Talk:Klaus Nomi

Trivia Citation
i can verify the uncited information in the trivia section, if someone would be so kind as to direct me to how the citations for television shows is accomplished. i have found almost no information on it, within wiki conventions or on scholarly guidelines for citations. Skp2y F thorax 20:43, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Can we make it longer
I think that, if we find more information, or at least go into more detail, this article could be inproved a lot. Maybe if we got more information, we can split it into sections Spongesquid 20:23, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

RCA France made several videos. There's videos for "Simple Man" and a few other songs. I don't have sources, so I am hesitant to list them myself, but I know they are there. I've seen them. A comprehensive listing of videos, and sources, would be appreciated. Klaus was also in an independent feature film with McDermott and other east village 80s scenesters. I forget the title. Part of it is in the Horn documentary. Can that documentary be listed as a source? Lots of great information in that. Also, there should be some info about Kristian Hoffman on this page, as Kristian wrote some of Klaus' most memorable songs. And Kristian is still alive and well, living in Los Angeles, and making music to this day. I would furthermore be interested in seeing citations, links, and references to critical works which analyze Klaus' influence upon popular culture. It is sad to say that he was only a minor star in his day; but he is being remembered and re-evaluated years after his death as an important and influential figure. Jdubowsky 21:46, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Fresh air
Klaus Nomi was such a breath of fresh air in the music scene. He was different daring and had a wonderful operatic voice. He will always be greatly missed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.42.90.198 (talk • contribs) 16:05, 7 November 2004 (UTC)

Picture
Can someone change that awful picture? Seriously, there are so many better photos of him. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 5.35.226.191 (talk • contribs) 15:56, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

I've placed a drawing of his stage persona in his infobox (instead of an actual photo). It's the only thing Wikimedia would come up with, but, it's still looking rather nice Waardaar 16:11, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Pastry Chef
I 'd like to suggest that the pastry chef entry is being removed from his infobox. This listing is at least slighting, if not disrespectful. It's as if Madonna or Annie Lennox had to have the term "waitress" added to their occupation(s) list. Unless someone disputes that over the next couple of weeks, I'll have the entry taken off. Waardaar 19:34, 27 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I am a pastry chef, and I resent the idea that our occupation is at all slighting. Being a pastry chef is a badge of honor.  Don't you dare remove it.--24.15.11.254 22:51, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

In the Horn documentary, there is a clip of Klaus appearing on a television cooking show as a guest chef, showing how to make a Linzer Torte. Furthermore, interviews in the documentary indicate that he would pay some of his debts in pies. It may be significant that he was a pastry chef. The way he incorporated being a chef into his career could make it relevant. Jdubowsky 07:16, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I really didn't mean to belittle your profession, which I, after all, consider as sort of an art. All I meant is that listing such an absolutely irrelevant (to his musical career) thing in his infobox could have been done in malevolent spirit. (I mean, think about that Madonna-Lennox example I've already given. It's certainly no shame at all being a waitress, but what's that got to do with their musical career???) Concerning Jdubowsky's comment, I think that this is really an interesting and insightful fact, but it's only biographical and by no means can substantiate the pastry chef entry. Nomi was a stunning countertenor and innovative performance artist, who happened to be working for a while as a pastry chef. It's not as if he was François Vatel, so that he has to be remembered for that brief pastime of his! He's just been another amateur pastry chef and that was only for a while. What's the big deal about it all? Waardaar 13:20, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Hey I have more news! It turns out Midge Ure is also a cook, and like Klaus, Ure also appeared on a cooking show! Some kind of competitive cooking program. Also, John Cage was a mycologist as well as composer. I think the pastry chef thing is interesting, fits in with Klaus' personality, and I like pies too. Actually Klaus was not an amateur pastry chef, it was his day job! That's how he supported himself! Jdubowsky 00:48, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Even if that's the case, I really can't see how this can fit into his info box. Annie Lennox has been working as a waitress for quite a long, and according to word of mouth that's how she first came across Dave Stewart. She supported herself (as you would put it) by being a part-time waitress. Why don't you place the term "waitress" into her info box, as well as "carpenter" into Noel Gallagher's and "hairdresser" into George Clinton's? I think that what you haven't understood is the purpose of the info box. This thing is supposed to expose the most characteristic aspects of one's career. It's not the place where you're going to mention every single aspect of one's life. We did a hell of a matter together out of discussing the prospect of a link to David Bowie's article and although I sort of proved that doing so is rather important, I never did so. I never did so, for I agreed that it's vital to keep things kind of tight. If you feel like spoiling his article with hasty and superfluous remarks, then be my guest! Waardaar 08:23, 10 July 2007 (UTC)


 * I've restored PASTRY CHEF to its proper place in the info box. --Torasap 19:18, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

You must be kidding. Are you sure you are mature enough to contribute to wikipedia the right way? This is not the way things should be done here. This "pastry chef" matter (among others) has occurred, and ever since some of us expressed their opinion, so that we can come up with a conclusion. Until you put across some arguments over that, the entry is being rubbed back out. Waardaar 14:26, 20 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Dear Torasap, I'm afraid I'll have to list you as a vandal at Wikipedia's "Administrator intervention against vandalism", if you keep on behaving this way and that means you can get your IP permanently banned from Wiki. This web encyclopedia is a serious effort and you shouldn't mess around with it. If you continue to modify pages (and especially this one) at your own will, I shall proceed to all requisite actions that will get you treated as a potential vandal.

Cheers, Waardaar 18:30, 20 July 2007 (UTC)
 * He really was a pastry chef. He was proud of it!  Why is that a problem for you?  All of us are fans - we love the fact that he was a pastry chef.  Please leave well enough alone.  --Torasap 06:32, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Even if that's the truth, you can't just mention it and wait for the rest of us to take it for granted. You got to substantiate your claim through a reliable citation. Until you do that this contribution of yours will keep on being inverted. And for God's sake, it's such an irrelevant to his career thing. Can't you just realize that this is simply a biographical element of somewhat minor importance? And once again:


 * Even if that's the case, I really can't see how this can fit into his info box. Annie Lennox has been working as a waitress for quite a long, and according to word of mouth that's how she first came across Dave Stewart. She supported herself (as you would put it) by being a part-time waitress. Why don't you place the term "waitress" into her info box, as well as "carpenter" into Noel Gallagher's and "hairdresser" into George Clinton's? I think that what you haven't understood is the purpose of the info box. This thing is supposed to expose the most characteristic aspects of one's career. It's not the place where you're going to mention every single aspect of one's life.

Waardaar 07:59, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

He appeared on TV as a pastry chef. It's a huge part of his mythology. He paid his recording costs with Linzer pies. This is more significant than a waitressing day job. It was mentioned on national television and in the documentary which was internationally acclaimed and it's culturally significant. Jdubowsky (talk) 05:07, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Hey Look!!! Here's Klaus Nomi on US Television, being introduced as one of the best pastry chefs in NYC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZaHpc-KgPk&NR=1 Enjoy. Jdubowsky (talk) 00:58, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Hey Look!!! Here's Klaus Nomi being interviewed on the NYC 10pm news, discussing making pastry as an allegory for making music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-hn9jraQKM Enjoy. Jdubowsky (talk) 01:04, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

People out there, I just discovered this and want to delete "pastry chef" anew.

I have two reasons for this:

1) As it was written above, if somebody is well-known in a certain field and occasionally worked in another, one doesn't say "he was a bodyguard", one says "he was an author" (reference to Douglas Adams intended). If pastry chef wasn't a funky job, you wouldn't even consider it.

2) I don't think he was professional, it was just a hobby of his (no matter how good he was at it; one wouldn't describe Einstein as a violin-player). I remember something like that in the documentary, but I can check it again.

Reality3chick (talk) 18:31, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

Spindizzy(?)-Associated Acts
I rubbed out Spindizzy(?) from his labels' list. None of his albums was distributed under such a label. Don't you think the associated acts line should be put back on, at least with a sole link to David Bowie? Doing so is rather essential, as his collaboration with Bowie has noticeably led to the conception of the "Pierrot" persona [typical of his (brief) "Scary Monsters" era]. Waardaar 13:37, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

I have copies that are on Spindizzy. Spindizzy was distibuted by RCA. Spindizzy made the investment to develop and record Klaus, after which RCA picked him up in a kind of M&D (manufacturing and distribution) deal. I know one filmmaker, Jim Tushinski, who used a Nomi song in his film, That Man Peter Berlin, and guess what, the license had to come from the owner of Spindizzy, not from RCA, whose deal has expired. (Note Klaus' reissues are no longer on RCA / BMG.)

As to "associated acts", I guess I don't understand. Given the scale of both Klaus' and Bowie's work, their involvement with each other was really very small. True, it was a great help to launch Klaus' career, but beyond that, they did not extensively tour or record together... if at all, beyone one TV appearance. To me, Klaus stands alone. He's associated with no one but himself. He truly is from outer space!!!! Jdubowsky 21:21, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like Spindizzy Records ought to be put back on list, although it looks as if you really misunderstood what my associated acts suggestion was all about. I never meant that Klaus ain't standing alone or that his work was influenced by Bowie, albeit the latter's credentials should have been a great boost for Klaus' career. Back in late 1979, Bowie had already quitted all off his previous art-rock personae and was trying to somehow establish himself as a commercial artist. In order to do so he came up with a brand new persona; a rather catchy one... Pierrot-like suits, massive shoulder pads, bow ties and, of course, frosty-white make up! Is that ringing any bells?!? You see, artistic interaction is a two-way street and in that sense Bowie's Scary Monster's era is deeply associated to Klaus Nomi's work. Thus, I consider that such a feature in his infobox would be rather appropriate. Nomi has undeniably been an important inspiration for Bowie, since the Pierrot persona (most evident in the Ashes to Ashes video, but emerging from his 1979 Saturday Night Live performance) went on to become iconic and one of his most critically acclaimed (turned out that this would also be his last one). Hence, I would like to point out that a special mention to this fact in his article would at least be reasonable, as the Pierrot Persona is a true early 80's classic. Waardaar 01:35, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

I understand where you are coming from. I don't know much about wiki policy about what constitues an "associated" artist. Often they are the bands that a guitarist was in over the course of their career, for instance. As Nomi / Bowie never recorded or toured together, I thought the "association" was a tad gratutitous. I removed the "associated" artists under the wiki standard of "be bold." If you really wish to reinstate Bowie there, I will let it stand. That said, I'd think more about it. You bring up some fascinating examples, but there are tons of influences and cross-references in the pop music and culture of the NYC 1980s. (Think David Byrne's Big Suit period as well!) In my mind, putting Bowie up in the "background info" box doesn't rise to the standard of listing, say, all the bands Jimmy Page was in, or Billy Currie was in, for instance. Anyway, it's been fun discussing and mulling this one over with you!Jdubowsky 02:33, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Those Page-Currie examples really got me thinking (Byrne's Big Suit phase as well). It turns out that you might be right after all. It's probably only sensible to keep the associated acts feature as tight as possible (i.e. former bands or sine qua non collaborators). Otherwise, some artists will end up with an infobox in the size of an article in itself. Nevertheless, don't you think that Nomi's influence on Bowie's early 80's period should somehow be brought up (more extensively) in, say, his "Influence and cultural significance" section? I was also wondering if you could expand a bit his albums' articles, in terms of featured musicians and/or footnotes (since you got records of his). To end with, ain't about time that Total Eclipse gets an article of its own? Waardaar 10:11, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

the image
Can someone please replace that image? its fucking ridiculous looking. 69.155.111.188 04:54, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

There's no need for you to swear. I put that image on his article's info box, for it's the only thing wikimedia's commons would come up with. If you got a non-copyrighted image of his or own the rights of one, you are welcome to replace it. Waardaar 18:22, 11 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I don't care for the image, either, however somebody obviously put a decent amount of time, effort and love into making it. Unless it really offends somebody, we should leave it.  --Torasap 23:58, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

FUCK FUCK FUCK, I'll swear all I want you cunt.

"Wikimedia commons"- nobody is going to sue you for using an image of fucking klaus nomi, you wikinazi's are getting your panties in a bunch over nothing.69.152.35.217 00:25, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

I feel sorry for you. Waardaar 14:28, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

P.S.: Feel free to do what you suggest yourself!

You don't own me
The article mistakenly says that he doesn't change to words to the song. He doesn't switch the genders in the song, thus rendering it homosexual. However, he does change the words slightly. e.g. Gore version: "You don't own me." Nomi version: "You don't know me." (a pun on his name, Nomi) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.65.179.183 (talk) 01:22, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Nomi on Venture Bros
Anyone else find it weird that Nomi's real life self is actually more cartoonish than the cartoon version of him? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.178.113.78 (talk) 21:38, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Knomi.jpg
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BetacommandBot 00:03, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

birthday
from the article-- "His birthday is commonly observed as January 24, 1944."

What does this mean, exactly? Is there some dispute over what his actual DOB is? 65.116.73.205 (talk) 17:59, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I didn't get it either, but if it's the only sourced DOB we have, we go with it. I don't understand the "Monday" either, so have refactored the whole sentence. -- Rodhull andemu  16:46, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Moved to New York from Berlin
There appears to be some confusion about when Klaus Nomi moved to New York from Berlin, with some websites saying mid-1970s and others saying early-1970s; however, I found a review in The Advocate that states he moved in 1972, which would correspond with his appearance in Das Rhinegold and other sources saying that this was the year he moved into the apartment on St. Mark's Place. Since he appeared in the opera and had an apartment in New York City in 1972 I think that should put the matter to rest. cswpride (talk) 19:10, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

I've added an article in Attitude magazine as a source for this as well.cswpride (talk) 20:04, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

John Sex
I've changed the reference to John McLaughlin back to John Sex, since that is the name he went by and that is the name on his Wikipedia article. He did not go by "Johnny Sex" as was previously stated. I've created a disambiguation page for him as John McLaughlin (performance artist), but the main article is still under John Sex, that is how he was known, and that is the name that should be here for consistency. We aren't explaining that other people listed in the Career section have birth names and stage names, and we shouldn't do it for John Sex, especially using a stage name he didn't use. cswpride (talk) 19:38, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Manner of death?
No mention in the article. Anyone know? &mdash;  X   S   G   00:33, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

It is mentioned in the "Personal Life" section that he was one of the "first celebrities to die of an illness complicated by AIDS"; however this could be broken out to its own section and rephrased to be clearer, as it should probably say "AIDS-related illnesses", which is what other sources report, instead of "an illness complicated by AIDS", which gives the impression that there was one predominant illness that was the cause, and that AIDS was only a complication. cswpride (talk) 08:49, 10 January 2009 (UTC)
 * If we're going to do something like that, then wouldn't it also be a good help if we found out how he contracted the HIV or HIV-like symptoms and added that in? It doesn't mention Nomi as being openly gay anywhere in the article, and I only know so much about Klaus. 24.61.51.11 (talk) 03:58, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

"AIDS-related illness" is probably the most accurate assuming he died from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS-associated_Kaposi_sarcoma. I can't see why how he contracted the disease would be relevant, much less his sexual orientation. It could easily lead to bad arguements such that he contracted HIV because he was gay. The only remaining point would be that the risk of contracting HIV from anal intercourse is higher than in vaginal intercourse which is a fact that serves no purpose om this article. 84.208.181.207 (talk) 00:05, 30 April 2011 (UTC)

Klaus died because he didn't protect himself when he went to have anonymous gay sex... And yes, it was before most people were aware of AIDS, such a shame. 98.160.248.146 (talk) 06:39, 16 June 2016 (UTC)
 * * *A lot of these ignorant questions and inaccuracies would be answered with a viewing of the Documentary called "The Nomi Song"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnaPf4iIeZA

haircut
Nomi's haircut blatantly inspired the head shape of the space alien race Minbari in the Sci-Fi TV series Babylon 5. 89.51.32.215 (talk) 01:56, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

Also the pokemon character Mr Mime (white gloves, pointed shoes, hair, and all) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.179.147.71 (talk) 22:38, 27 May 2010 (UTC)

You Don't Nomi
I don't know where we found this out, but I would REALLY appreciate it if someone could help me look up more information on the play, or even the playwright. 24.61.51.11 (talk) 03:52, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Wood Bird?
"In 1972, Nomi appeared in a satirical camp production of Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold at Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theater Company as the Rheinmaidens and the Wood Bird". The Wood Bird is in Siegfried, not Rheingold. Paul B (talk) 17:56, 24 September 2013 (UTC)

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Sexuality
Nomi was reported to be gay; before his illness, there was speculation that he was asexual

I know it's hardly decisive, but I distinctly remember hearing from an oral source that Klaus Nomi was responsible for bringing a child into the world. Terms like gay and bi can be very inconsistently applied; but it would indicate he was, at the very least, not asexual. Has anyone independently verifiable evidence to support this contention?

Nuttyskin (talk) 13:23, 15 February 2019 (UTC)


 * Sexual identity is a broad spectrum and asexuality has only recently been recognized by research. For Example, Gray Asexuality refers to people who don't typically experience sexual attraction but do occasionally. While personal anecdotes are obviously not valid citations, I have friends and acquaintances who identify as asexual and range from sex-repulsed, to gray ace, to not experiencing sexual attraction but getting pleasure from sex acts. Since research in the field is ongoing and asexuality is not rigidly defined, I think that that if there are reliable sources cited, it would be best to simply leave the link to the page on asexuality and let people not familiar with the ace spectrum click through to learn more about it. IanH84 (talk) 04:43, 4 January 2020 (UTC)

Inhumated, or cremated?
Just to point out, the French article says : Klaus Nomi was buried in the municipal cemetery in Immenstadt, Bavaria, on August 14, 1983. Meanwhile the English article says : "Following cremation, Nomi's ashes were scattered in New York City." 2A01:E34:ECA4:2F60:1459:68DC:ED5B:F717 (talk) 08:31, 18 May 2023 (UTC)