TMS Retro: California History, a Film Masterpiece and Classic Rock

(Ghoulardi Films / Paramount Vantage)

The name ‘Doheny’ is very familiar to anyone who lives in southern California. There’s a street in Hollywood called Doheny Drive, another street in Beverly Hills called Doheny Road, a beach in Orange County called Doheny State Beach [Yeah, that’s the same ‘Doheny’ name dropped in the Beach Boys’ 1963 hit single ‘Surfin’ USA’], and so on. The name refers to Edward L. Doheny, who became the first person to successfully drill an oil well in Los Angeles in 1892, which then led to a petroleum boom throughout California into the next century. For some reason, even though this sounds very similar to the plot of Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will be Blood (2007), it didn’t even occur to me until years later that Daniel Day-Lewis’ famous protagonist Daniel Plainview was inspired by Doheny. And it wasn’t until recently I noticed this guy named Ned Doheny, who sometimes pops up in articles and books on the 1960s-‘70s classic rock period, is also a direct descendent of the same Doheny family. So when I put two-and-two together this past month, I thought, “Hang on…maybe I should brush up on my home state’s history…”

(Underwood & Underwood / LA Public Library)

P.T. Anderson’s There Will be Blood is now considered by many film critics, historians and fans the best example of a modern classic. But in 2007, I was a college freshman at the height of my classic rock obsession, and the awards season race between TWBB and the Coen Bros’ No Country for Old Men (2007) was barely on my radar. Of course, by now I’ve seen both and can appreciate them as masterpieces. Another thing is that I’m one of those longtime PTA fans who generally prefers his early, quirky, indie dramedies a la Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999) and Punch-Drunk Love (2002). In fact, I can imagine movie fans’ reactions fifteen years ago when Anderson was announced to be adapting Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel Oil! being along the lines of, “…him??” Naturally, PTA has since proven himself a true auteur with TWBB, Inherent Vice (2014) and Phantom Thread (2017), but at the time it was probably a little strange to see him sign on to a historical drama set so long ago. In retrospect, the writer-director’s interest in the oil boom makes sense. Anderson is a San Fernando Valley native who likes his films to have historical connections to his turf, so he definitely recognized the name ‘Doheny.’

There Will be Blood isn’t a direct biopic on Edward Doheny’s life though, most obvious with the main character having different names in both the film and Sinclair’s novel [Plainview in TWBB and J. Arnold Ross in Oil!]. It’s more of a loose inspiration than straight basis, as is the case with most real-life stories on screen. On film, Daniel Plainview is an unmarried atheist who puts all his attention on making money through his oil career, and even trots along his adopted 10-year-old son, HW [Dillon Freasier in his sole screen role], as a business gimmick. In real life, Doheny married twice, had two biological children, and seemed to be a genuine Irish Catholic; unlike Plainview who only worked with a local church to secure a pipeline. While neither of Doheny’s children went deaf from an oil explosion like HW in the movie, there was tragedy elsewhere. Daughter Eileen prematurely passed at only age 7 from a rheumatic fever and lung infection in 1893; while Edward, Jr. [also nicknamed ‘Ned’] died at age 36 in a mysterious murder-suicide situation in 1929. As far as I can find, Doheny didn’t straight up murder anyone like Plainview does in TWBB. And the deep, hoarse voice Daniel Day-Lewis gave Plainview in his performance? That’s actually the actor channeling legendary film director John Huston’s speaking voice, which Day-Lewis thought fit the character’s persona. But the backgrounds and business histories of Plainview and Doheny are pretty linear. Both men were from the Midwest, headed to the west coast to give oil a shot after failing to find success with mining, and ended up ridiculously rich with oil empires. Amazingly, the famous milkshake metaphor during Plainview’s tirade at the end of TWBB, is based on real comments from a 1929 courtroom transcript when Doheny was accused of bribing New Mexico senator Albert Fall in 1922-23.

(Numero Group)

Flash forward decades after the timeframe of TWBB and Edward Doheny’s lifespan, and the tycoon has a great-grandson also going by Ned [first name actually Patrick], who is a part of the Laurel Canyon music community in the mid-to-late 1960s. Despite being an avid classic rock fan for over a decade, Ned’s presence didn’t actually hit me until earlier this year when I was watching a webcam interview with musicians Dave Mason and Chris Hillman. Dave compares Ned to another classic rock artist from a wealthy family, Gram Parsons, although I think Ned’s inheritance might be even bigger than Gram’s. In a 2015 interview with Red Bull Music Academy, Ned describes his family as ‘intense,’ which is an understandable understatement. Still, the heir had a comfortable and idyllic youth in LA between his estate and friends like Dave, Jackson Browne, Cass Elliot, Linda Ronstadt and members of the Eagles. Nepotism isn’t a rarity in classic rock, with many music artists actually having industry connections. Micky Dolenz, David Crosby, Nancy Sinatra and Terry Melcher are some classic rockers from showbiz families. Although, I think there is a difference between having anonymously rich parents like Gram or a relative like Frank Sinatra or Doris Day; compared to a family who are literally a part of California history.

Ned ultimately didn’t blow up into superstardom like a lot of his peers for various reasons; one of which was because mega-successful record label head David Geffen was more appalled than amused over one of Ned’s singles being called ‘Get It Up for Love.’ A title with innuendo so transparent, some radio stations passed on playing the song. Apparently David Cassidy’s sense of humor was closer to Ned’s, since ‘Get It Up for Love’ appeared on Cassidy’s 1975 LP, ‘The Higher They Climb;’ and the tune was eventually covered by Maxine Nightingale and Táta Vega too. Over the years, Ned’s music career has found a following, and his 1976 album ‘Hard Candy’ is now considered an underrated soft rock record. The tracks ‘I’ve Got Your Number’ and ‘A Love of Your Own’ are fan favorites, with the latter already covered by Average White Band and Melissa Manchester in the late 1970s. Looking back, it's surprising PTA didn’t feature any of Ned’s music in Licorice Pizza (2021), which was set the same year Ned’s self-titled debut album was released (1973); and would have been a subtle Easter egg to There Will be Blood.

History, pop culture, cinema and pop-rock music. There are plenty of fascinating six degrees of separation in both world history and Hollywood, but this has to be one of the most surprising and least likely.

(Amazon / Lantern Press)