1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On Hydra

News about Leonard Cohen and his work, press, radio & TV programs etc.
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lizzytysh
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by lizzytysh »

How sad, the last paragraph and the endings of those who were so helpful to Leonard.
Thanks for posting this article here, Theresa. They would have been so proud of Leonard today.
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st theresa
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by st theresa »

Hi Lizzy
Yes sad indeed. At the same time a not uncommon story at that time it seems. There was such a pressing need for people to push the limits in so many different ways. Leonard was one of the lucky ones who survived the sixties and even thrived on them. I guess we are too?
264811403188
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by 264811403188 »

The boy on the beach could be the younger brother of Martin Johnston, who was born in 1947 and at the time of the photo would've been 13 years old. A very sad family history of the Johnstons, indeed.
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holydove
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by holydove »

Sophia wrote:Axel Jensen is the one sitting in the first photo, the standing man is Tore Bernitz Pedersen, Norwegian artist and friend of Axel Jensen. Not so sure about the little boy, but he looks like Martin Johnston, son of George Johnston & Charmian Clift (he died in 1990).Here are some photos of the Johnstons on Hydra:
http://johntranter.com/prose/mj.shtml
http://jacketmagazine.com/01/mj-photos.html
Sophia
Thank you, Sophia - yes, that makes more sense that the one sitting in the photo you referred to, is Axel; the boy does look alot like Martin, as he appears in other photos; thank you so much for the links - the article & photos are fascinating!!

And yes, 264811403188; Marrianne & Axel Jensen were married; I used the word "partner" (in quotes) because that was the word used in one of the captions, somewhere; so I was doing an "ironic imitation" of the word. . .

Edit: 264811403188 just posted that the boy could be Martin's younger brother - that does seem quite likely, as he doesn't look old enough to be 13.
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Sophia
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by Sophia »

Yes, indeed, if 1960 is right in the captions, the little boy must be Jason Clift Johnston (he was born in 1956).
And I found this interesting reference about his life on Hydra:
I was born in 1956 on the Greek island of Hydra to expatriate Australian parents. Hydra was a paradise for me and my brother and sister, but a struggle (albeit a picturesque one) for my writer parents. When I was 5, they considered giving up the Greek-island experiment and we swapped houses with a family from the Cotswolds in England. That experiment in turn was, apparently, not a success (although I enjoyed novelties such as cars, television, domestic appliances and milk-vending machines) and after 6 months we returned to our own house on the island.

However, when I was 8, my family returned to Australia and settled in Sydney. I have lived here ever since (which is to say, for 40-odd years), apart from an 18-month stay with the family of one of my cousins in rural Victoria and a 6-month stint in Brisbane. For the last 10 years, I have lived in a (not very) converted warehouse in the inner-city suburb of Alexandria with my partner of more than 20 years.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~jason.j ... about.html

Sophia
jazz4111
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by jazz4111 »

Wish I could be more helpful but most of these photos were taken at least 10 years before I arrived on Hydra (1973). I can confirm that the reference to Marianne in the two photos with a dark haired woman are indeed incorrect - though it's kind of interesting to note that at the time that big Axel left M. for an American woman (who was brown-haired and COULD be in one of those photos) Marianne dyed her beautiful natural blonde hair brown in a futile attempt to compete with her rival and there are some pictures of her with dark hair somewhere else in this forum.
Also the woman in the 1-piece bathing suit with her back to the camera might be Christina Kingsmill -(later wife of Anthony Kingsmill - one of Leonard's best friends who was madly in love with Charmian Johnston) I'm just not sure when she arrived on Hydra - though I know it was several years before me.
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Pope
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by Pope »

I just so love the Greek Islands. these photos make me want to go back in the summer.
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264811403188
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by 264811403188 »

I read the very interesting biography of Axel Jensen on Wikipedia last night. It was said that he left Hydra with Lena, Leonard's former girl friend, and lived some years with her in Norway. He became a writer of influence and got married to an Indian woman in 1974, who cared for him until he died in 2003. For the last five years of his life he was paralysed and in the end could not even speak.

It would be interesting to learn what had become of little Axel who by now must be 50 years of age. Nowhere in any of Marianne's interviews did she say anything about her son's life after Hydra or any other children of hers. Wish somebody could tell.

Gerrida
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holydove
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by holydove »

264811403188 wrote: It would be interesting to learn what had become of little Axel who by now must be 50 years of age. Nowhere in any of Marianne's interviews did she say anything about her son's life after Hydra or any other children of hers. Wish somebody could tell.
Gerrida
Hi Gerrida,

One thing I remember reading about little Axel is that he became a novelist - isn't that interesting! I can't help thinking that that is, at least in part, due to Leonard's influence, as Leonard was his father figure during some very formative years, & Leonard was writing Beautiful Losers during the time that he lived with Marianne & little Axel.
264811403188
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by 264811403188 »

Thank you, holydove. Yes, in Axel's first years on Hydra he experienced Leonard writing and talking about his work every day and it must have had some influence on the little boy. However, I do not know how long they lived together as a family on Hydra and thereafter in the USA. What I've read is that Marianne got back in Norway in 1973, but by then Leonard's first child with Suzanne Elrod had been born (18 September 1972).

Of course little Axel had his own father in Norway; I suppose he did see him and should have been influenced by his work as well. There are a few novels of Axel Jensen on Amazon, but no books or anything from his son.

Hopefully there will be some day an English translation available of Marianne's biography, written in Norwegian by Kari Hesthamar. Even this I could not find on Amazon/uk.

The story of these people's lives keeps fascinating us because of Leonard Cohen's involvement. But from the Man himself who is such a private individual I guess we will never get some memoirs.

Gerrida
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holydove
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by holydove »

264811403188 wrote:Thank you, holydove. Yes, in Axel's first years on Hydra he experienced Leonard writing and talking about his work every day and it must have had some influence on the little boy. However, I do not know how long they lived together as a family on Hydra and thereafter in the USA. What I've read is that Marianne got back in Norway in 1973, but by then Leonard's first child with Suzanne Elrod had been born (18 September 1972).
Gerrida
Gerrida, my understanding is that little Axel lived on Hydra from the time he was a little baby (he might even have been born there); & Leonard & Marianne lived together, on & off (but mostly "on"), throughout the '60's - Leonard has said he lived on Hydra for "6 or 8 or 10 years" & most of that time, Marianne & her son lived with Leonard. They also sometimes lived together in Montreal during those years. And Axel was a small baby - still in a carriage, as you can see in the photos - when Leonard & Marianne first began their relationship. So Axel's' main father figure, from the time he was an infant, until he was probably somewhere between 7 & 10 years old, was Leonard. I havent' seen any info about how much time Axel might have spent with his biological father during those years, but I do know that Marianne's husband left Hydra with another woman (don't remember exactly where he went - maybe back to Norway), & little Axel lived with his mother, Marianne, at least most of the time, if not all the time, & Marianne lived with Leonard almost all the time, throughout the '60's.
jazz4111
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by jazz4111 »

Uh oh, looks like we need a moderator here...

there is a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hydra-Onc ... 939?v=wall
with a lot more photos from the early 60's & 70's of Hydra and its various inhabitants - including some of Leonard not seen on this forum (I believe) just keep selecting earlier posts once there until you've seen them all.
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jazz4111
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by jazz4111 »

Ah, offending spam gone -
I just discovered if you go to the Hydra Once Upon a Time page (in Facebook) and click on "photos" you can see all 81 of them ensemble (duh!)
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caz
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by caz »

76767_108321559238425_104873086249939_48121_6931085_n.jpg
I'd seen most of the photos of Leonard on here, but I don't believe I've seen this one (I could be wrong though....)
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tomsakic
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Re: 1960 Photos Of Leonard Cohen, Marianne, Axel Jensen On H

Post by tomsakic »

Thanks, jazz4111. I know identified the black young guy as Charles Heckstall (I wondered). Descriptions here were so confusing that only now thanks to that Facebook page I got who's who (except LC and Marianne).

Only info I found is this entry on Leonard Cohen's Facebook profile:
My name is Adrian Heckstall, I am the son of Charles W. Heckstall which lived on Hydra in Greece in 1960 and met Leonard Cohen. My father was a writer/poet...he was previously a paratrooper until he went to Europe...I found a picture by photographer James Burke where Leonard Cohen and my father (afro american) with other artists were having a good time...you can see the picture at http://1heckofaguy.com/wp-content/uploa ... a2-lc2.jpg ... I never had seen a photo of my father in his 30's and I must say it such a discovery...I wish I could have an opportunity to contact Mr. Cohen and ask him about my father...Is there a way to write to him
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