Neal Cassady was born on February 8th, 1926 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was raised by his alcoholic father in Denver, Colorado. As a child and young adult, Cassady stole many cars which resulted in muc time spent in reform schools and juvenile prisons. In 1946, Cassady went to NYC to visit friend Hal Chase, who was attending Columbia University. This was when Cassady met Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs. At this time, Ginsberg fell in love with him, and he began a sexual relationship with Ginsberg, having his many women on the side. During this relationship, Cassady was drawn to Kerouac becuase of his knowledge of writing fiction, which he wanted to learn. Not long after his arrival in the Big Apple, Cassady and Kerouac began their travels on the road.. the travels that made up Kerouac's novel "On the Road." Cassady had many marriages along his jouneys, his first being with a 16-year-old girl named Luann. FInally, he settled with Carolyn Robinson in Los Gatos, California. In the 1960's, Cassady continued his adventures on the road with Ken Kesey and the Marry Pranksters in their technicolored 1939 bus 'Furthur.' While in Mexico in 1968, Cassady had been partying with the rest of the Pranksters and friends. Cassady left the party and started walking along a set of railroad tracks, wanting to walk to the next town; he never made it. He was found beside the tracks the next morning, suffering from a coma. He was taken to the hospital, where he died a few hours later. The date was February 4th, 1968... just a few days shy of his 42nd birthday.
Carolyn Cassady Gregory Corso Gary Snyder Kenneth Rexroth Lucien Carr Michael McClure
John Clellon Holmes Philip Lamantia Bob Kaufman Jan Kerouac LeRoi Jones Bob Dylan
Charles Bukowski Anne Waldman Joanne Kyger Herbert Huncke
Peter Orlovsky Philip Whalen
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