Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess (Abacus Books) [Paperback]

Danny Sugerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1993 | Series: Abacus Books

This is the autobiography of Danny Sugerman, Jim Morrison's protege and one-time manager of The Doors and then Iggy Pop. It is also an account of heroin addiction and the madness of life in the LA rock 'n' roll scene.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This achingly forthright account of heroin addiction and the madness of life in the L.A. rock-and-roll scene fairly crackles with reality. Sugerman ( No One Here Gets Out Alive ) tells of his well-heeled yet troubled childhood and of his association, begining at age 12, with the Doors, particularly his relationship with the band's nihilistic leader, Jim Morrison. Himself experimenting with drugs at the time Morrison OD'd, Sugerman developed an addiction, at the same time assuming more responsible and more visible positions with the Doors' organization. The author describes in wrenching detail his increasingly outrageous behavior which, because it was equalled or exceeded by his friends and associatesseveral of whom died during this periodwas perceived within his milieu as, if not normal, at least acceptable. Fortunately for Sugerman, he stopped his wild rush toward self-destruction just short of its realization. His facility with dialogue and his breakneck writing style complement perfectly the intensity of the subject matter.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

At age 13, the author of No One Gets Out of Here Alive ( LJ 9/15/80) and The Doors: The Illustrated History ( LJ 12/1/83) was given a job opening The Doors's fan mail and was on his way to becoming a successful rock music promoter. This book is the story of the next eight years of Sugerman's life, a time in which alcohol, parties, "the usual gaggle of weirdos andparade of girls, druggies, roadies, musicians, music-industry types, and fans" all contributed to a life-threatening drug problem and admission to a mental hospital. Sugerman maintains the innocence of youth in his dialogue, but his excellent descriptions are seasoned with the insight of a man who has lived for over a decade after having made the decision to live rather than give into drugs and dying.
- Donald W. Maxwell, Carmel Clay P.L., Carmel, Ind.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 462 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (August 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349101752
• ISBN-13: 978-0349101750
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.1 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MASTERPIECE of superb writing! April 9, 2005

By all love based paths lead to God

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It is NOT moralizing. It is a super fun read! It is NOT a dry lecture about the dangers of drug addiction - read it because it is fun! That it has a 'message' is a bonus - the book itself is a masterpiece!

I love this book! I've read it twice and could not put it down! Danny's writing style is superb! I have read LOTS of books and this is my #2 favorite book of all time (after The Mists of Avalon)!

Very decadent but has tremendous redeeming value. Danny was press manager for The Doors, and this is his story....Witty, funny, outrageous! Danny's style of writing is SO incredible you really can't put this book down! (well after the first chapter anyway). And there is a bonus: after reading this with my son, he decided to become straight-edge! Note: has lots of sex, drugs, and rock n roll, not to mention excessive profanity. Not for the squeamish.

Interestingly, all of the reviews rave about this book except for one, and that one is by someone who obviously is very self-righteous and couldn't handle the sex drugs rock n roll. Too bad. His loss.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ROCK'S ULTIMATE CAUTIONARY TALE June 25, 2004

By Steven Travers

Format:Paperback

Danny Sugarman was a 14-year old kid living in the L.A. suburb of Westchester, near LAX. He was troubled, and did not like his step-father. He read an ad or heard about a rock band in Hollywood that was hiring a teenager to answer mail, so he went for and got the job. The band was The Doors. Getting from Westchester to Hollywood by bus is not all that easy, but he did it just about every day. Jim Morrison befriended him and told him not to let his parents addle his brain with Ritalin, an ironic anti-drug message coming from the Lizard King.

As a teenager, Sugarman accompanied Morrison on sojourns to the Sunset Strip, where despite his minority he was admitted to the rarified air of The Doors, The Byrds, and other classic California bands. His step-father was appalled.

Remarkably, despite his lifestyle, Sugarmnan was good enough at baseball to be offered a scholarship of some kind to play at UCLA, but his commitment to the band tugged at his dedication for the game, so he never went the diamond route.

As Morrison went downhill, so too did Sugarman. Unlike the song "No One Here Gets Out Alive", Sugarman managered, barely, to escape. After Jim's death, Sugarman picked himself up and lived in a house on Wonderland Avenue. It was all set up by Ray Manzaerek, the Doors' keyboardist extraordinaire. Manzarek, the "sensible one" among The Doors, wanted to continue the band, or at least his own musical career. Sugarman was hired to be the band's manager, and it was a lucrative life for a guy still in his early 20s. He quickly found himself drawn back into the sordid life of drugs, alcohol, sexual excess, and the like. The Wonderland address did not help, it being a small enclave off of Laurel Canyon, the famed street that connects West Hollywood with the San Fernando Valley. Its narrow canyons and streets are dotted with picturesque homes that embody the California Dream, and are inhabited (especially then) by those artists whose labors have born fruit. The Sharon Tate murders occurred in the general vicinity. Wild, loud parties were so commonplace that neighbors hearing the screams of Charles Manson's victims thought it was just another bash. John Holmes would be involved in a massacre there in the '80s. Later, this would be the area where Heidi Fleiss connected porn with Hollywood money.

Sugarman, who eventually would marry Iran-Contra ingenue Fawn Hall, lived with his gorgeous girfriend and lived the life. Aside from The Doors, he also managed the unbeliavable Iggy Pop. Once at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool, Iggy was sunning himself next to "Gilligan's Island" icon Tina Louise. Iggy plopped his manhood from out of his floppy shorts, showed it to Ms. Louise, and asked sardonically if she would care for a shag of the old English sausage. Tina politely declined.

The book describes one after the other of Sugarman's friends and associates meeting the Grim Reaper, and in the end he lists pages of names - musicians, producers, groupies, enemies, friends, girfriends, agents, and others - who died of drug overdoses in the pre-AIDS, pre-Cocaine-is-addictive era.

The message of this book is that despite glamour and fun, it is essential to be grounded, and one must do whatever he or she can to find that center.

(...)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars drugs and excess January 8, 2001

By Audrey

Format:Paperback

the first time i read this book i was only a teenager and i don't remember reading it again for years. i don't even recall how this book came into my possession but i know i was grateful for it. i'd led a sheltered life and to read about someone's account of their painful existence was an eye-opener for me. this book may not be for everyone but it paved the way for my way of thinking today and i'm glad it landed in my hands.

not being a big fan of jim morrison probably gave me a more objective view towards danny sugerman because i wasn't likely to think that this was all about sugerman's obsession with morrison or the band. i read it as a raw account of sugerman's life from when he was an adolescent into adulthood, and his realisation that there was more out there for him than just drugs and excess. most of his friends are dead today. the fact that he's alive is amazing given what he's put his body through.

i have to read this book again soon.