Topics | Dangerous Minds (2024)

Topics | Dangerous Minds (1)
The February 10, 1968, issue of Rolling Stone

It’s difficult to explain why Rolling Stone was able to separate itself from a crowded pack in 1967 to become the most reliable media barometer of Boomer culture in existence. It surely had a great deal to do with Jann Wenner’s personality. It would surprise nobody to learn, as David Weir, a reporter who co-wrote Rolling Stone’s coverage of Patty Hearst in the 1970s, once observed, that Wenner was (and probably is) “a brilliant master at getting what he wants out of people.”

Securing exclusive coverage of high-profile acts was surely a key to the early success of the magazine, but let’s not overlook Wenner’s bold sense of PR. Before the magazine was even a year old, Wenner zeroed in on an unbeatable promotional idea that would appeal to every person in his potential audience while alienating those who didn’t belong.

Wenner put an ad in the magazine stating that he would send every person who bought a subscription a free roach clip. The ad took up a full page and looked like this:

Topics | Dangerous Minds (2)

The text of the ad was a masterpiece of humorous insinuation, never mentioning drugs while winkingly touting 1,001 uses, which happen to include “music appreciation” and “preventing singed lips.” Riiiiiiight…..

This handy little device can be yours free!

An essential accessory for the successful musician and the completely equipped rock and roll fan. It has one thousand and one uses around the home, in rehearsal or for better music appreciation. Applications of this delightfully simple piece of machinery range from the frivolous (hanging earrings) to the practical (preventing singed lips.) Each handle comes individually lathed in either mahogany, ebony, oak or rosewood. No two alike! Get ‘em while they last.

Without delay, subscribe to Rolling Stone! We’ll give you one “Handy Little Device” free with your subscription. If you would like to give a gift subscription to a loved one, we’ll send you two “Handy Little Devices” or one to you and one to your loved one. Act now before this offer is made illegal.


As related in Robert Draper’s diverting 1990 book Rolling Stone Magazine: The Uncensored History, Wenner came up with the idea while getting high at a friend’s house in (where else?) San Francisco:

One afternoon Jann sat with friends in a house on Potrero Hill, smoking dope. Jann was admiring the handsome wooden apparatus which held the joint.

“Where’d you get the roach clip?” he asked its owner, Robert Kingsbury, a man he had met only once before.

“Made it myself,” said Kingsbury. “I make ‘em out of hardwood knobs.”

Jann took a toke and fingered the woodwork of the roach clip. Then he asked, “What do you think you could make these for?”

Kingsbury shrugged. “Maybe eighty cents apiece,” he said.

“Could you make me some?” Jann asked. “I need a lot.”

Sure, why not, said Kingsbury. “What do you need ‘em for?”

“I want to give ‘em away,” said Jann, grinning devilishly. “As a subscription incentive.”

And so page 23 of issue No. 5 featured a photograph of a 41/4-inch roach clip with the headline “This handy little device can be yours free!” With a subscription to Rolling Stone, the ad read, readers would receive this “essential accessory. ... Act now before this offer is made illegal.”

Gleason hit the ceiling. “Marijuana is against the law,” he said, lecturing Jann in his acid Eastern voice. “You can cover it, you can joke about it—but you cannot sell dope paraphernalia through Rolling Stone. You just can’t do that!”

Even by now, however, it was becoming clear [that] Jann Wenner could, and would, do with Rolling Stone whatever he wished.


When the New York Times reviewed Draper’s book, it chose to tout the roach clip gimmick in the headline: “A Roach Clip with Every Paid Subscription.”

On the suggestion of Jane Schindelheim, Wenner’s wife, Kingsbury (who was dating Jane’s sister at the time, whom he would later marry) was later asked to become Rolling Stone’s second art director, a position he held for several years. But in some respects he was an odd fit. A sculptor by trade, Kingsbury at 44 was a full generation older than Wenner and virtually everyone else at the magazine. Draper asserts that he “despised rock ‘n’ roll” but was “brilliant and resourceful, a disciplined man.” Draper credits Kingsbury with establishing the relatively clean and uncluttered look (for a counterculture rag, anyway), and he was ushered out of the organization around the time the magazine adopted four-color printing techniques in 1973.

I’m curious how many roach clips ever went out to subscribers. I’m tempted to say “zero.” There is currently a lavish exhibition dedicated to Rolling Stone at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, which I visited recently. There you can find the page with the advertisement as well as one of the clips, but that’s the only one I’ve ever seen reproduced. Below you can see a picture of the Rock Hall display taken by yours truly.

As you can see, Draper has the ad first appearing in the February 24, 1968, issue (“No. 5”), but the promotion actually debuted one issue earlier. The page shown at the Rock Hall does say “February 10, 1968” on it.

In any case, I’m a teensy bit skeptical that there exists any such thing as a human being who received a Rolling Stone roach clip in the mail. The auction site eBay has precisely zero auctions dedicated to the item in its archive, which doesn’t exactly prove anything, and if you can find a picture of one on the Internet, you’re a better Google-stalker than I. Draper mentions that Wenner was having difficulty paying his staff in those first couple of years, so I suspect he pulled the somewhat (in retrospect) Trumpian maneuver of reneging on a promise.

But I don’t know—if you received one of these mahogany beauties in the mail, please reach out and let us know! Pics or it didn’t happen…...

Topics | Dangerous Minds (3)

Topics
        
         | 
        Dangerous Minds (2024)

FAQs

Is Dangerous Minds based off a true story? ›

After 15 minutes, you pretty much know where "Dangerous Minds" is headed, at least if you've seen "Stand and Deliver." The story rings trite even though it's based on the true tale of a dauntless California educator named LouAnne Johnson. The screenplay was based on her 1992 book, "My Posse Don't Do Homework."

Why is Dangerous Minds rated R? ›

SEX/NUDITY 3 - A few kisses and hugs, sexual innuendo and graphic sexual references. Students sexually harass their teacher. VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A fistfight results in black eyes, bruises and scratches and a couple of minor fights between students. Graphic talk of violence in the streets.

Is Dangerous Minds a White Savior movie? ›

Types of story

The white-savior teacher story, such as Up the Down Staircase (1967), Dangerous Minds (1995), and Freedom Writers (2007), "features a group of lower-class, urban, non-whites (generally Black and Latino/a) who struggle through the social order in general, or the educational system specifically.

What happened to the actor who played Emilio in Dangerous Minds? ›

His promising career was cut short when he passed away in Los Angeles, California, from respiratory failure due to AIDS at the age of 32.

How much did Michelle Pfeiffer make in Dangerous Minds? ›

Through the years, she has earned hundreds of thousands from her appearing stint; in 1995, she earned $6 million for her function in the film Dangerous Minds. She had a career-high with a $12 million wage for a single movie for her function within the film The Deep End of the Ocean.

Can a 12 year old watch dangerous minds? ›

There is only language including the ''N'' word (If your child does not know of the word I would say it would be okay, just make sure they don't repeat it!), a few kisses, a bit of sexual innuendo and some smoking. So, please do watch it with your 12 year old.

Can my 12 year old watch criminal minds? ›

Mental illness and drugs causing violence is also a theme. Ultimately, I would not expose a child under 13 or 14 to this amount of violence, but you really should make your decision based on the maturity of your child. I would say that 13, 14, or 15 would be a reasonable age for most children.

Is there worse than R rated? ›

NC-17. The NC-17 rating is the highest rating (even higher than the R-rating) that a film can be given, and it means the movie is for adults only (ages 18 and older) and no one age 17 or younger will be admitted.

Does Dangerous Minds have a sequel? ›

Dangerous Mind 2 (Video 2004) - IMDb.

What city is Dangerous Minds based on? ›

Dangerous Minds is a drama released in 1995, based on an autobiography by retired U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, 'My Posse Don't Do Homework. ' She took up an English teaching position at Carlmont High School, East Palo Alto, California, after the U.S. Marine Corps.

What school is Dangerous Minds based on? ›

The school at which LouAnne Johnson taught, Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, was considered as a filming location, but Burlingame High School in Burlingame was used as the filming location for all the outside scenes, and some indoor scenes filmed at neighboring San Mateo High School.

What episode of Criminal Minds is based on a true story? ›

Season one, episode 15 of "Criminal Minds" appears to be inspired by the crimes of the infamous "BTK Killer" (Dennis Rader's self-given name which alludes to his methods of binding, torturing, and killing his victims).

Where is LouAnne Johnson now? ›

Since 2010, Johnson has served as an adjunct instructor in the Teacher Education Department at Santa Fe Community College.

Are any of the stories on Criminal Minds true? ›

While the UnSubs in Criminal Minds are all fictional, many of their circumstances and crimes are based on real people and actual events — a fact Paramount+ capitalized on by ordering The Real Criminal Minds, which is a docuseries about these real-life serial killers (via Deadline).

Who is the real Emilio in Dangerous Minds? ›

watch out," Wade Dominguez took a giant leap toward screen stardom after playing the indifferent student who thinks Michelle Pfeiffer is interested in him and not his school work in "Dangerous Minds" (1995).

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Wyatt Volkman LLD

Last Updated:

Views: 6568

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (46 voted)

Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Wyatt Volkman LLD

Birthday: 1992-02-16

Address: Suite 851 78549 Lubowitz Well, Wardside, TX 98080-8615

Phone: +67618977178100

Job: Manufacturing Director

Hobby: Running, Mountaineering, Inline skating, Writing, Baton twirling, Computer programming, Stone skipping

Introduction: My name is Wyatt Volkman LLD, I am a handsome, rich, comfortable, lively, zealous, graceful, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.