Draft:Ronnie Haran: Difference between revisions

Line 27: Line 27:

Ronnie Haran (her-ən), born August 9,1939, is a figure known for her contributions as an actress, photographer, publicist, and booking manager, particularly noted for her role in discovering and managing musical talent in the latter half of the 1960’s.

Ronnie Haran (her-ən), born August 9,1939, is a figure known for her contributions as an actress, photographer, publicist, and booking manager, particularly noted for her role in discovering and managing musical talent in the latter half of the 1960’s.

Her journey into the world of entertainment began in 1959 as an actress, finding roles in episodic television series of that era.<ref name=”IMDb”>{{cite web |title=Ronnie Haran |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0361810/ |website=IMDb |access-date=25 November 2025}}</ref> In the mid-1960s, Ronnie transitioned from acting to behind-the-scenes roles, first as a publicist and then as a booking manager for the venue, [[The Whisky a Go Go]]. Ronnie had a role in supporting and managing the careers of [[The Doors]], [[Love]], and [[Van Morrison]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Randy |title=At Whisky A Go-Go, applause for co-founder Elmer Valentine |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-valentine28-2009jan28-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=28 January 2009 |access-date=November 6, 2025}}</ref> <ref name=”Wing”>{{cite journal |last1=Wing |first1=Jeff |title=Ronnie and Them |journal=Montecito Journal |date=October 1, 2021 |url=https://www.montecitojournal.net/2021/10/01/ronnie-and-them/ |access-date=November 6, 2025}}</ref>

entertainment in 1959 as an actress, roles in episodic television series.<ref name=”IMDb”>{{cite web |title=Ronnie Haran |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0361810/ |website=IMDb |access-date=25 November 2025}}</ref> In the mid-1960s, Ronnie transitioned from acting to behind-the-scenes roles, first as a publicist and then as a booking manager for the venue, [[The Whisky a Go Go]]. Ronnie the careers of [[The Doors]], [[Love]], and [[Van Morrison]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Randy |title=At Whisky A Go-Go, applause for co-founder Elmer Valentine |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-valentine28-2009jan28-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=28 January 2009 |access-date=November 6, 2025}}</ref> <ref name=”Wing”>{{cite journal |last1=Wing |first1=Jeff |title=Ronnie and Them |journal=Montecito Journal |date=October 1, 2021 |url=https://www.montecitojournal.net/2021/10/01/ronnie-and-them/ |access-date=November 6, 2025}}</ref>

In Los Angeles, Ronnie photographed various artists such as ([[Stuart Whitman]], [[Tuesday Weld]], [[Dudley Moore]]), musicians ([[Donovan]], [[Moby Grape]], [[The Doors]], [[Michelle Phillips]], [[The Byrds]], [[David Bowie]], a young [[Michael Jackson]], [[James Brown]]), and visual artists ([[Andy Warhol]] & [[Paul Morrissey]], [[Alfred Hitchcock]], [[Roman Polanski]]).<ref name=”Wilson”>{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Staci Layne |title=Ronnie Haran’s Wild Rock n’ Roll Ride |url=https://www.culturesonar.com/ronnie-harans-wild-rock-n-roll-ride/ |website=CultureSonar |access-date=25 November 2025}}</ref>

In Los Angeles, Ronnie photographed various artists such as ([[Stuart Whitman]], [[Tuesday Weld]], [[Dudley Moore]]), musicians ([[Donovan]], [[Moby Grape]], [[The Doors]], [[Michelle Phillips]], [[The Byrds]], [[David Bowie]], a young [[Michael Jackson]], [[James Brown]]), and visual artists ([[Andy Warhol]] & [[Paul Morrissey]], [[Alfred Hitchcock]], [[Roman Polanski]]).<ref name=”Wilson”>{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Staci Layne |title=Ronnie Haran’s Wild Rock n’ Roll Ride |url=https://www.culturesonar.com/ronnie-harans-wild-rock-n-roll-ride/ |website=CultureSonar |access-date=25 November 2025}}</ref>

If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the “Edit” tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Declined by AlphaBetaGamma 46 minutes ago. Last edited by RH805 25 seconds ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

• Comment: While a lot better than before, swaths of the article still reek of LLM. monkey_smashing^keyboards (talk) 20:42, 2 December 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Also worth noting for future reviews that this article may be autobiographical, as it is submitted by User:RH805. guninvalid (talk) 10:05, 29 November 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Multiple uncited sections and unsourced statements, and generic rule of three statements like “noted for her role in discovering, nurturing, and managing musical talent”. guninvalid (talk) 10:03, 29 November 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Random boldings, chatgpt source left in refs, written like AI, largely unsourced. No. PARAKANYAA (talk) 19:30, 22 November 2025 (UTC)

---

60’s female photographer and band manager

Ronnie Haran (her-ən), born August 9,1939, is a figure known for her contributions as an actress, photographer, publicist, and booking manager, particularly noted for her role in discovering and managing musical talent in the latter half of the 1960’s.

Ronnie began entertainment in 1959 as an actress, playing roles in episodic television series.^[1] In the mid-1960s, Ronnie transitioned from acting to behind-the-scenes roles, first as a publicist and then as a booking manager for the venue, The Whisky a Go Go. Ronnie also professionally managed the careers of The Doors, Love, and Van Morrison during the latter half of the 1960’s.^{[2] [3]}

In Los Angeles, Ronnie photographed various artists such as (Stuart Whitman, Tuesday Weld, Dudley Moore), musicians (Donovan, Moby Grape, The Doors, Michelle Phillips, The Byrds, David Bowie, a young Michael Jackson, James Brown), and visual artists (Andy Warhol & Paul Morrissey, Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski).^[4]

Ronnie was born on August 9, 1939. Her parents were Gertrude and Harry Rosenthal. Ronnie’s father, Harry, gave her a camera at a young age, which was her introduction to photography.
When she was ten years old, a cousin’s death prompted Ronnie to raise money for the March of Dimes by selling her own baked goods door to door, accompanied by a neighbor’s dog, and raised $180. After receiving 10-year-old Ronnie’s Donation, the March of Dimes shared her contribution and age, eliciting newspaper coverage and requests for interviews.^[5]

Ronnie skipped third grade and graduated high school at fifteen years old. She then attended Boston University, studying Theatre Arts at the School of Fine Arts.

Acting Career

In the mid 1950’s, Ronnie was signed by the William Schuller Agency and began acting roles on episodic television, traveling frequently between New York and Los Angeles for work. Ronnie was first represented by Bill Kelley of MCA and later by Bob Shapiro of the William Morris Agency. During this time, she appeared in a number of television series of the 1960s, including Ben Casey, Cheyenne, and The Fugitive, among others. She also appeared in the film Come September alongside Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Bobby Darin, and Sandra Dee.^[6]

Ronnie made her Broadway debut in 1962, when she replaced Joey Heatherton as Little Margaret in Step on a Crack.^[7]

In 1966, Elmer Valentine offered Ronnie a position assisting his publicist at his new club, the Whisky A Go Go, for $50 a week. She was 26 years old. Ronnie realized that if the Whisky began serving food, the club could lower its age requirement from 21 to 18. Within three weeks, her guidance earned her a raise to $75 a week, after she presented it to the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to support the change. Haran then became the Whisky’s house booker, aiding in the transformation from a discotheque into a club on the Strip.

Love

When Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable (EPI) made its way to Los Angeles in 1966, stopping at the nightclub The Trip, Ronnie was provided the opportunity to photograph Warhol, Morrissey, and others within this artist circle.^[8][9]

While attending the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, Ronnie was introduced to Herb Cohen, who at the time was managing the band Love. Cohen had recently told Elmer Valentine that he needed someone to run Love’s fan club, which led to Ronnie being introduced to the group during one of their shows at Bido Lito’s.^[10] Not long after, during her first phone call with lead singer Arthur Lee, he surprised her by asking her to fire Cohen, and that was how Ronnie became Love’s manager.^[11][12] She took on the role without any formal contracts and was rarely paid.

Ronnie Haran’s photograph of the band was chosen for the back cover of Love’s 1967 album Forever Changes and also submitted many images to Crawdaddy magazine for publishing.^[13][14]

For a few years, Ronnie guided the band’s direction before choosing to take on a less active role.

The Doors

Meanwhile, one night in 1966, she visited London Fog with her friend, Peter Asher, to listen to a group called The Doors.^{[15] [16]} The band was fired that night, and was about to break up, when Ronnie offered them a job to be the house band at the Whisky.^[17][18][19] Ronnie soon formed a relationship with Jim Morrison, going so far as to let him live with her for a 2 month period in Los Angeles.^[20][21] The Doors had aspired to be as big as Love, which was the band she was currently managing. With Ronnie’s assistance, the Doors slowly gathered momentum, opening for the headliners and playing two sets every night. At their final night at the Whisky, the Doors opened for Them, culminating in both Morrisons (Van and Jim) jamming onstage to “Gloria”.^[22] John Densmore reflects on the fact that “the Whisky was finally a gig that we could be proud of”.^[23][24] “I am here to tell you that Ronnie Haran is the person who discovered The Doors,” Ray Manzarek said in an interview decades after Ronnie first began assisting the band.^[25]

Ronnie Haran is also accredited for writing the liner notes for the 1966 London Fog album.^[26] Soon the house band developed a following of its own, and the Whisky became a destination for local counterculture types. Ronnie also connected Jim to Elektra Records, with producer Paul Rothchild and Bruce Botnick.^[27]

Ronnie also contributed her photography to local underground publications, including World Countdown. World Countdown was a biweekly underground music newspaper published in California by editor and compiler, Richard Morton Jack, from August 1966 to July 1969.^[28]

San Francisco: Moby Grape & the Monterey Pop Festival

Ronnie was active across California establishing connections with several musicians, including members of Moby Grape in the San Francisco Bay Area. She supported the group near Boulder Creek during 1967 and 1968, informally managing them for approximately six months around the release of their self-titled debut album, Moby Grape (1967). Ronnie is also credited with taking the photograph featured on the back cover of their 1968 album Wow/Grape Jam.

By the early 1970s, she continued to pursue photography as her professional career interest, working on sets for both television and film. She also worked on album photography for music labels such as Epic, Elektra, and Columbia, and contributed as a West Coast editor for Show Magazine.^[29] Ronnie primarily used her Pentax camera.

Ronnie continued her photography and became a location scout and producer in Santa Barbara, leading her own company for over three decades.^[30] She married Chase Mellon on February 14, 1970. She currently resides in Montecito, California, where she lives with her dog companions.^[31]

While reviewing her personal archive of photographs and memorabilia, she and her team have expressed hopes of developing a documentary to chronicle her life and creative legacy.

References