Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Later with Lee Matthews, The Lee Matthews Podcast
More what You Hear Weekday Afternoon's on the Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Doug Broad is a former editor in chief of Spin
and TV Guide magazines as well. He is author of
a book about how Kiss Cheap Trick, Airsmith and Stars
remade Rock and Roll, also editor for Entertainment Weekly and
many other publications. She's got a new book out, Born
with a Tale, The Devilish Life and Wicked Times of
(00:32):
Anton Zandor love Ay. Doug Broad is with us, Doug,
did I pronounce that name? Right?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
You did? Indeed?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Thank you? Thank you?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Well.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
You see, the thing is, everybody's heard of Alistair Crowley.
I don't know if a lot of people heard of
this guy.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Yeah, I'm not sure. I think many people have. You know,
he started the Church of Satan in April nineteen sixty
six from his home in San Francisco, and it wasn't
a devil worship cult. It was more of a philosophy
of indulgence, of unleashing man's carnal instinct. And he got
(01:16):
a lot of followers. A lot of people were kind
of into his ideas, his philosophies. He wrote a book
the Satanic Bible in nineteen sixty nine that went on
to sell over a million copies. He appeared on Johnny
Carson Steve Allen's show. He was on the cover of
Look magazine back in the day. So he was quite,
(01:40):
you know, the visible celebrity in the sixties and seventies.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
This was also a time when the sensibilities of the
United States were starting to look closer at, shall we say,
alternative lifestyles.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yes, you know, he was kind of a response to
the kind of flower power, hippie freedom of the day.
He was more of a law and order character, sort
of verging on libertarianism. But there were also a lot
of other ideas blooming at the time, like este and
(02:18):
other self empowerment philosophies. But his was kind of leavened
with a sense of humor. There was always a humorous
aspect to what he was doing and what he was extolling.
But you know, there also was a real seriousness to
(02:41):
it as well. I mean, he had rituals in his
house that were kind of like psychodramas that could benefit
the participants, could rid them of their sexual hang ups,
you know, help them romantically and financially. It was basically
giving people self confident and self empowerment.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
The devilish life and wicked times of Anton Sandor Levy
born with a Tale as the name of the book,
and he was the founder of the Church of Satan.
Doug Broad is the author who's written all about it. So,
were there black masses and because there's a lot of
there's a lot in Satanism that I see, it's more
anti Catholicism than it is Satanism.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
That the case could be made. It was also anti
any other religion, to be honest with you, it was
it was the idea that that all of that was fantasy.
And that's a belief that many people have that a
lot of religions are fantasy. And this was looking at
man as his own god, and the only one man
(03:49):
had to anstitute was himself. He wasn't, you know, Levey
didn't believe in guilt. It's like, people shouldn't feel guilty
about stuff that they like as long as consenting adults,
you know, are involved. What's the what's the problem. There's
no problem. So yeah, So his his his idea of
(04:11):
a religion was not so much to counter the other ones.
It was just to promote man as his own god.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So did he embrace the Satanism and the and the
pentagrams and all that just to get the attention that
he was looking for.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
That's exactly what he did. There was no devil worship involved.
They didn't worship Satan. There was no They worshiped themselves
if anything, And the idea of bringing Satan into the
mix is more of a metaphor. Like he was, he
was seen, He represented the adversary, and it was it
was a way to grab at first, it was a
(04:50):
way to grab people's attention.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Sounds a little more like Aristotelean humanism than it does
a Satanism.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
That that the case could be made as well.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Absolutely, Doug Brown is with us, and the book that
he has written is born with a tale of the
devilish life and wicked times of Anton Sandor Leavey, founder
of the Church of Satan. What were some of those
wicked times?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I guess you could say having a pet lion in
his home was fairly wicked. Yeah, So in the sixties
he had a pet lion that lived in a cage
in his backyard and he sometimes brought the lion out
to the grocery store. At the time, San Francisco didn't
(05:36):
have any laws, you know, preventing people from having big
game animals in their houses. But eventually neighbors complained about
the roaring, and you know, the lion became unruly on
a number of occasions, so he had to give it up.
But no, I mean, this guy lived, He lived the life.
(05:59):
He he was obsessed with with all of these topics,
you know, the occult and witchcraft and monsters and you know,
sideshow performers. He had a very kind of you know,
bizarre taste and aesthetic, and you know, he lived like
(06:20):
I say in the book, he lived like Gomez Adams
and Herman Munster. They had a black house and he,
you know, he dressed them. You know, he dressed the part.
He had the bald head and the Van Dyke beard,
and you know, they lived like one of these TV shows.
But in real life.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
We're talking about the book Born with a Tale, the
Devilish Life and Wicked Times of Anton Sandor Levy and
Doug Broad is the author. So this guy also had
some musical talent. Was he maybe a frustrated musician.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I don't think he was a frustrated musician. He actually
He was a keyboard player, and he played the organ,
he played the calliop He he he claimed to have
worked in carnivals and and circuses, uh, playing these instruments.
But he also, you know, played lounges all over San Francisco,
(07:22):
and you know there he was in newspaper ads as uh,
San Francisco's most unique organist. But he, you know, he
he had he had keyboards, and he had a bank
of keyboards in his house. And he would entertain his
guests all the time by playing, you know, for hours.
(07:44):
And you know, he knew every He knew pretty much
every ten pan alley song ever recorded. And he was
quite the prodigy.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And we're talking about anton Zandor Levy. Born with the
Tail is the book The Devilish Life and Wicked Times
of Anton Zandor Levy Doug Broad. He also attracted some celebrity.
Were they followers or just clingers on or just people
he hung out.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
With well early on, right after the church sort of
came to prominence. In nineteen sixty seven, Jane Mansfield, the
Hollywood star, kind of glombed onto him. I think she
saw a publicity opportunity, as did he, And for a
(08:31):
few months they were linked in the press and he
claims they were romantic. She does not. She disputed that,
but this was actually right, you know, not long before
she was killed in a car accident. Yeah. And then
later on, Sammy Davis Junior in nineteen seventy three had
(08:52):
a brief sort of dalliance with the church and he
was actually made an honorary world in the Church of Satan.
But I think his interest was probably more genuine. He
you know, Sammy was into a lot of stuff. He
was very experimental all his life, and this is one
(09:15):
thing that he thought was kind of the cool thing
to pursue.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Doug Broad He's the author of Born with a Tale,
The Devilish Life and Wicked Times of Anton Sandor Levey.
The books out everywhere you get books. And thanks for
joining us today, Doug Broad.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
My pleasure, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee
Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive Live
weekday afternoons from five to seven and Iheartsmedia Presentation
This is Later with Lee Matthews, The Lee Matthews Podcast
More what You Hear Weekday Afternoon's on the Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Doug Broad is a former editor in chief of Spin
and TV Guide magazines as well. He is author of
a book about how Kiss Cheap Trick, Airsmith and Stars
remade Rock and Roll, also editor for Entertainment Weekly and
many other publications. She's got a new book out, Born
with a Tale, The Devilish Life and Wicked Times of
(00:32):
Anton Zandor love Ay. Doug Broad is with us, Doug,
did I pronounce that name? Right?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
You did? Indeed?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Thank you? Thank you?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Well.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
You see, the thing is, everybody's heard of Alistair Crowley.
I don't know if a lot of people heard of
this guy.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Yeah, I'm not sure. I think many people have. You know,
he started the Church of Satan in April nineteen sixty
six from his home in San Francisco, and it wasn't
a devil worship cult. It was more of a philosophy
of indulgence, of unleashing man's carnal instinct. And he got
(01:16):
a lot of followers. A lot of people were kind
of into his ideas, his philosophies. He wrote a book
the Satanic Bible in nineteen sixty nine that went on
to sell over a million copies. He appeared on Johnny
Carson Steve Allen's show. He was on the cover of
Look magazine back in the day. So he was quite,
(01:40):
you know, the visible celebrity in the sixties and seventies.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
This was also a time when the sensibilities of the
United States were starting to look closer at, shall we say,
alternative lifestyles.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yes, you know, he was kind of a response to
the kind of flower power, hippie freedom of the day.
He was more of a law and order character, sort
of verging on libertarianism. But there were also a lot
of other ideas blooming at the time, like este and
(02:18):
other self empowerment philosophies. But his was kind of leavened
with a sense of humor. There was always a humorous
aspect to what he was doing and what he was extolling.
But you know, there also was a real seriousness to
(02:41):
it as well. I mean, he had rituals in his
house that were kind of like psychodramas that could benefit
the participants, could rid them of their sexual hang ups,
you know, help them romantically and financially. It was basically
giving people self confident and self empowerment.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
The devilish life and wicked times of Anton Sandor Levy
born with a Tale as the name of the book,
and he was the founder of the Church of Satan.
Doug Broad is the author who's written all about it. So,
were there black masses and because there's a lot of
there's a lot in Satanism that I see, it's more
anti Catholicism than it is Satanism.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
That the case could be made. It was also anti
any other religion, to be honest with you, it was
it was the idea that that all of that was fantasy.
And that's a belief that many people have that a
lot of religions are fantasy. And this was looking at
man as his own god, and the only one man
(03:49):
had to anstitute was himself. He wasn't, you know, Levey
didn't believe in guilt. It's like, people shouldn't feel guilty
about stuff that they like as long as consenting adults,
you know, are involved. What's the what's the problem. There's
no problem. So yeah, So his his his idea of
(04:11):
a religion was not so much to counter the other ones.
It was just to promote man as his own god.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So did he embrace the Satanism and the and the
pentagrams and all that just to get the attention that
he was looking for.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
That's exactly what he did. There was no devil worship involved.
They didn't worship Satan. There was no They worshiped themselves
if anything, And the idea of bringing Satan into the
mix is more of a metaphor. Like he was, he
was seen, He represented the adversary, and it was it
was a way to grab at first, it was a
(04:50):
way to grab people's attention.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Sounds a little more like Aristotelean humanism than it does
a Satanism.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
That that the case could be made as well.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Absolutely, Doug Brown is with us, and the book that
he has written is born with a tale of the
devilish life and wicked times of Anton Sandor Leavey, founder
of the Church of Satan. What were some of those
wicked times?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I guess you could say having a pet lion in
his home was fairly wicked. Yeah, So in the sixties
he had a pet lion that lived in a cage
in his backyard and he sometimes brought the lion out
to the grocery store. At the time, San Francisco didn't
(05:36):
have any laws, you know, preventing people from having big
game animals in their houses. But eventually neighbors complained about
the roaring, and you know, the lion became unruly on
a number of occasions, so he had to give it up.
But no, I mean, this guy lived, He lived the life.
(05:59):
He he was obsessed with with all of these topics,
you know, the occult and witchcraft and monsters and you know,
sideshow performers. He had a very kind of you know,
bizarre taste and aesthetic, and you know, he lived like
(06:20):
I say in the book, he lived like Gomez Adams
and Herman Munster. They had a black house and he,
you know, he dressed them. You know, he dressed the part.
He had the bald head and the Van Dyke beard,
and you know, they lived like one of these TV shows.
But in real life.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
We're talking about the book Born with a Tale, the
Devilish Life and Wicked Times of Anton Sandor Levy and
Doug Broad is the author. So this guy also had
some musical talent. Was he maybe a frustrated musician.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I don't think he was a frustrated musician. He actually
He was a keyboard player, and he played the organ,
he played the calliop He he he claimed to have
worked in carnivals and and circuses, uh, playing these instruments.
But he also, you know, played lounges all over San Francisco,
(07:22):
and you know there he was in newspaper ads as uh,
San Francisco's most unique organist. But he, you know, he
he had he had keyboards, and he had a bank
of keyboards in his house. And he would entertain his
guests all the time by playing, you know, for hours.
(07:44):
And you know, he knew every He knew pretty much
every ten pan alley song ever recorded. And he was
quite the prodigy.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And we're talking about anton Zandor Levy. Born with the
Tail is the book The Devilish Life and Wicked Times
of Anton Zandor Levy Doug Broad. He also attracted some celebrity.
Were they followers or just clingers on or just people
he hung out.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
With well early on, right after the church sort of
came to prominence. In nineteen sixty seven, Jane Mansfield, the
Hollywood star, kind of glombed onto him. I think she
saw a publicity opportunity, as did he, And for a
(08:31):
few months they were linked in the press and he
claims they were romantic. She does not. She disputed that,
but this was actually right, you know, not long before
she was killed in a car accident. Yeah. And then
later on, Sammy Davis Junior in nineteen seventy three had
(08:52):
a brief sort of dalliance with the church and he
was actually made an honorary world in the Church of Satan.
But I think his interest was probably more genuine. He
you know, Sammy was into a lot of stuff. He
was very experimental all his life, and this is one
(09:15):
thing that he thought was kind of the cool thing
to pursue.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Doug Broad He's the author of Born with a Tale,
The Devilish Life and Wicked Times of Anton Sandor Levey.
The books out everywhere you get books. And thanks for
joining us today, Doug Broad.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
My pleasure, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee
Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive Live
weekday afternoons from five to seven and Iheartsmedia Presentation
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