Cracked Actor
Encyclopedia
Cracked Actor is a 53-minute-long BBC
television documentary film
about the pop star David Bowie
. It was filmed in 1974. At the time he was a cocaine
addict and the documentary has become notorious for showing Bowie's fragile mental state during this period. It was made by Alan Yentob
for the BBC's Omnibus documentary strand, and was first shown, on BBC2
in the UK
, on 26 January 1975.
The documentary depicts Bowie on tour in Los Angeles
, using a mixture of documentary sequences filmed in limousines and hotels, and concert footage. Most of the concert footage was taken from a show at the Los Angeles Universal Amphitheatre on 2 September 1974. There were also excerpts from D.A. Pennebaker's concert film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
, which had been shot at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 3 July 1973, as well as a few other performances from the tour. Cracked Actor is notable for being a source for footage of Bowie's ambitious Diamond Dogs
tour.
The title of the documentary was originally to be The Collector, after a comment that Bowie had made to interviewer Russell Harty
the previous year, whereby he described himself as "a collector of accents". Yentob and his team were given the task of documenting Bowie's famous Diamond Dogs
tour, which was already underway when they started filming. Locations for the documentary mainly centred around Hollywood and Los Angeles, but there was also concert footage taken from Philadelphia. A number of performances from the tour were shown, including songs such as "Space Oddity", "Cracked Actor
", "Sweet Things/Candidate
", "Moonage Daydream
", "The Width of a Circle
", "Aladdin Sane
", "Time
", "Diamond Dogs
" and "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)
".
At present, the documentary remains officially unreleased.
, Bowie reflected in an interview about the his state of mind during the time the film was made:
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the pop star David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
. It was filmed in 1974. At the time he was a cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
addict and the documentary has become notorious for showing Bowie's fragile mental state during this period. It was made by Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob is a British television executive and presenter who has worked throughout his career at the BBC.-Early life:...
for the BBC's Omnibus documentary strand, and was first shown, on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, on 26 January 1975.
The documentary depicts Bowie on tour in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, using a mixture of documentary sequences filmed in limousines and hotels, and concert footage. Most of the concert footage was taken from a show at the Los Angeles Universal Amphitheatre on 2 September 1974. There were also excerpts from D.A. Pennebaker's concert film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (film)
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1973 documentary and concert movie by D.A. Pennebaker. It features David Bowie and his backing group The Spiders from Mars performing at the Hammersmith Odeon, July 3, 1973...
, which had been shot at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 3 July 1973, as well as a few other performances from the tour. Cracked Actor is notable for being a source for footage of Bowie's ambitious Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Thematically it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world...
tour.
The title of the documentary was originally to be The Collector, after a comment that Bowie had made to interviewer Russell Harty
Russell Harty
Russell Harty was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat shows.-Early life:Born Frederick Russell Harty in Blackburn, Lancashire, he was the son of a fruit and vegetable stallholder on the local market...
the previous year, whereby he described himself as "a collector of accents". Yentob and his team were given the task of documenting Bowie's famous Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Thematically it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world...
tour, which was already underway when they started filming. Locations for the documentary mainly centred around Hollywood and Los Angeles, but there was also concert footage taken from Philadelphia. A number of performances from the tour were shown, including songs such as "Space Oddity", "Cracked Actor
Cracked Actor (song)
"Cracked Actor" is a song written by David Bowie, originally released on the album Aladdin Sane in April 1973. The track was also issued as a single in Eastern Europe by RCA Records in June that year.-Music and lyrics:...
", "Sweet Things/Candidate
Candidate (David Bowie song)
"Candidate" is a song written by David Bowie in 1973 and intended for his never-completed musical version of Nineteen Eighty-Four. A radically different version, with completely different lyrics and music, was released on the album Diamond Dogs in 1974 as part of a medley that split the song "Sweet...
", "Moonage Daydream
Moonage Daydream
"Moonage Daydream" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 and first released as a single under the name Arnold Corns. A rerecorded version was released in 1972 on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars....
", "The Width of a Circle
The Width of a Circle
"The Width of a Circle" is a song written by David Bowie in 1970 for the album The Man Who Sold the World, released later that year in the U.S. and in April 1971 in the UK. It is the opening track to the album, a hard rocker with heavy metal overtones...
", "Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane (song)
"Aladdin Sane " is a song by David Bowie, the title track from his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. Described by biographer David Buckley as the album's "pivotal" song, it saw Bowie moving into more experimental musical styles following the success of his breakthrough glam rock release The Rise and Fall of...
", "Time
Time (David Bowie song)
"Time" is a song by David Bowie. Written in New Orleans in November 1972 during the American leg of his first Ziggy Stardust tour, it was released as the opening track on Side Two of the album Aladdin Sane in April 1973...
", "Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs (song)
"Diamond Dogs" is a 1974 single by David Bowie, and the title track of the album of the same name.The lyric introduces the listener to Bowie’s latest persona and his environment; Halloween Jack dwells on top of tenement buildings in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan...
" and "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)
John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)
"John, I’m Only Dancing " was a single by David Bowie. It was a re-recording of Bowie's 1972 track "John, I’m Only Dancing", made during the sessions for the album Young Americans....
".
At present, the documentary remains officially unreleased.
Bowie on Cracked Actor
In 1987, while working on his album Never Let Me DownNever Let Me Down
Never Let Me Down is an album by David Bowie, released in April 1987. Written over a 3-month period and recorded in Switzerland, Bowie regarded the album at the time as a "move back to rock 'n roll music...
, Bowie reflected in an interview about the his state of mind during the time the film was made: