Bob Flanagan
| Bob Flanagan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 26, 1952 New York City |
| Died | January 4, 1996 (aged 43) Los Angeles |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | sadomasochism, performance art, cystic fibrosis activism |
| Notable work | Why, Visiting Hours |
| Spouse(s) | Sheree Rose (1989–1996) |
Bob Flanagan (December 26, 1952 – January 4, 1996) was an American performance artist, comic, writer, poet, and musician.
Flanagan was born in New York City on December 26, 1952, and grew up in first in Glendale, then Costa Mesa, California, with his mother, Kathy; father, Robert; brothers John and Tim; and sister, Patricia. (Another sister died in infancy from cystic fibrosis.) At a young age, Flanagan was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (from which his sister, Patricia, who died from it at age 21, and a second sister, who died soon after birth, also suffered), a condition which would influence his art and ultimately claim his life. Flanagan survived into his 40s despite the cystic fibrosis—an unusually long life at a time when the life expectancy of those diagnosed with CF was 17 years and because doctors did not expect Bob to live past the age of 7 or 8.
Flanagan studied literature at California State University, Long Beach and the University of California, Irvine.
Flanagan moved to Los Angeles in 1976. In 1978, he published his first book, The Kid Is the Man. He also worked with the improv comedy group The Groundlings.
On January 4, 1996, Flanagan died from complications of cystic fibrosis, aged 43. He was survived by his wife Sheree Rose.
The final years of Flanagan's life, including his death, are the subject of the Kirby Dick documentary SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist. Flanagan's participation in the film was contingent upon his death being part of the completed project.
While some of Flanagan performances were notable for acts of extreme masochism (on at least one occasion he hammered a nail through his penis, while cheerfully singing If I Had a Hammer), he also wrote humorous songs, many of them intended as much for children as adults.
Flanagan briefly appeared in Michael Tolkin's The New Age as one of the alternate lifestylers encountered by Peter Weller's character.
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