Abbie Hoffman

Flamboyant political activist Abbie Hoffman was one of the most colorful figures in the '60s counter-culture and a leading figure in opposing the Vietnam War. He is also the founder of the Yippies (the Youth International Party). Though Hoffman was always serious about his causes, he often imbued his speeches and deeds with a keen satirical edge such as the demonstration march he led in 1967 to exorcise the Pentagon. The following year, Hoffman as part of the Chicago Seven, became infamous for attempting to disrupt that year's Democratic Convention with a riot. He was acquitted of all charges. Hoffman disappeared from the scene in 1974 when he was charged with drug activities. In 1980, he came out of hiding and served a small jail term. Hoffman once said, "Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit." Staying true to his words, Hoffman continued his radical protestations through the '80s. Unfortunately, by then, many former Yippies had become staunch Yuppies, and his words largely fell on deaf ears. He came to be considered an interesting historical artifact, an icon and something of a dinosaur. Abbie Hoffman occasionally appeared in feature films and documentaries beginning in 1970 with Brand X. In 1989, Hoffman played a strike organizer in Born on the Fourth of July. He has also written many books and has been the subject of even more. Hoffman died in 1989.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide