Conrad Rooks is an American writer, director and producer most renown for his 1972 filmed adaptation of Herman Hess's novel Siddhartha

Siddhartha

Siddhartha or Siddharta is the birth name of the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha.Siddhartha may also refer to:* Siddhartha , a fictional book about the life of a man named Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse...

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Rooks is an heir to the Avon Products

Avon Products

Avon Products, Inc. is a US cosmetics, perfume and toy seller with markets in over 140 countries across the world and sales of $9.9 billion worldwide as of 2007.-Business Model:...

 cosmetics fortune. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/06/04/WEEKEND14434.dtl#ixzz1errOHprJ

By the time he was fifteen, Rooks became a troubled substance abuser (alcohol, cocaine, heroin, et.al.). After years of addiction, he traveled to Europe seeking a new "sleeping cure" being offered by a medical doctor at a clinic in Zurich, Switzerland. According to Rooks, the cure was successful and he never abused substances again. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/06/04/WEEKEND14434.dtl#ixzz1errOHprJ

In 1966 Rooks wrote, directed and stared in his first film, Chappaqua (film)

Chappaqua (film)

Chappaqua is a 1966 cult film written, directed by and starring Conrad Rooks. The films is based on Rooks' experiences with drug addiction and includes cameo appearances by a host of famous figures of the 1960s: author William S. Burroughs, guru Swami Satchidananda, beat poets Allen Ginsberg and...

, a semi-autobiographical exploration of the perils of drug addiction, the agony of withdrawal, and the author's journey to Europe and success with the aforementioned "sleeping cure." The film won second prize at the Venice Film Festival

Venice Film Festival

The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...

 in competition against works from established directors Francois Truffaut

François Truffaut

François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...

 and Roger Vadim

Roger Vadim

Roger Vadim was a French screenwriter, director, and producer as well as a journalist, author and actor, who launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the film And God Created Woman.-Early life:...

.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/06/04/WEEKEND14434.dtl#ixzz1errOHprJ