In 1969, The Doors had worked hard to plan a nationwide tour that would kick off in Miami, but after a notorious incident in which their lead singer allegedly exposed himself, nearly all the remaining dates were cancelled by nervous promoters. Morrison was ultimately convicted, and it contributed to his deepening depression and substance abuse.
Radical Theatre Production Inspired Miami Show
An inspiration for Morrison to push the envelope and imply to the audience he had exposed himself was “confrontational” theatre. He had just seen such a production in Los Angeles by Living Theatre, which would engage the audience by insulting and outraging them in many ways, and the cast often stripped nude. Morrison was entranced, and attended all six shows, even jumping on the stage with them at the end.
When the Doors came to Dade County, Florida to play in a converted air craft hanger, the excitement was high. Fifteen thousand fans were packed in the ten-thousand capacity building, and the Doors began playing their hits to a frenzied crowd as Morrison berated and ridiculed them, calling the fans slaves, and worse.
Concert Becomes Volatile and Nearly Catastrophic
Manzarek described the show as a near riot, and when Morrison stripped off his shirt, a roadie prevented him from going further. Morrison then said the fateful words: “Hey, anyone want to see my cock?” He tantalized the crowd by waving his shirt in front of his crotch. They played Light My Fire to an ecstatic response after the alleged exposure..
At the end, he challenged the fans to come down to the stage, which they did. Then Morrison stage-dived into the crowd, who caught him. After that he formed a conga line, and eventually vanished backstage after waving to the crowd.
Stage Collapses at the End of the Show
At this point, the stage was tipping over, and Manzarek quit playing, John Densmore had left the stage already, and Robby Krieger had stopped playing. Finally, the edge of the structure hit the ground, and the show was over, fortunately with no injuries.
Later, the band went on vacation to Jamaica, where Morrison found out there was a warrant against him for leaving the country, even though he had not been charged when he left. Almost all the shows on the tour were cancelled, and the police finally charged Morrison with lewd and lascivious behavior , a felony.
Jackie Gleason and Anita Bryant did a Christian values and decency rally in the Orange Bowl to 50,000 people. Rolling Stone put Morrison on the cover, and radio stations across the country refused to play Soft Parade. The few gigs that they got had strong police presence, with warrants in hand.
Morrison Reports to the FBI Office in Los Angeles
Later, Morrison turned himself into the FBI for interstate flight, and posted a $5,000 bail, even though the warrants were issued after the trip to Jamaica. Morrison had to go back to Florida to court, and the Doors paid the $50,000 bail.
Not long after that, he was charged with disorderly conduct on an airplane for pinching a stewardess, which was combined with a “hijacking” charge. Morrison was lucky, he won the case against the airline.
In Miami, he was convicted, and faced six months in jail for his charges, which included simulating sex on stage and others. He felt the weight of the conviction, though the planned appeal might be successful. The trial was a farce, none of the 150 photos submitted as evidence show any obscenity, but the vague charge stuck.
Morrison evidently had no intention of sticking around to see if the appeal would be successful, as he left for Paris, and never returned to America. He died there on July 3, 1971in a bathtub under mysterious circumstances.
Manzarek, Ray, Light My Fire-My Life With the Doors, GP Putnam & Sons, ISBN 0-399-14399-8
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