Harlan Ellison on Esquire's "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" by Gay Talese

[@JapaneseDenim]

I always heard Harlan was an asshole but I never realized he was such a likable and charismatic asshole. I can listen to this dude tell stories all day.

[@chrisbudesa]

,He was brilliant.

[@tomkent4656]

Let's just say he doesn't suffer fools gladly.

[@michaelbeemer8019]

I almost set him off when I realized I was acting just as he described in an essay about argumentative fans that I'd read just before the event. I apologized and he was a perfect gentlemen. An asshole would have gone off on me regardless.

[@KarlKrogmann]

I met him twice. Once at a book signing outside Chicago he gave me some shit about my Doors t-shirt (Harlan hated the Doors). He was wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt, and boy do I hate Disney. I told him so. I told him "You're walking around with a picture of a fucking parasite on your chest, and you don't like the Doors? Seriously?" And he laughed, I mean really laughed, head thrown back, Sharpie in his hand, a great shotgun burst of laughter, and I will take that to my grave. I made Harlan Ellison laugh!

[@hughgreentree]

Harlan died the same day that my mother did. I interacted with Harlan 4 times at conventions; twice he was nasty to me; twice he was extremely kind. He gave me a steak off his plate when we were at a restaurant and I could not afford a meal. RIP Harlan.

[@THECOSMONAUT100]

How was he nasty to you? And a follow-up question: did you deserve it?

[@InfernoStormy]

@@THECOSMONAUT100 That's just who Harlan was

[@randymulder9105]

​@@InfernoStormypeople cancel folks that have any moody moments, character, or personality these days.

[@RedDragonM1]

@@InfernoStormy He probably did....Harlan didn't like "Stupid fuckin' questions" or...most of his fans. "Fans. A group of imbiciles who should be knawed on by rabid rats!"

[@annedoe3039]

I think I’ve seen the full version of your steak story in another comment from you! It has always stuck with me as maybe the best example of his character, since (if I’m remembering right) he did so after being pretty nasty to you at the convention, right? Just the idea of this guy who is cantankerous and quick to anger but, underneath, a golden-hearted person walking the walk and not just talking the talk. I always think of that steak story when I think of Ellison. Thanks for sharing it.

[@HailSchmitler-wz1wk]

Anyone who says they don’t feel fear is terrified inside.

[@jerrycornelius2261]

Not Harlan. I've been with him when he reacted. Instantaneous

[@Cabochon1360]

I live at about 20%. Maybe 22. Ellison seems to have lived most of his life at about 90, 95%.

[@peterkoinzell7983]

what the heck are you talking about?

[@Bloodgaze]

@@peterkoinzell7983 I was actually going to ask the same thing. 20 of what? 90 of what? What??

[@necrosadotor]

@@Bloodgaze i think he meant that "living the life full" thing

[@foljs5858]

@@Bloodgaze Of life's potential or life's intensity. Isn't it obvious?

[@-Trauma.]

@@foljs5858 This generation is no doomed.

[@andrewwilliams9599]

Michael Crichton nailed it: Ellison comes off in this encounter as "witty, disrespectful and refusing to be bullied."

[@abyios]

I think we should all take a clue from Harlan Ellison, R.I.P. you deserve it genius*

[@kittypeanut4102]

As he should!

[@tmrezzek5728]

Harlan Ellison...one of the greatest writers and raconteurs ever to walk the Earth!

[@davidz3378]

"I don't care if they fuckin' kill me... If I get off three good lines - three good lines, that's all I care about, then I'm cool, you can do whatever you want with me." Fucking hilarious.

[@JackbenImbel2274]

@davidz3378 Is he talking in regards to a certain white powdery sniffing stimulant? I do not understand the reference.

[@smam9571]

one of my absolute favourite things about any interviews with harlan is how he just puts in the most insane sideplots to his stories. i was watching this video while smoking and the random "he would coach rich women playing tennis and then screw em on the side" made me cough on the smoke so harshly i genuinely thought blood was going to come out. rest in peace man, what a legend

[@SpoonJuggler]

Ellison probably had the most adventurous life of anyone I've ever heard of. In between he somehow found time to write as much as he did. The only celebrity I ever considered writing a letter to and now regret that I never did, while being fully aware that he was the last person on earth that wanted fanmail. God damn, I miss the old bastard.

[@andrewwilliams9599]

That may be true, but he was listen in the LA phone book until his death in 2018. He claimed that was so he could respond to telemarketers and other annoyances personally.

[@TheJeffShadowShow]

@@andrewwilliams9599 And he retained the 310-area-code number from 1991 after the 818 had been introduced for the valley area in 1994.

[@amymjennings]

Yeah 👍😂 love his hate for Roddenberry 🎉

[@jerrycornelius2261]

h needed an audience. He needed to be loved.

[@barneyrubble8141]

Can't believe he died last year! Great author, but his stories will live on! Rip. Harlan

[@artfuldodger1286]

Fascinating. I've always wanted to hear Ellison's side of the story. Gay Talese was right when he wrote that Ellison would never forget the incident, which clearly left a huge impact on him and gave him a great story. And Sinatra had probably forgotten Ellison two days later, at least until the famous article came out. Terrible behavior is often the flip side of huge talent. Just ask Sinatra. Or Ellison, for that matter.

[@DrunkenCoward1]

I don't think it's quite the same. Sinatra was an asshole who felt himself untouchable and thus did whatever he wanted. Ellison had a strict moral code that he followed. Wether that moral code was right or not is a different question alltogether, but Ellison kept to those rules he deemed correct and didn't deviate from them (at least to my knowledge). Some of those things seemed like asshole things to do, maybe, but he still followed his own (not unchanging, but at least same-ish) moral system. That is something you can work with, for the most part. As Gay Telese wrote about Sinatra (at least I think and hope he wrote that, I might be misremembering), when he entered the room no one fully knew what to expect of him or how to treat him.

[@gardensofthegods]

Yeah he was known to flip out in restaurants and clubs with his friends when they were all having dinner and just sometimes grab his plate of food and throw it at the wall . There's a story that they were all out one night and Sinatra was upset that there was a bottle of ketchup while they were in an Italian restaurant and the very moment he threw it at the wall Don Rickles yells over " hey ,Frank can you pass the ketchup . " The story about Dominick Dunne is that right after the maitre D apologized , he punched Dunne in the nose ... and he looks over and there's Frank Sinatra glaring at him . Really a shame that Frank Sinatra could be such a bully and a creep sometimes .

[@gardensofthegods]

There's a very good documentary here about Frank Sinatra and Palm Springs ... it tells some of the stories about him . But you have to wonder why people would keep putting up with that kind of crazy behavior in their presence ... looking back it sounds like the smart people would have kept him at more of a distance or made excuses for why they couldn't hang out with him as often as he would have liked ... maybe the smart ones did .

[@jerrycornelius2261]

Ellison didn't drink. Sinatra did. Ellison never told that story when I was with him and we were close. Hed told it when hd was asked.

[@TheSnowballEarth]

c. 14:00 Been reading Ellison for nearly forty years now and never realized until watching this exactly how much he talked/acted like Joe Pesci in "Goodfellas." Ellison was one funny guy.

[@JackbenImbel2274]

@TheSnowballEarth Exactly how is he funny? Like he is a clown? Does he amuse you? He is here to make you laugh?

[@peterkoinzell7983]

He seems really sharp for his age. I can't believe he died last year without my notice.

[@TheClaireWitchProject]

Same! I couldn't believe it when I found out.

[@robertsez]

Now he can bitch at Gene Roddenberry in person.

[@greyeyed123]

I don't know when they did this interview, but it looks to be the mid-2000's. The notes say 2007, which seems about right. Harlan did not look nearly this good the last couple of years before his death.

[@StopFear]

In this video, yes. In some others I thought he was really a different person and was out of it.

[@peterkoinzell7983]

@@StopFear yea, like the people said above, this video was 10 years before his death and he had had a stroke. Love his stories. still think about them pretty much weekly.

[@Nataloff]

I miss him so much.

[@popvoid]

From the Talese article: "[T]hree minutes after it was over, Frank Sinatra had probably forgotten about it for the rest of his life-as Ellison will probably remember it for the rest of his life"

[@ParcoKid63]

I love it. Never liked Sinatra. Already had tremendous respect for HE, such an original writer and unique human being. Took no schitt from Frank and that makes HE an even greater legend. Rest in Power.

[@thedudeabides3930]

They were both great.

[@MicahMicahel]

Frank always comes off as a weasel with goons to me. I like old movies but avoid Sinatra's. I've heard too many stories about Sinatra where he's a sociopathic bully. Ellison has his anger problems but Sinatra seemed evil. Sinatra's movies all are big productions that are usually less interesting to me so it's not hard to avoid them. Guys and Dolls actually Brando played mean tricks on Sinatra throughout the production and apparently everyone was laughing at Sinatra behind his back of course or his goons would get you. It's nice to see people stand up to that kind of creep.

[@brianphillips1374]

"None But the Brave" was directed by Frank Sinatra. "Hell in the Pacific" was directed in John Boorman and had exactly TWO people in it. I saw most of it and liked it. It, sadly bombed at the box office.

[@Master_Blackthorne]

Harlan's definition of evil is spot on. History backs him up on this.

[@gopherstate777]

Not really, Harlan seems to gave his own agenda. If you know what I mean?

[@kwisatzhaderach88]

@@gopherstate777 no, nobody knows what you mean

[@hughgreentree]

@@gopherstate777 Harlan would be quite mean to fans who tried to interact with him at conventions. But he could also be very gracious and kind.

[@jackanaples]

Thanks for posting this! It's a great anecdote, and when it ended I found myself wishing it would've gone on even longer.

[@DavidTSmith-jn5bs]

Harlan had that effect on people: the raconteur that you don't want to leave. RIP "Harlequin"

[@nofatherfigure69420]

I never personally met him, hell, I didn't even know he existed till a few months ago, but I cant help but feel sadness about his passing. RIP Harlan Ellison, you are truly missed by everyone.

[@TheJeffShadowShow]

In 2008 I had discovered a CED video disc of "The Oscar" at a Salvation Army store in Fullerton, California. I called Harlan at his home and mentioned it. He said to go buy it and send it to him. I returned to the store the next day and it had already been purchased! The same store burned to the ground a few years later from an oil fire at the Chinese restaurant next door. It was on Raymond Avenue, south of Chapman.

[@woodenwind9456]

“So here I am talking back to f*cking Frank Sinatra”-Harlan Ellison 2018

[@jasonquinn3343]

Beautiful. Simply wonderful to be listening to him tell that one...

[@Tolemac7]

Thank you for this!!! As a decades long fan of Mr. Ellison's, I love hearing and reading anything about his amazing life.

[@kennethpounds4092]

I met him 3 times, he was also interesting..I heard his house will open as some kind of museum at some point

[@josephsuarez9183]

10:00 man had the terrifying presence perk. He was absolutely crazy, that much I can gather.

[@JimC]

18:03 That he has an exact auditory memory is an amazing bit of information.

[@TimothyJonSarris]

“City on the Edge with Sinatra “

[@alsatiancousin2905]

This is a great clip. He is a storyteller for sure, which he freely admits, but it is a convincing argument as a whole against the starstruck, idolizing, and arbitrary nature of one's right to exist regardless of "who you are."

[@adamgardiner5869]

"Thats not hyperbole played in the epitome" fuckn classic.

[@andrewwilliams9599]

This man had enough courage for a platoon.

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

Love you Harlan. Now that STand is dead that leaves you and me. Don't die. We all need you.

[@jonesjack6088]

Sorry but he actually died last year.

[@noahburke6153]

"Doctors are lucky they get to bury their mistakes"

[@dougo891]

I interviewed Ellison on the radio in 1982 I had read the article that was an Esquire. So I asked him on the air about the Frank Sinatra episode he wouldn't say anything about it so I back.

[@perseus9428]

Sinatra was a massive d bag. I'm glad to find there are intelligent people who agree.

[@Mark-vk7dc]

If you read the article by Talese, you'll be shocked by how much of what Harlan is saying is BS.

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Great story, and believable.

[@JP_Stone]

Harlan is an awesome dude

[@appidydafoo]

What a gem

[@stephenbirks6458]

Never Liked Sinatra ! - If it were not for his connection with his gang ! - He would have been nothing ! - The way he treated Bogart - Supposedly Bogies best mate - But what was going on Bacall ? - No ! after hearing about Sinatra & Bacall after Bogie died - He didnt know how to treat the ladies ! This is a great story ! - Thanks for sharing !

[@DavidCarroll-t5g]

So, Harlan took defensive lessons from Bruce Lee when Steve McQueen was also taking lessons from him. Very interesting. McQueen was making one of his lesser known movies, "The Reivers" in the mid 1970s in Mississippi and the story I got from my friend was that her father was the recipient of one of Lee's one-inch punches which sent her father (a large man) flying across the room. I'm not sure --kind of doubt it - whether Harlan was part of that entourage.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Science Fiction's last angry man. R.I.P., Mr. Ellison.

[@jerrycornelius2261]

There are one or two left but they're too old to stand up.

[@StopFear]

He looked like Al Gore's twin at this stage in his life.

[@atomiswave2]

He was a student of Bruce Lee with Steve Mcqueen.

[@JesseLynnRucilez]

I've never liked Sinatra, the man, or his "music." And the fact that my favorite author once told Ol' Blue Eyes to shut the fuck up, to--his--face, warms my heart to no end!

[@Dolores5000]

I love him

[@theloyalorderofclassictv5435]

BEST Ellison story EVER! (and that is saying someting!)

[@karanrajguleria9073]

Harlan Ellison was Wolverine. Edit: Capital "W"

[@raleighsmalls4653]

No fear...high pain threshold = aslpie

[@HaroldBrownJr]

Never knew he was a student of Bruce Lee!

[@ianmartinezcassmeyer]

When you have a mouth like Harlan had, you'd better be able to defend yourself physically. He could walk and talk.

[@piamadison5539]

Steve McQueen was a close friend of both Bruce Lee and Harlan.

[@fordskool]

🤣

[@antarcticorb9197]

@@piamadison5539 how did mcqueen save his life?

[@surfercharlie25]

@@antarcticorb9197 McQueen was out in the desert outside Palm Springs (I think), shooting a segment on motor sports for The Ed Sullivan Show, and Ellison was there writing a profile of McQueen. One thing led to another, and Ellison was almost hit by a careless person driving a dune buggy (or something like that). McQueen acted fast and saved Ellison’s life.

[@ianmartinezcassmeyer]

Is there more to this recording or is this the only segment?

[@AsianTheDomination]

sinatra had him under his skin

[@dismith73]

Harlan Jay Ellison May 27, 1934 - June 28, 2018

[@1badjesus]

5'5 and "threw 11 (ELEVEN!) New Jersey Mob guys outta some hotel ..SOLO + copped attitude with FRANK SINATRA🙄..loved Ellison but this sounds like 78% B...

[@cs.1762]

He never said he "threw" anyone out. He said he stood off eleven gang members(not mafia guys) and this was attested to by Robert Silverberg. Tons of people-including journalist and novelist Gay Talese, attested to his Sinatra confrontation and Talese wrote an article about it called, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold." The story Ellison is telling here is the exact story Talese wrote.

[@vicrules6666]

Writers tend to stretch the truth.

[@chetwill]

Are those Impulse jazz LPs on the top shelf on the right?

[@Norvo82]

Wouldn't surprise me, Ellison was a great lover of jazz. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4OogmtpeMuhr6c

[@andrewwilliams9599]

"EYEBALL IN THE HIP POCKET!" ROFLMAO

[@robinpickett592]

Rip to the genius

[@CaptainBobRockets]

I'm just glad I never met him in a dark alley. Funny, funny stuff!

[@Larkinchance]

I bought a pair of those boots in Santa Monica in 66

[@firstnamelastname-pb4mz]

now knowing he's 5'5 it all makes sense

[@jerrycornelius2261]

HE WAS 5/4 BUT WHO'S COUNTING ?

[@indigohammer5732]

Peter? Peter Faulk and his glass eye?

[@danielbisson8032]

he was a little bit ccrazy

[@joselopez7642]

Me: God I love this man Him: I’m going for his hand 😬

[@dannyryan9246]

I couldn’t care less about what he feels about Sinatra. Frank was a lot of things to many people with a great degree of stories both good and bad. I think the good far outweighed the bad. Just like a lot of people.

[@patrickmccormack4318]

Harlan Ellison was a Scrappy Duncan.

[@bobhasse9484]

Again claiming he's five-foot-five!

[@WillScarlet1991]

What was his real height?

[@frankpontone2139]

@@WillScarlet1991 five feet 2 and a half.

[@carrieanneatreides6240]

I’m 5’1” and have many photographs with him and Susan. He wasn’t over 5’4”. He was wonderful and Susan was just the best thing ever. I miss them both every day.

[@MalEvansUSA]

Harlan was a world class prick. He name drops constantly

[@BookWriterDude]

Harlan was never a "prick" first. He responded in kind when someone was rude to him. He was ALWAYS nice to me and, in fact, did me quite a favor once when I lost my job. Anyway, I loved the man and his work and I will say that it is your loss MalEvansUSA.

[@MalEvansUSA]

@@BookWriterDude he was a prick an egotist and a real piece of garbage seriously. A nasty person. Unlikable

[@bludluva]

In this clip he reminds me of an Almost famous radio talk show host who almost got his ass kicked over the weekend and keeps talking shit on the air to get the last word

[@georgeyoes3130]

'The Oscar' wasn't that bad.

[@JeffreySmith84]

I love and cherish Ellison's fiction but as a public figure, he's largely full of shit. As a short fella myself (5'4"), I can recognize a Napoleon complex a mile away. He has the vibe of someone who was mercilessly bullied as a kid and decided to become a bully himself rather than just accept his small stature and come to terms with the happenstance of birth. All that being said, this is a great take and I'm inclined to believe most of it. In general, I take Ellison's anecdotes with more than a few grains of salt.

[@erichaynes7502]

I'm in agreement with you. I've met a lot of very disagreeable people HE seems like one of the worst in this regard.

[@SCR94]

Very interesting and astute observation. Back in the mid 70s, Ellison had an interview on Thames TV (can find it on here) where he says how badly he was bullied growing up - and didn't even have 1 friend. Mainly because he was the only Jewish boy in his town.

[@JeffreySmith84]

@@SCR94 I know that feeling and it's awful. I was always the smallest kid in school and went through many years with few (or sometimes zero) friends. As difficult as it is, one has to rise above it and learn to have self-worth not predicated on bullying or belittling others.

[@jerrycornelius2261]

HE was no bully but he did have a tight trigger finger.

[@fordskool]

Anyone else's bullshit radar going off the chart's listening to him?

[@drkinferno72]

Of course, but it’s entertaining

[@TheStockwell]

He's a writer. Writers invent things and embellish things. It's just what they do, whether they're in front of a keyboard or a camera. 😺

[@dannyryan9246]

For sure!!!

[@pod831]

Bear in mind that Ellison was a pathological liar.

[@jerrycornelius2261]

An embellisher but, as Moorcock said, a brave little fox.

[@joselgutierrez6553]

Sinatra=Zzzzzzz

[@robertsez]

Harlan has gained weight.

[@greyeyed123]

He died. This interview was from the mid-2000's. He lost a lot of weight before his death two years ago.

[@robertsez]

@@greyeyed123 I'm aware that Harlan is no longer with us. Hopefully, he can now finally make peace with Gene Roddenberry. Or not.

[@chrisbudesa]

@@robertsez. Not even in death.

[@jerrycornelius2261]

...and height.