Author. He was an American author who broke onto the literary scene with his 1962 novel, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." In 1975 the novel was adapted to a film, which received an Academy Award for Best picture, director, screenplay, actor and actress. He was part of the anti-establishment, countercultural movement that rejected the mores of mainstream America and considered a Beatnik of the 1950s and a 1960s hippie. To supplement his income, he was a volunteer subject in 1960 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Menlo Park, California, taking mind-altering drugs, such as LSD, and reporting any side effects. He graduated from University of Oregon with a degree in journalism and later in 1960 had a graduate fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University. In 1990 he taught writing courses at the University of Oregon. In 1964 he rode cross-country in a 1939 psychedelically painted bus named "Further" with a group of his followers, the Merry Pranksters. They rode from the World's Fair in New York City to California. This odyssey was documented in Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test." In 1966 he fled to Mexico to avoid incarceration on drug charges. His 1964 novel "Sometimes a Great Notion" was adapted into a 1971 Academy Award nominated film, which grossed $4 million. Other books of his included "Sailor Song" in 1992 and "Last Go Around" in 1994, and his nonfictions were "Kesey's Garage Sale" in 1973, "Demon Box" in 1986, and "The Further Inquiry" in 1990. In 1988 Kesey published a children's book, "Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear." After his death from complications of liver cancer surgery, Kesey was given a memorial service in Eugene, Oregon, with his remains resting in a tie-dyed coffin. He was buried on his family's farm alongside his son Jed, who died in 1984 in a van accident while a college student at Oregon State

Author. He was an American author who broke onto the literary scene with his 1962 novel, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." In 1975 the novel was adapted to a film, which received an Academy Award for Best picture, director, screenplay, actor and actress. He was part of the anti-establishment, countercultural movement that rejected the mores of mainstream America and considered a Beatnik of the 1950s and a 1960s hippie. To supplement his income, he was a volunteer subject in 1960 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Menlo Park, California, taking mind-altering drugs, such as LSD, and reporting any side effects. He graduated from University of Oregon with a degree in journalism and later in 1960 had a graduate fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University. In 1990 he taught writing courses at the University of Oregon. In 1964 he rode cross-country in a 1939 psychedelically painted bus named "Further" with a group of his followers, the Merry Pranksters. They rode from the World's Fair in New York City to California. This odyssey was documented in Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test." In 1966 he fled to Mexico to avoid incarceration on drug charges. His 1964 novel "Sometimes a Great Notion" was adapted into a 1971 Academy Award nominated film, which grossed $4 million. Other books of his included "Sailor Song" in 1992 and "Last Go Around" in 1994, and his nonfictions were "Kesey's Garage Sale" in 1973, "Demon Box" in 1986, and "The Further Inquiry" in 1990. In 1988 Kesey published a children's book, "Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear." After his death from complications of liver cancer surgery, Kesey was given a memorial service in Eugene, Oregon, with his remains resting in a tie-dyed coffin. He was buried on his family's farm alongside his son Jed, who died in 1984 in a van accident while a college student at Oregon State

Bio by: Ron Moody