A.K.A. Doc Pomus
Fascinating documentary about one of the greatest songwriters of the R&B and Brill Building eras of the 1950s and '60s.
A.K.A. Doc Pomus
Doc Pomus’ dramatic life is one of American music’s great untold stories.
Paralyzed with polio as a child, Jerome Felder reinvented himself first as a blues singer, renaming himself Doc Pomus, and then emerged as a one of the most brilliant songwriters of the early rock and roll era, writing “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Viva Las Vegas,” and dozens of other hits.
For most of his life Doc was confined to crutches and a wheelchair, but he lived more during his sixty-five years than others could experience in several lifetimes. A.K.A. DOC POMUS brings to life Doc’s joyous, romantic, heartbreaking, and extraordinarily eventful journey. In his later years, Doc was a mentor to generations of younger songwriters, and a fierce advocate for downtrodden rhythm and blues musicians. He wrote a thousand songs – including some of the most recorded songs in the history of popular music – but his most lasting gift may have been his uniquely generous spirit. “If the music industry had a heart,” the record producer Jerry Wexler remembered, “it would be Doc Pomus.”
Packed with incomparable music and rare archival imagery, A.K.A. DOC POMUS features interviews with Doc’s collaborators and friends, including Dr. John, Ben E. King, Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, Dion, Leiber and Stoller, and B.B. King. Passages from Doc’s private journals are read by his close friend, Lou Reed.
Doc Pomus’ improbably gripping life story makes for a powerful and lively film that introduces this unique American character to a new, much wider circle of admirers.
"AKA Doc Pomus is intrinsically compelling ....fascinating documentary" ~ Leonard Maltin, Indiewire
"A. K. A. Doc Pomus shines a light on the soulful, big-hearted man behind many magic moments in popular music." ~ Nic Rapold, New York Times
**** New York Daily News
**** Time Out New York
"Endearingly watchable ...highly enjoyable" Will Friedwall, Wall Street Journal
Paralyzed with polio as a child, Jerome Felder reinvented himself first as a blues singer, renaming himself Doc Pomus, and then emerged as a one of the most brilliant songwriters of the early rock and roll era, writing “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Viva Las Vegas,” and dozens of other hits.
For most of his life Doc was confined to crutches and a wheelchair, but he lived more during his sixty-five years than others could experience in several lifetimes. A.K.A. DOC POMUS brings to life Doc’s joyous, romantic, heartbreaking, and extraordinarily eventful journey. In his later years, Doc was a mentor to generations of younger songwriters, and a fierce advocate for downtrodden rhythm and blues musicians. He wrote a thousand songs – including some of the most recorded songs in the history of popular music – but his most lasting gift may have been his uniquely generous spirit. “If the music industry had a heart,” the record producer Jerry Wexler remembered, “it would be Doc Pomus.”
Packed with incomparable music and rare archival imagery, A.K.A. DOC POMUS features interviews with Doc’s collaborators and friends, including Dr. John, Ben E. King, Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, Dion, Leiber and Stoller, and B.B. King. Passages from Doc’s private journals are read by his close friend, Lou Reed.
Doc Pomus’ improbably gripping life story makes for a powerful and lively film that introduces this unique American character to a new, much wider circle of admirers.
"AKA Doc Pomus is intrinsically compelling ....fascinating documentary" ~ Leonard Maltin, Indiewire
"A. K. A. Doc Pomus shines a light on the soulful, big-hearted man behind many magic moments in popular music." ~ Nic Rapold, New York Times
**** New York Daily News
**** Time Out New York
"Endearingly watchable ...highly enjoyable" Will Friedwall, Wall Street Journal
Genre
Documentary,
Music,
Bio-pic
Web Site
Runtime
99
Language
English
Director
William Hechter,
Peter Miller
FEATURED REVIEW
Ronnie Scheib, Variety
Sometimes during Peter Miller and Will Hechter’s docu, it feels as though half the music world has gathered to pay heartfelt tribute to Hall of Fame songwriter Jerome Felder, aka Doc Pomus. The portrait emerging from this deft assemblage of homemovies, work tapes and interviews is further ...
Played at
Town Center 5 10.11.13 - 10.31.13
Lumiere Music Hall 10.11.13 - 10.24.13
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