Kenneth Anger

born in 1930 in Hollywood. 1947, first prize-winning film, «Fireworks,» which became one of the classic films of the underground cinema and a source for gay iconography. It was in this film that he first examined and celebrated the rites of underground or marginal groups. Kenneth Anger's fame is based almost exclusively on his scandalous 1960 book, «Hollywood Babylon.» His reputation as a filmmaker rests on nine short films totalling about three hours' length. It was in 1964 that Anger completed his best-known film, «Scorpio Rising.» In his work raw popular culture first found its place on the big screen. His pioneering work in juxtaposing sound and image, his rapid editing and evocative tableaux can be cited as major influences on the shape of the commercials and music videos that permeate our culture today. Anger spent the late 1960s and early 70s in England, where he involved British pop stars in his work, and inspired the Rolling Stones' hit «Sympathy for the Devil.»