Emperor Norton in popular culture

Joshua Abraham Norton (c.1818 – January 8, 1880), also known as Norton I or Emperor Norton, was a celebrated citizen of San Francisco who in 1859 proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico." Though he was generally considered insane, or at least highly eccentric, the citizens of San Francisco in the mid to late nineteenth century celebrated Norton's regal presence and his deeds. He continues to be a patron saint of the unusual and of eccentrics, and he is recognized as a Saint in the Principia Discordia (1970), the main text of the Discordian religion.

Richard Miller's Sparkletack series of historical podcasts includes a celebrated 2005 episode, "Emperor Norton."

A pair of "Emperor Norton Awards" is made annually by Tachyon Publications and Borderlands books, for "extraordinary invention and creativity unhindered by the constraints of paltry reason."

1944 Lu Watters composed a piece, "Emperor Norton's Hunch", originally performed and recorded by his Yerba Buena Jazz Band.

1950s Robert B. Aird, founding chairman of the neurology department of the University of California at San Francisco, composed a still-unperformed opera based on Norton's life.

1981 A one-act opera, "Emperor Norton", with music by Henry Mollicone and a libretto by John S. Bowman, received its premiere in 1981. It was performed by the West Bay Opera company in the San Francisco peninsula in the fall of 1990.

1999 An opera, "Emperor Norton of the U.S.A.", with music by Jerome Rosen and a libretto by James Schevill, premiered in Davis, California in 1999. [2]

2003 An opera, "I, Norton", by Gino Robair, combines free and conducted improvisation with graphical and conventional scores, and has been performed by many ensembles in North America and Europe.

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