Biography for
Abbie Hoffman More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

30 November 1936, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

Date of Death

12 April 1989, New Hope, Pennsylvania, USA (suicide)

Birth Name

Abbott Howard Hoffman

Spouse

Anita Hoffman	(2 June 1967 - 1980) (divorced) 1 child
Sheila Karklin	(10 July 1960 - 4 November 1966) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

One of the Chicago Seven

Was the subject of the Kinky Friedman song, "Dear Abbie.".

Among his many pranks with members of the Youth International Party (the "Yippies"), was to plaster the outside of a US Army recruitment booth in New York City with hundreds of bumperstickers reading "SEE CANADA NOW", and disrupting trading on the New York Stock Exchange by throwing 100 $1 bills from the observation balcony.

Suffered from bouts of manic depression throughout his life (this may have been a contributing factor in his suicide).

Had a reputation as a pool hustler. In his book "Revolution for the Hell of It" (written under the pseudonym "Free"), he wrote, "In a revolution, as in pool hustling, one should use only as much force as is necessary to prove one's point. No more, no less."

He emerged from hiding in 1980 after trying to evade a prison sentence on a drug charge. He revealed that he had his features altered by a plastic surgeon prior to going underground and led a very public life while "in hiding". Under the name Barry Freed, he worked as an environmental activist, fighting to save the St. Lawrence River. After coming out from hiding, he served a brief sentence in a minimum security prison.

Was pushed off the stage at Woodstock by Pete Townshend when he interrupted The Who during their performance to make a speech about the recent drug arrest of radical leader John Sinclair. A snippet of the incident can be heard on The Who's four-CD boxed set: "Thirty Years of Maximum R&B".

The famous phrase "Today is the first day of the rest of your life" first appeared in print in his book "Revolution For the Hell of It".

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declassified 4,101 pages of files (many of them heavily censored) that it kept on him.

Attended Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts - an elite prep school. Alums include Cole Porter, "Durango Kid" cowboy actor Charles Starrett and screenwriter Caitlin McCarthy.

Close friend of both Jerry Rubin and Paul Krassner. All three were the co-founders of the Youth International Party (aka "Y.I.P." or "Yippie!").

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 422-424. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

Is portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio in Steal This Movie (2000).

Portrayed by Richard D'Alessandro in Forrest Gump (1994).

Portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2010).

Personal Quotes

Avoid all needle drugs, the only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon.

[on the success of "Steal This Book"] It's embarrassing when you try to overthrow the government and you wind up on the Best Seller's List.

The key to organizing an alternative society is to organize people around what they can do, and more importantly, what they want to do.

The only way to support a revolution is to make your own.

The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it!

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