Sterling Morrison

[JPO]

This post is utter bullshit. Martha & Sterling lived together for more than 15 years in Austin and after that bought a house in Poughkeepsie, where Sterling commuted to & from Houston on a routine basis. I can't speak to his other relationships, but when he discovered he was seriously ill, he returned to Martha, who got him medical attention immediately. Unfortunately, it was not effective. Martha has made no attempts to erase any of Sterling's other life, painful though it was for her to learn. I was with Sterling at the end and know for certain that he was where he wanted to be. This post is the product of a pathetic hanger-on and to what end ? To cause pain to Sterling's immediate family ? To portray himself as an insider, Sterling's best buddy ? Not even close. Sterling suffered fools easily & this guy is proof positive

has tried to erase the essential facts of Sterling life and great love,
Gail Gant, in Texas from the public record. Poor Martha.
At the end of the following obituary, there are several suggested
charities and one of them is GMHC which stands for: the Gay Men's Health
Crisis in New York City. Gay Men's Health Crisis is the prototype for AIDS
resource centers and has been widely imitated worldwide. At the last
Republican National Convention (at the Astrodome in Houston) Gail and
Sterling accompanied me and our friend Ellen Gibbs in formally protesting
the Bush administrations AIDS policies along with ACT-UP (The AIDS
Coalition to Unleash Power) and Queer Nation. The legal protest ended up
in chaos with the HPD charging the crowd and beating and arresting
protestors (ACLU observers, among them)to our collective horror. We had
to run like our lives depended on it and literally, barely escaped being
beaten by the HoustonPolice. Later I Sterling and I talked at length
about our friends who had died of AIDS, particularly my closest friend
David Guzman. I'd like to believe that this inclusion of GMHC was due, in
part to me and David.
Sterling admired my Queer Nation tee shirt and asked me to get one for
him. "After all," he lectured me, "This is a queer nation, isn't it?"
lsw

The song Lou, Moe and John wrote for Sterling is called "Last Night I Said
Goodbye To My Friend".
STERLING MORRISON
1942-1995
Sterling Morrison died on Wednesday, August 30 at his home in
Poughkeepsie, New York after a lengthy battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
He was 53 years old.
Morrison was a founding member of the Velvet Underground, the seminal rock
band of the Sixties largely credited with spawning a generation of New
Wave and Punk Rock musicians. After the group disbanded in 1971, Morrison
resumed his studies and earned a doctorate in Medieval Studies from the
University of Texas at Austin. While attending graduate school, he
supported himself and his family by piloting tugboats in the Houston Ship
Channel, eventually earning his captain's license.
Morrison maintained his musical relationships during this period and by
the end of the Eighties was touring with Maureen Tucker's band. Soon to
follow was a Velvet Underground reunion tour of Europe during the summer
of 1993. He collaborated with John Cale on a score for the film
"Antarctica" and was a guest on other rock recordings, most notably Luna's
"Bewitched". Additionally, he was a featured
performer with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic in 1994.
Morrison rgan Morrison, his wife of 24 years, and their two children, Mary
Anne, 19 and Thomas, 10, both of Poughkeepsie. He also leaves behind his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Hardern of Jensen Beach, Florida, as well as
four brothers and sisters. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that
contributions in Sterling Morrison's name be given to one of the
following: the Ronald McDonald House of Albany, New York, Planned
Parenthood or GMHC.
photo: Dave Palmer/On Location Studios, Inc.
The Velvet Underground The Records PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://pobox.com/~pileup
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[Will Dockery]

Post by JPO
This post is utter bullshit. Martha & Sterling lived together for more than 15 years in Austin and after that bought a house in Poughkeepsie, where Sterling commuted to & from Houston on a routine basis. I can't speak to his other relationships, but when he discovered he was seriously ill, he returned to Martha, who got him medical attention immediately. Unfortunately, it was not effective. Martha has made no attempts to erase any of Sterling's other life, painful though it was for her to learn. I was with Sterling at the end and know for certain that he was where he wanted to be. This post is the product of a pathetic hanger-on and to what end ? To cause pain to Sterling's immediate family ? To portray himself as an insider, Sterling's best buddy ? Not even close. Sterling suffered fools easily & this guy is proof positive

has tried to erase the essential facts of Sterling life and great love,
Gail Gant, in Texas from the public record. Poor Martha.
At the end of the following obituary, there are several suggested
charities and one of them is GMHC which stands for: the Gay Men's Health
Crisis in New York City. Gay Men's Health Crisis is the prototype for AIDS
resource centers and has been widely imitated worldwide. At the last
Republican National Convention (at the Astrodome in Houston) Gail and
Sterling accompanied me and our friend Ellen Gibbs in formally protesting
the Bush administrations AIDS policies along with ACT-UP (The AIDS
Coalition to Unleash Power) and Queer Nation. The legal protest ended up
in chaos with the HPD charging the crowd and beating and arresting
protestors (ACLU observers, among them)to our collective horror. We had
to run like our lives depended on it and literally, barely escaped being
beaten by the HoustonPolice. Later I Sterling and I talked at length
about our friends who had died of AIDS, particularly my closest friend
David Guzman. I'd like to believe that this inclusion of GMHC was due, in
part to me and David.
Sterling admired my Queer Nation tee shirt and asked me to get one for
him. "After all," he lectured me, "This is a queer nation, isn't it?"
lsw

The song Lou, Moe and John wrote for Sterling is called "Last Night I Said
Goodbye To My Friend".
STERLING MORRISON
1942-1995
Sterling Morrison died on Wednesday, August 30 at his home in
Poughkeepsie, New York after a lengthy battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
He was 53 years old.
Morrison was a founding member of the Velvet Underground, the seminal rock
band of the Sixties largely credited with spawning a generation of New
Wave and Punk Rock musicians. After the group disbanded in 1971, Morrison
resumed his studies and earned a doctorate in Medieval Studies from the
University of Texas at Austin. While attending graduate school, he
supported himself and his family by piloting tugboats in the Houston Ship
Channel, eventually earning his captain's license.
Morrison maintained his musical relationships during this period and by
the end of the Eighties was touring with Maureen Tucker's band. Soon to
follow was a Velvet Underground reunion tour of Europe during the summer
of 1993. He collaborated with John Cale on a score for the film
"Antarctica" and was a guest on other rock recordings, most notably Luna's
"Bewitched". Additionally, he was a featured
performer with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic in 1994.
Morrison rgan Morrison, his wife of 24 years, and their two children, Mary
Anne, 19 and Thomas, 10, both of Poughkeepsie. He also leaves behind his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Hardern of Jensen Beach, Florida, as well as
four brothers and sisters. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that
contributions in Sterling Morrison's name be given to one of the
following: the Ronald McDonald House of Albany, New York, Planned
Parenthood or GMHC.
photo: Dave Palmer/On Location Studios, Inc.
The Velvet Underground The Records PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://pobox.com/~pileup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to all for giving us different angles and perspective on the Sterling Morrison story.

[n***@gmail.com]

Listen up, folks. Sterling always had a girlfriend-- I was one of them during our graduate school days. I was told by a mutual friend, Sterling is married and he always will be." Martha was neither pathetic or stupid. Anyone who ever knew her understand that Martha was Sterling's center-- even all the "friends." I do not believe he ever mentioned Martha or the fact she was pregnant with Maryanne while we were friends. I later worked with Martha and she was one of my favorite people. She and Sterling did buy a home in New York and Martha eventually spent most of her time their. They had a 10year old son, Thomas when Sterling died. Maryanne must have been about 18. I knew he was in Houston with someone who wasn't Martha, but he had only one real love- Martha. He was a devout Roman Catholic, but that is not what kept them together. He went home, as in Martha, to die. He died with her holding his hand , just as he wanted. I am sure he was fond of Gail
, and she got a very ba deal with him. I was only 21 when I met him, but I always knew the light in his eyes when looked at me was temporary. I knew Sterling very well and Marha, too. Their marriage is not open to public speculation. His obit said it all. When I wrote Martha , a sympathy card, I didn't feel the need to proclaim his dying live for her --she knew that. "Dear friends". She was the very reason he could do all those stupid things he did because he could and did always go home. Sorry, Gail. I should told you what he was. Ask Mo, if you have any doubt.