John Edmund Andrew Phillips
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John Phillips co-founded The Mamas and the Papas. He wrote ‘Creeque Alley’ 1967 and performed at Monterey Pop 1968. As a composer and producer, he scored the films Cocktail 1988 and The Man Who Fell to Earth 1976. At age 65, he died from heart failure after years of substance abuse.
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John Phillips by the numbers — life, work, and family.
John Phillips — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
The son of retired Marine Corps officer Claude Andrew Phillips and Edna Gertrude Gaines, John Phillips was born on August 30, 1935 at Parris Island, South Carolina. His father won an Oklahoma bar in a poker game after World War I. He attended George Washington Middle School, then Bullis School, and later studied at Hampden-Sydney College. He had English and Irish ancestry, with undocumented Cherokee roots.
In 1965, Phillips co-founded The Mamas and the Papas, blending folk and pop harmonies. Their 1967 single Creeque Alley name-checked contemporaries like Michelle Phillips, Cass Elliot, Denny Doherty, John Sebastian, and Roger McGuinn. He produced the soundtrack for the 1968 documentary Monterey Pop, in which the group performed. For films, he composed scores for Cocktail 1988, The Man Who Fell to Earth 1976, and The Rock 1996. He also narrated Jimi Plays Monterey 1987.
John Phillips married four times: to Suzy Phillips-January 1957-1962, Michelle Phillips 1962-1970, Geneviève Waïte 1972-1987, and Farnaz Arasteh 1995-2001. His daughter with Michelle, Chynna Phillips, co-founded Wilson Phillips. Daughter Mackenzie Phillips with first wife Susan Adams acted in American Graffiti 1973 and the TV series One Day at a Time. Bijou Phillips, his daughter with Geneviève Waïte, modeled and acted in films like Black & White 1999. Andy Warhol was Bijou’s godfather. In 1992, he received a liver transplant after years of alcohol and drug abuse. He detailed these struggles in his autobiography Papa John.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Phillips in 1998, and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame followed in 2000, both as a member of The Mamas and the Papas. He received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 1996. His children continued his entertainment legacy: Chynna in Wilson Phillips, Mackenzie in television, and Bijou in film. He shaped the 1960s California sound with The Mamas and the Papas.
The complete filmography of John Phillips — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Little-known facts about John Phillips — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Three of his five children followed him into entertainment: oldest daughter Mackenzie Phillips with first wife Susan Adams as an actress in films like American Graffiti 1973 and the television series One Day at a Time 1975 and So Weird 1999; daughter Chynna Phillips with second wife Michelle Phillips was a founding member of pop band Wilson Phillips, along with two of The Beach Boys Brian Wilson’s daughters, and is now married to actor William Baldwin; and Bijou Phillips with third wife Geneviève Waïte has released a CD, modeled, and appeared in critically acclaimed films such as Black & White 1999.
The godfather of his daughter Bijou Phillips was Andy Warhol.
According to Hollywood gossip columnist Marilyn Beck, John Phillips and Michelle Phillips were the king and queen of the new Hollywood social order that coalesced in the late 1960s and included Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, music and film producer-director Lou Adler, and just about every hip and very-successful Hollywood player then under the age of 40.
In his 1967 hit song Creeque Alley with The Mamas and the Papas, the lyrics mention music contemporaries such as Michelle Phillips Mitchy, Cass Elliot, Denny Doherty, John Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky, Barry McGuire, and Roger McGuinn.
Father of Mackenzie Phillips, Chynna Phillips, Bijou Phillips, Jeffrey Phillips, and Tamerlane Phillips, but daughter named Heather is the sister of Chynna. Grandfather of Shane Barakan.
In his autobiography Papa John, he described in graphic and sometimes disturbing detail his lifelong battle with alcohol and just about every drug. He summarizes a family history of substance abuse but with a wry humor and is merciless in describing his own failings as a father, husband, and human being while under the influence of cocaine, heroin, and again alcohol. The book also offers a view onto the debauchery of the music business in the late 1960s and 1970s, contrasting it with the hopefulness of the Folk Movement of the early 1960s.
Inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of The Mamas and the Papas in 2000.
His father was a retired United States Marine Corps officer who won an Oklahoma bar from a fellow Marine in a poker game on the way home from Europe after World War I.
Parents were Claude Andrew Phillips and Edna Gertrude Phillips.
Received a liver transplant in 1992 after years of abusing alcohol and illegal drugs had taken their toll.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Mamas and the Papas in 1998.
Father-in-law of William Baldwin.
Following his death, he was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California.
Had English and Irish ancestry, and was said to have undocumented Cherokee roots. His parents married in Oklahoma.
He was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California on November 15, 1996.
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Celebrities similar to John Phillips — same craft, ranked by reach.
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