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{{short description|Partner of Jim Morrison (1946–1974)}}
{{sources|date=December 2007}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Pamela Courson
| image = Pamela Courson.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Pamela Susan Courson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1946|12|22|mf=y}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1974|4|25|1946|12|22|mf=y}}
| death_place = ], U.S.
| resting_place = Fairhaven Memorial Park, ], U.S.
| partner = ] (1965–1971; his death)
}}
'''Pamela Susan Courson''' (December 22, 1946 – April 25, 1974) was the long-term companion of ], singer of ]. Courson stated she discovered Morrison's body in the bathtub of a ] apartment in 1971. She died three years after him, in 1974. She was later legally recognized as his ].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Lizard King The Essential Jim Morrison |last=Hopkins |first=Jerry |author-link=Jerry Hopkins (author)|publisher=Plexus Publishing Limited |year=2014 |page=12 |isbn=978-0859658843}}</ref>


== Early life ==
'''Pamela Susan Courson''' (] ] - ] ]) was known as the long-term companion of ], vocalist of ]. After the deaths of Morrison and Courson, her parents petitioned an out-of-state court to declare that the couple had a ].
Courson was born in ]. Her father, Columbus "Corky" Courson (1918–2008), had been a ] ] (attaining the rank of ] in the ]) before he became a junior high school principal in ], California. Her mother, Pearl "Penny" Courson (1923–2014), was a homemaker who did interior design. After she died at age 90 in 2014, her '']'' obituary described her as a regular reader of that newspaper and a "connoisseur of the arts."<ref name=newyorktimes>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E2D7173AF930A3575BC0A9629D8B63|title=Courson, Pearl "Penny", Passed Away Peacefully Friday July 11|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 3, 2014}}</ref> Courson had one sibling, a sister named Judith,<ref name=newyorktimes /><ref>{{cite book|title=No One Here Gets Out Alive|author1=Hopkins, Jerry |author2=Sugerman, Danny |publisher=Mass Market Paperback|year=1995|page= 68}}</ref> who died in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |date=Jun 26, 2020 |url=https://laverite.medium.com/classic-rock-cooking-with-singlemomquarantine-bon-app-tits-coconut-apple-ginger-dal-paired-with-293ce93a0693 |title=Bon Appétit’s Coconut-Apple-Ginger Dal paired with Jim Morrison’s cryptic bootleg love song 'Orange County Suite' |website=] |access-date=December 29, 2023}}</ref> She attended ] in ], California.


⚫ == Involvement with Morrison ==
⚫ ==Biography==
⚫ Courson and Jim Morrison met at the ] nightclub on the ] in 1965, while she was an art student at ]. In his 1998 memoir, ''Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors'', keyboardist ] stated that Courson and a friend saw the band during their stint at the London Fog.<ref name=Manzarek1999>{{cite book|author=Ray Manzarek|title=Light My Fire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hX95AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|date=October 15, 1999|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-698-15101-7|pages=162–}}</ref>
⚫ ===Early life and involvement with Morrison===
Courson was born in ]. She was described as a reclusive young girl from a family that didn't mix with the neighbors very much. She did well in school until junior high, when records show that her family was contacted about truancy. Courson hated high school and her grades declined when she was sixteen. She did not return to ] for her senior year, instead attending ]. That spring she left for Los Angeles, where she and a friend got an apartment. It has been rumored (and denied) that ] wrote the song "Cinnamon Girl" about her.


Morrison and Courson had an ], at times very charged and intense, and also described as "on-again, off-again"<ref name=RiordanRel21>{{cite book | first =James | last =Riordan | author2 = Prochnicky, Jerry | year =1991 | title =Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison | publisher =] | location =New York| isbn =0-688-11915-8 | page = 21 |quote = Even Morrison's on-again, off-again, relationship with Pamela Courson, his longtime girlfriend, was reflective of his dual personality. Their romance was a tumultuous blend of tenderness and uncontrolled passion right from the beginning and this fire-and-ice quality lasted right to the end.}}</ref> as both maintained ongoing relationships with others, while also being strongly committed to each other in their own way.<ref name=RiordanRel21 /> One of Courson's more significant, ongoing relationships was with the French ] and ] ] Jean de Breteuil.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Riordan |first1=James |last2=Prochnicky |first2=Jerry |title=Break On Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison |publisher=Quill |year=1991 |page=258 |isbn=978-0-688-11915-7}}</ref> Morrison hated heroin and would become angry at Courson for using such.<ref>{{cite book|first=Danny|last=Sugerman|author-link=Danny Sugerman|title=Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|location=New York City|date=1995|isbn=0-316-77354-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Frank |last=Lisciandro |title=Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together |publisher=Vision Words & Wonder, LLC |year=2014}}</ref>
⚫ One biography states that she and Morrison met at a nightclub on the ] in 1965, while Courson was an art student at ]. In his 1998 ], ''Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors'', former keyboardist ] stated that Courson and a friend saw the band during their stint at the ], a lesser-known nightclub, and that she was initially courted by ] of the Californian band ], who brought The Doors to the attention of ] boss Jack Holzman.


From 1969 to 1971, Courson operated Themis,<ref>{{cite web|author=Steffie Nelson |url=http://www.lamag.com/theclutch/cosmic-la-style-tune-in-try-on/ |title=Cosmic L.A. Style: Tune In, Try On – Los Angeles Magazine |publisher=Lamag.com |date=January 24, 2014 |access-date=June 26, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Features / November 10, 2014 / by Max Bell |url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2014-11-10/l-a-woman-and-the-last-days-of-jim-morrison |title=L.A. Woman And The Last Days Of Jim Morrison – Classic Rock |publisher=Teamrock.com |date=November 10, 2014 |access-date=June 26, 2017}}</ref> a fashion boutique that Morrison bought for her with his royalties from the album '']''.<ref>{{cite book|title=No One Here Gets Out Alive|author1=Hopkins, Jerry |author2=Sugerman, Danny |publisher=Mass Market Paperback|year=1995|page=265}}</ref>
Morrison called Courson his "cosmic mate" and dedicated his self-published books of poetry to her, as well as songs such as "Love Street".{{cn}} Their relationship was tumultuous, with repeated sexual excursions by both partners. In an interview for the book ''Rock Wives'', ] said of Courson: "I really did like her. She was nice. She wasn't an incredibly towering intellect, but she seemed very sweet and very pretty, very California".{{cn}}


It has been rumored that ] wrote the song "]" about her, as well as "]", but both have been denied.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Stephen |title=Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend |publisher=New York: Gotham |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59240-099-7}}</ref>
Courson briefly operated Themis, a fashion boutique that Morrison bought for her. Her death certificate lists her occupation as "women’s apparel."


===Deaths of Morrison and Courson=== == Death of Morrison and aftermath ==
{{Main|Jim Morrison#Death}}
On ], ] Morrison was found dead by Courson in the bathtub of an apartment they were sharing in ]. The official coroner's report listed his cause of death as ], although no ] was performed. Questions persist over the actual cause of death. As per the stipulation in his will, which stated that he was "an unmarried person", Courson inherited his entire fortune. Lawsuits against the estate would tie up her quest for inheritance for the next two years. Courson did not remain in contact with the remaining Doors members after she received her share of Morrison's royalties.


Courson stated that on July 3, 1971, she awoke to find Morrison dead in the bathtub of their apartment in ].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Jim Morrison: Lead Rock Singer Dies in Paris |newspaper=] |date=July 9, 1971 |agency=] |page=26}}</ref> The ]'s report listed his cause of death as ], although no ] was performed. According to Morrison's ] at the time, which stated that he was "an unmarried person", Courson was named his heir, and therefore in line to inherit his entire fortune. Legal objections to Morrison's will delayed its execution for three years. Early in 1974, Morrison's will was executed as per his wishes, and Courson inherited his entire estate shortly before her own death in April of the same year.
After Morrison's death, Courson became a recluse, using ] and showing signs of ]. On ] ], Courson died of a heroin ], on the living room couch at the Los Angeles apartment she shared with two male friends. A neighbor said she had talked about looking forward to seeing Jim again soon. Her parents intended that she be buried next to Morrison at ] in Paris, and listed this location as the place of burial on her death certificate, but due to legal complications with transporting the body to France, her ] were buried at Fairhaven Memorial Park in ], under the name "Pamela Susan Morrison". After her death, her parents, Columbus and Penny Courson, inherited Morrison's fortune, but their executorship of the estate was later contested by Morrison's parents.


Friend Diane Gardner is quoted as saying in the book ''Break on Through'' by Riordan and Prochnicky:{{Blockquote|Pam was one of the funniest people I ever met. She was beautiful, she looked like ] and yet she did things like collect ]. She had a vicious sense of humor. She loved travel because she said you never had to think about it. When you were traveling and you were a tourist, you got up and life happened to you. I liked her. She was the most dangerous girl I ever met. After Jim died and we were both just out of our heads we would do things like go to Tijuana and get crazy. We'd check into sleazy hotels and go down to Rosarito Beach and drink everything in sight. One time this guy that was with us yelled some really bad things to La Policia and they came after us. One guy was trying to take the keys to Pam's new VW away, so I hit him over the head with my shoe. And we had to pay off on our MasterCard. We ran it through at a hotel and they actually let us charge our bribe. I don't behave like that normally. Pam had that kind of effect on me.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Riordan |first1=James |last2=Prochnicky |first2=Jerry |title=Break On Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison |publisher=Quill |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-688-11915-7}}</ref>}}
⚫ ===Estate controversy===
In his will, made in Los Angeles County on ], ], Morrison left his entire estate to Courson, also naming her co-executor with his attorney, Max Fink.


⚫ == Death and estate controversy ==
When Courson died, a battle ensued between Morrison's and Courson's parents over who had legal claim to Morrison's estate. On his death, his property became Courson's; on her death, her property passed to her next heirs at law, her parents. Morrison's parents contested the will under which Courson and subsequently her parents had inherited their son’s property.


After Morrison's death, Courson continued to live in Los Angeles. Former Doors manager ] became friendly with her in Los Angeles during this time and later wrote in '']'' about an experience of taking ] and snorting ] with Courson.<ref name=Sugerman276>Sugerman, Danny. ''Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess''. London, United Kingdom: Abacus, 1991. p. 276.</ref>
To bolster their positions, Courson’s parents presented a document they claimed she had acquired in ], apparently an application for a declaration that she and Morrison had contracted a common-law marriage under the laws of that state. The ability to contract a common-law marriage was abolished in California in 1896, but the state's conflict of laws rules provided for recognition of common-law marriages lawfully contracted in foreign jurisdictions - and Colorado was one of the 11 U.S. jurisdictions that still recognized common-law marriage. As long as a common-law marriage was lawfully contracted under Colorado law, it was recognized as a marriage under California law.


On April 25, 1974, Courson died of a ] on the living room couch at the Los Angeles apartment she shared with two male friends. Like Morrison, she was ] when she died. Her cremated remains were interred in the ] at Fairhaven Memorial Park in ], California. The plaque reads "Pamela Susan Morrison 1946–1974", even though "Morrison" was never part of Courson's legal name. Several months after her death, her parents inherited her fortune. Jim Morrison's parents later contested the Coursons' ] of the estate, leading to additional legal battles. In 1979 both parties agreed to divide the earnings from Morrison's estate equally.<ref name=Hopkins377>{{cite book|title=No One Here Gets Out Alive|author1=Hopkins, Jerry |author2=Sugerman, Danny |publisher=Mass Market Paperback|year=1995|page=377}}</ref>
Whatever the circumstances of the unsigned document and the court case, and controversy surrounding it, the California ] court decided that Courson and Morrison had a common-law marriage under the laws of Colorado. The effect of the court ruling was to close probate of Morrison's and Courson's estates, and reinforce the Courson family's hold on the inheritance.


== In popular culture ==
==Fictional portrayals==
Courson was portrayed by ] in ]'s 1991 film, '']''. Courson was portrayed by ] in ]'s 1991 film '']''.<ref>Kagan, Norman. ''The cinema of Oliver Stone''. Continuum, 2000. p. 312. {{ISBN|0-8264-1244-0}}.</ref>


The relationship Courson and Morrison had with actor ] was described in a memoir, ''Blue Centre Light''. An extract was published in '']'' in June 1981.
==Further reading==
* Butler, Patricia, ''Angels Dance and Angels Die: The Tragic Romance of Pamela and Jim Morrison'' (2002). Music Sales Corporation.


The stormy friendship between Courson, Morrison and actor Tom Baker is depicted in the stage play '''', written by ], which was produced in ] in 1991. Actress Kristina Starman played Courson. Clay Wilcox played Baker and Jim Morrison was played by ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Loynd |first=Ray |date=1991-05-29 |title='The Lizard King' Documents Jim Morrison's Final Hours |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-29-ca-2446-story.html |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
⚫ ==External links==

*
==See also==
*
⚫ {{Portal|Biography}}
⚫ *{{Find A Grave |id=4355}}
* ]
* ]
* ]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

⚫ == External links ==
{{Commons category}}
⚫ * {{Find a Grave|4355}}

{{Authority control}}
{{The Doors}}


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Latest revision as of 21:44, 8 December 2024

Partner of Jim Morrison (1946–1974)

Pamela Courson
BornPamela Susan Courson
(1946-12-22)December 22, 1946
Weed, California, U.S.
DiedApril 25, 1974(1974-04-25) (aged 27)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeFairhaven Memorial Park, Santa Ana, California, U.S.
PartnerJim Morrison (1965–1971; his death)

Pamela Susan Courson (December 22, 1946 – April 25, 1974) was the long-term companion of Jim Morrison, singer of the Doors. Courson stated she discovered Morrison's body in the bathtub of a Paris apartment in 1971. She died three years after him, in 1974. She was later legally recognized as his common-law wife.

Early life

Courson was born in Weed, California. Her father, Columbus "Corky" Courson (1918–2008), had been a Navy bombardier (attaining the rank of Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve) before he became a junior high school principal in Villa Park, California. Her mother, Pearl "Penny" Courson (1923–2014), was a homemaker who did interior design. After she died at age 90 in 2014, her New York Times obituary described her as a regular reader of that newspaper and a "connoisseur of the arts." Courson had one sibling, a sister named Judith, who died in 2018. She attended Orange High School in Orange, California.

Involvement with Morrison

Courson and Jim Morrison met at the London Fog nightclub on the Sunset Strip in 1965, while she was an art student at Los Angeles City College. In his 1998 memoir, Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors, keyboardist Ray Manzarek stated that Courson and a friend saw the band during their stint at the London Fog.

Morrison and Courson had an open relationship, at times very charged and intense, and also described as "on-again, off-again" as both maintained ongoing relationships with others, while also being strongly committed to each other in their own way. One of Courson's more significant, ongoing relationships was with the French nobleman and heroin dealer Jean de Breteuil. Morrison hated heroin and would become angry at Courson for using such.

From 1969 to 1971, Courson operated Themis, a fashion boutique that Morrison bought for her with his royalties from the album Strange Days.

It has been rumored that Neil Young wrote the song "Cinnamon Girl" about her, as well as "The Needle and the Damage Done", but both have been denied.

Death of Morrison and aftermath

Main article: Jim Morrison § Death

Courson stated that on July 3, 1971, she awoke to find Morrison dead in the bathtub of their apartment in Paris. The coroner's report listed his cause of death as heart failure, although no autopsy was performed. According to Morrison's will at the time, which stated that he was "an unmarried person", Courson was named his heir, and therefore in line to inherit his entire fortune. Legal objections to Morrison's will delayed its execution for three years. Early in 1974, Morrison's will was executed as per his wishes, and Courson inherited his entire estate shortly before her own death in April of the same year.

Friend Diane Gardner is quoted as saying in the book Break on Through by Riordan and Prochnicky:

Pam was one of the funniest people I ever met. She was beautiful, she looked like the Snow Queen and yet she did things like collect Lugers. She had a vicious sense of humor. She loved travel because she said you never had to think about it. When you were traveling and you were a tourist, you got up and life happened to you. I liked her. She was the most dangerous girl I ever met. After Jim died and we were both just out of our heads we would do things like go to Tijuana and get crazy. We'd check into sleazy hotels and go down to Rosarito Beach and drink everything in sight. One time this guy that was with us yelled some really bad things to La Policia and they came after us. One guy was trying to take the keys to Pam's new VW away, so I hit him over the head with my shoe. And we had to pay off on our MasterCard. We ran it through at a hotel and they actually let us charge our bribe. I don't behave like that normally. Pam had that kind of effect on me.

Death and estate controversy

After Morrison's death, Courson continued to live in Los Angeles. Former Doors manager Danny Sugerman became friendly with her in Los Angeles during this time and later wrote in Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess about an experience of taking quaaludes and snorting heroin with Courson.

On April 25, 1974, Courson died of a heroin overdose on the living room couch at the Los Angeles apartment she shared with two male friends. Like Morrison, she was 27 years old when she died. Her cremated remains were interred in the mausoleum at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California. The plaque reads "Pamela Susan Morrison 1946–1974", even though "Morrison" was never part of Courson's legal name. Several months after her death, her parents inherited her fortune. Jim Morrison's parents later contested the Coursons' executorship of the estate, leading to additional legal battles. In 1979 both parties agreed to divide the earnings from Morrison's estate equally.

In popular culture

Courson was portrayed by Meg Ryan in Oliver Stone's 1991 film The Doors.

The relationship Courson and Morrison had with actor Tom Baker was described in a memoir, Blue Centre Light. An extract was published in High Times in June 1981.

The stormy friendship between Courson, Morrison and actor Tom Baker is depicted in the stage play The Lizard King, written by Jay Jeff Jones, which was produced in Los Angeles in 1991. Actress Kristina Starman played Courson. Clay Wilcox played Baker and Jim Morrison was played by Stephen Nichols.

See also

References

  1. Hopkins, Jerry (2014). The Lizard King The Essential Jim Morrison. Plexus Publishing Limited. p. 12. ISBN 978-0859658843.
  2. ^ "Courson, Pearl "Penny", Passed Away Peacefully Friday July 11". The New York Times. August 3, 2014.
  3. Hopkins, Jerry; Sugerman, Danny (1995). No One Here Gets Out Alive. Mass Market Paperback. p. 68.
  4. "Bon Appétit's Coconut-Apple-Ginger Dal paired with Jim Morrison's cryptic bootleg love song 'Orange County Suite'". Medium. June 26, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  5. Ray Manzarek (October 15, 1999). Light My Fire. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 162–. ISBN 978-0-698-15101-7.
  6. ^ Riordan, James; Prochnicky, Jerry (1991). Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison. New York: HarperCollins. p. 21. ISBN 0-688-11915-8. Even Morrison's on-again, off-again, relationship with Pamela Courson, his longtime girlfriend, was reflective of his dual personality. Their romance was a tumultuous blend of tenderness and uncontrolled passion right from the beginning and this fire-and-ice quality lasted right to the end.
  7. Riordan, James; Prochnicky, Jerry (1991). Break On Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison. Quill. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-688-11915-7.
  8. Sugerman, Danny (1995). Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-77354-9.
  9. Lisciandro, Frank (2014). Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together. Vision Words & Wonder, LLC.
  10. Steffie Nelson (January 24, 2014). "Cosmic L.A. Style: Tune In, Try On – Los Angeles Magazine". Lamag.com. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  11. Features / November 10, 2014 / by Max Bell (November 10, 2014). "L.A. Woman And The Last Days Of Jim Morrison – Classic Rock". Teamrock.com. Retrieved June 26, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. Hopkins, Jerry; Sugerman, Danny (1995). No One Here Gets Out Alive. Mass Market Paperback. p. 265.
  13. Davis, Stephen (2005). Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend. New York: Gotham. ISBN 978-1-59240-099-7.
  14. "Jim Morrison: Lead Rock Singer Dies in Paris". The Toronto Star. United Press International. July 9, 1971. p. 26.
  15. Riordan, James; Prochnicky, Jerry (1991). Break On Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison. Quill. ISBN 978-0-688-11915-7.
  16. Sugerman, Danny. Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess. London, United Kingdom: Abacus, 1991. p. 276.
  17. Hopkins, Jerry; Sugerman, Danny (1995). No One Here Gets Out Alive. Mass Market Paperback. p. 377.
  18. Kagan, Norman. The cinema of Oliver Stone. Continuum, 2000. p. 312. ISBN 0-8264-1244-0.
  19. Loynd, Ray (May 29, 1991). "'The Lizard King' Documents Jim Morrison's Final Hours". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 15, 2024.

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