Zappa in the composing of "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" and illustrator of a pair of psychedelic FZ shoes, Franzoni appeared in 'films' such as "LSD-25", "You Are What You Eat" and "Mondo Hollywood". He also features in "The Cool Ones" dancing at the Whisky A Go Go on the Strip and was part of a regular dance troupe.