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 comp...

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.