Harvey Job Matusow's

Cockyboo & the Stringless Yo Yo

an on-line autobiographical experiment

For the real stories of who Harvey Job Matusow is or has been you'll have to to read this whole web project and wait for Job to finish writing the last 30 chapters. We're offering a preview of 19 chapters in here in draft stages and asking for audience participation and reader feedback on what you want to see covered in the book in more depth, or discussed on-line.

A Harvey Matusow bio can be found as part of the University of Sussex Library archives collection of of Harvey Matusow's papers. Matusow's donations includes copies of Frendz magazine.

Quoting the University of Sussex Library's biographical page:

We've condensed this a lot, see the source for more!

"Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1926, and educated in the City's public schools, Harvey Marshall Matusow joined the Communist Party in 1946. For several years he was an active member of the party in New York. During 1950, however, (until his expulsion from the party), he was engaged in supplying information to the F. B. I. about the party's activities.
Early in 1951 he volunteered to give evidence for the government in actions being brought against various alleged communists or communist organizations. From this time until the autumn of 1954 he acted as an official witness in cases heard before the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities, the Ohio Un-American Affairs Commission, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, the State Industrial Commission of Texas, the Subversive Activities Control Board, etc.
During 1952 he worked for the magazine Counterattack, and was involved in investigating the entertainment business in New York and Hollywood and in gathering information used in compiling blacklists of allegedly communist artists. Through contact with Senator Joseph McCarthy, he played a vigorous part in the presidential election campaign of 1952 : he spoke for Senator McCarthy in Wisconsin and in support of other Republican candidates in Idaho, Montana, Utah and Washington State. In these activities Matusow made many contacts among those most active in combating the influence of communists in the United States.
In February 1955, having admitted giving false evidence before a federal court against Clinton E. Jencks, an organizer of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Matusow was brought before the U. S. District Court in El Paso, Texas.
Charged with perjury, he was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment. The trial of Matusow and the almost simultaneous publication of his account of his career of testimony, False Witness, stimulated in the press and among the public a discussion of the Government's use of paid witnesses.
Matusow was convicted before the U. S. District Court of New York and sentenced to serve five years in prison."

Harvey Matusow was himself blacklisted because of his McCarthy era acts and was harrassed for his betrayal of his Communist friends and his perjury in court and efforts to undermine McCarthyism in atonement for his acts.

Raised Jewish, he embraced Christianity via an interest in Mormons and the Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1956. Later he explored Buddhism and volunteered for Quakers and Christian churches before continuing his interests in becoming a practicing member of the LDS communities in Utah.

Harvey was involved in Fluxus art related events in New York and later in London, helping produce a concert of music including John Cage and other contemporary composers of that time. He was invited to the White House at one point by President Johnson's wife, which, as an ex-convict was one of the odd highlights of his unusual life.

Matusow moved to England in the late 60's and was also involved in the founding of undergound newspapers in New York and London in the 60's, working with IT (International Times) and Friends/Frendz magazines. He was suspected by some to still be a government agent at the time, and ironically, Matusow thought that some involved in those publications were working with the CIA.

He later moved back to the US, more recently to Utah, and started using the name Job Matusow. These pages will chronicle his whole life to date.

Harvey Job Matusow has released 7 albums or CDs and been involved with some meditative music and Children's recordings made using bells crafted from old military weapons melted down. He's done radio and TV work extensively and is currently involved in running Utah's only public access TV, SCAT-TV.

Harvey Job Matusow has published two books and is currently working on a third, his memiors, and is sharing them via these web pages in the hopes of making this an interactive experience.

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