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Utilizing Hayden’s organizing skills and activist contacts at home and abroad, the agitprop troupe entertained largely G.I. As part of “FTA”-which alternately stood for “Free The Army” or “Fuck The Army”-she performed antiwar and pro-feminist skits and songs. In 1971, Near joined Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Peter Boyle, and others in a New Left counterpart to Bob Hope’s pro-Pentagon USO tours. Like millions of other Americans, Near was galvanized by the Vietnam War to support the peace movement. In the film, the late Hayden, the New Left’s elder statesman, notes Near “was always writing lyrics expressing the occasion we’re in.” Near’s heartfelt response to the 1970 shooting of unarmed protesting students at Kent State by Ohio National Guardsmen was “It Could Have Been Me” (released in 1974 on A Live Album). But like millions of other Americans, she was galvanized by the Vietnam War to support the peace movement.
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In less tumultuous times, Near might have pursued more conventional paths onstage, onscreen, and in the recording studios. In a clip from the sitcom co-starring Shirley Jones and David Cassidy, Near is shown arguing for students to have greater freedom in clothing choices-as she actually had offscreen, back at Ukiah High.
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She proceeded to pursue an acting career, in B-movies, on Broadway in the counterculture musical Hair, and on TV shows such as All in the Family and The Partridge Family. Near attended UCLA, but for only one year before the showbiz bug bit. Lives follows Near from an idyllic Northern California valley childhood, where she was Ukiah High School’s “Football Princess” and Homecoming Queen. What makes this cinematic gem shine are original interviews with Near and also New Left luminaries including Jane Fonda, Fonda’s former husband Tom Hayden of Chicago 7 notoriety, and Gloria Steinem. In his almost hour-long film, Brown, who has also directed PBS productions about Pete Seeger and the Highwaymen, deploys common documentarian techniques to chronicle the life of Near, who turns seventy this June. The film premieres March 1 on PBS’s American Masters series. Directed by Jim Brown, Lives introduces a new generation to the trailblazing folksinger, who has dedicated her work to peace, feminist, LGBTQ, and pro-Chile movements. PBS kicks off Women’s History Month with the stand-up-and-chant documentary Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives. Directed by Jim Brown, ‘Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives’ introduces a new generation to the trailblazing folksinger, who has dedicated her work to peace, feminist, LGBTQ, and pro-Chile movements.