Bob Flanagan (December 27, 1952 – January 4, 1996) was an American writer, poet, musician, performance artist, and comic.
He was born in New York City on Dec 26, 1952, and grew up in Glendale, California. At a young age he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a condition which would influence his art and ultimately claim his life. He studied literature at California State University, Long Beach and the University of California, Irvine. He moved to...
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Bob Flanagan (December 27, 1952 – January 4, 1996) was an American writer, poet, musician, performance artist, and comic.
He was born in New York City on Dec 26, 1952, and grew up in Glendale, California. At a young age he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a condition which would influence his art and ultimately claim his life. He studied literature at California State University, Long Beach and the University of California, Irvine. He moved to Los Angeles in 1976. In 1978, he published his first book, The Kid is a Man. He also worked with the improv comedy group The Groundlings.
On January 4, 1996, he died of cystic fibrosis, aged 43.
He was the subject of the documentary SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (1997) a film by Kirby Dick, which films the final years of Bob's life.
Flanagan is featured in the widely banned music video for the song "Happiness in Slavery" by Nine Inch Nails. In the video, he plays a character who worships a machine. He offers a candle...
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