Introduction
Daniel Stephen "Danny" Sugerman (October 11, 1954 – January 5, 2005) was the second manager of the Los Angeles-based rock band The Doors, and wrote several books about Jim Morrison and The Doors, including No One Here Gets Out Alive (co-authored with Jerry Hopkins), and the autobiography Wonderland Avenue. Sugerman began working with The Doors when he was 12 years old, starting out answering their fan mail. By the age of 17, Sugerman replaced the original Doors manager, Bill Siddons, shortly after Morrison's death in 1971.
Sugerman attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles, where he regularly authored articles about The Doors in the student newspaper. He graduated in 1972. He later went on to manage Ray Manzarek's solo-career and first album. He was also Iggy Pop's manager for a period, and produced his song "Repo Man", before they both ended up in California State mental hospitals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. He also wrote Appetite For Destruction: The Days of Guns N' Roses in 1991. He helped film director Oliver Stone with the production of the 1991 movie The Doors.
Personal life
Sugerman married Fawn Hall of the Iran–Contra affair fame in 1991 and they remained married until his death. They briefly met MP3.com co-founder Rod Underhill while Hall was employed there. Underhill later stated that "Sugerman was very interesting. He had appeared to go out of his way to appear visually like Jim Morrison. Same type of haircut, similar clothing. The similarity was uncanny." Sugerman discussed his idolization of Morrison in detail, in part of his book Wonderland Avenue. Sugerman was a recovering heroin addict who found solace in Buddhism.
Death
He died on January 5, 2005 after a prolonged struggle with lung cancer.
Books
- No One Here Gets Out Alive (1980, with Jerry Hopkins)
- The Doors, the Illustrated History (1983)
- Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess (1989)
- Appetite For Destruction: The Days Of Guns N' Roses (1991)