John Hartman -- I met Ronn during the Cool and Crazy days and finally joined the cast (those shows were the BEST) and we stayed friends until the end. I am in trump-country (southern Ohio)....Ronn was (is) a free-flying bird . It is hard to write about him because I miss him so much.....
Excellent piece, Tim. Thank you for writing this. I confess I was completely ignorant of Ronn Spencer until reading this, making it feel so ironic that, back in the day, we were in Dada-inspired jungles of the Mail Art ethos. Great notes on Boss Radio, etc., too. LA still has a lot of truly great radio. Unlike some places.
Beautiful tribute Tim. Ronn was our neighbor in southern AZ, and we had studio space together in Tucson. He was a dear friend, a terrific inspiration, a fierce artist, and one of the best conversationalists I know. Thanks for this great history of his work.
I’m saddened to learn of Ronn’s passing; reading this eulogy of his many accomplishments is enlightening, but not surprising, having met Ronn long ago.
Ronn reached out to me for friendship on FaceBook several years ago after many decades passed from the escapades we once shared growing up in NJ as teenagers. My memories of him are quite fine; and he reminded me of the time he “saved my butt” by hiding me in his house in Park Ridge. We had fun back then. RIP Ronn.
Thanks for this beautiful tribute. I moved to Santa Fe a year ago and was hoping to rmeet Ronn. He was generous and kind in letting my use his brilliant photos of the Germs and Controllers in my book on L.A. punk.
Thank you for the writing Tim. He was also the brother I never had. We spoke up until a couple days before he died. As much as he said on a few previous occasions that he just wanted to give up due to his long-term health conditions, he was one stubborn and tough badass.
We originally met at KCRW where I was the local host for All Things Considered. I loved the C&C show, and like so many that worked on the show, we were fans first, then worker bees on the show. I remember many late nights doing mid-week production sessions for the Cool and the Crazy Show boosted on Jolt Cola and Yoo-Hoos. I miss the long phone calls and the trips up to Santa Fe to pal around a couple times each year.
For anyone keeping record, Ronn is the 3rd member of the Cool and Crazy Show to die. Joel Porter (Guy [Ghee] Friedel), David Valentime (King Size Taylor, Bob Bender and others) preceded him.
John Hartman, the last 2-3 years of the Cool Show were the best!
Also, If you have recording of the show, please send me a copy as I'm going to digitize and put up as many shows as possible on the YouTube channel. There are a couple videos up there:
Fantastic piece. Designers, in most industries it seems, do not get credit. His inner sleeve was a continue of the Pistols brand.
Was he freelance for this?
Yes.
John Hartman -- I met Ronn during the Cool and Crazy days and finally joined the cast (those shows were the BEST) and we stayed friends until the end. I am in trump-country (southern Ohio)....Ronn was (is) a free-flying bird . It is hard to write about him because I miss him so much.....
I know the feeling, John. I appreciate you weighing. He was a helluva man.
Fantastic piece, man. Ronn's art definitely made MY world a better place!
All of us, my friend. All of us. Thank you, Dan.
Excellent piece, Tim. Thank you for writing this. I confess I was completely ignorant of Ronn Spencer until reading this, making it feel so ironic that, back in the day, we were in Dada-inspired jungles of the Mail Art ethos. Great notes on Boss Radio, etc., too. LA still has a lot of truly great radio. Unlike some places.
Thank you, Jesse. Now you know what my friend had done. Mission accomplished.
Beautiful tribute Tim. Ronn was our neighbor in southern AZ, and we had studio space together in Tucson. He was a dear friend, a terrific inspiration, a fierce artist, and one of the best conversationalists I know. Thanks for this great history of his work.
I’m saddened to learn of Ronn’s passing; reading this eulogy of his many accomplishments is enlightening, but not surprising, having met Ronn long ago.
Ronn reached out to me for friendship on FaceBook several years ago after many decades passed from the escapades we once shared growing up in NJ as teenagers. My memories of him are quite fine; and he reminded me of the time he “saved my butt” by hiding me in his house in Park Ridge. We had fun back then. RIP Ronn.
Thanks for this beautiful tribute. I moved to Santa Fe a year ago and was hoping to rmeet Ronn. He was generous and kind in letting my use his brilliant photos of the Germs and Controllers in my book on L.A. punk.
Dewar MacLeod
Thank you for the writing Tim. He was also the brother I never had. We spoke up until a couple days before he died. As much as he said on a few previous occasions that he just wanted to give up due to his long-term health conditions, he was one stubborn and tough badass.
We originally met at KCRW where I was the local host for All Things Considered. I loved the C&C show, and like so many that worked on the show, we were fans first, then worker bees on the show. I remember many late nights doing mid-week production sessions for the Cool and the Crazy Show boosted on Jolt Cola and Yoo-Hoos. I miss the long phone calls and the trips up to Santa Fe to pal around a couple times each year.
For anyone keeping record, Ronn is the 3rd member of the Cool and Crazy Show to die. Joel Porter (Guy [Ghee] Friedel), David Valentime (King Size Taylor, Bob Bender and others) preceded him.
John Hartman, the last 2-3 years of the Cool Show were the best!
Also, If you have recording of the show, please send me a copy as I'm going to digitize and put up as many shows as possible on the YouTube channel. There are a couple videos up there:
https://www.youtube.com/@thecoolandthecrazy7082