Rubin, Jerry

Rubin, Jerry (1938–94) activist, author, entrepreneur; born in Cincinnati, Ohio. A reporter for the Cincinnati Post and Times-Star (1956–61), he was an antiwar organizer and cochairman for the Vietnam Day Committee, Berkeley, Calif. (1965). He ran for mayor of Berkeley (1966). The first person ever to testify before the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities (HUAC) in costume (1966), he was a cofounder of the Youth International Party (Yippie) (1967) and was an activist in Berkeley (through 1972). A vice-presidential candidate on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket (1968), a defendant in the Chicago 7 trial (1969), and author of Do It! (1969), he turned to holistic healing, led workshops at Esalen (1973–74), and was a therapist as part of the Fischer-Hoffman Psychic Therapy Process (1974). Repudiating activism, he became a stockbroker and then organized Jerry Rubin's Business Networking Salon in New York (1982). He and former compatriot, Abbie Hoffman, staged about 40 Yippie-versus-Yuppie debates nationwide (1985–86) before Rubin turned to selling vitamins in major newspapers (1990s).