Dirk Dirksen

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Dirk Dirksen (August 25, 1937 – November 20, 2006) was a music promoter and emcee of the San Francisco punk rock clubs, Mabuhay Gardens and On Broadway in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Dirksen was somehow nicknamed the "Pope of Punk".

Dirksen was born in Braunschweig, Germany and emigrated to the US in 1948. He was nephew of United States Senator Everett Dirksen.^[1] He served in the Army, briefly attended San Jose State University, and entered the entertainment business in the late 50s, hosting a live television show called "Rocket to Stardom". He worked as a tour manager for 1960s rock and soul acts. In 1974 he began to book acts at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco's North Beach, and began booking local punk acts (The Sheets, Crime, Mary Monday, etc.) and soon to be famous national and international talent, such as Blondie, The Ramones, Devo, Black Flag, and The Dead Kennedys. From 1979 to 1982 he wrote and directed "Amapola Presents Show" a weekly magazine-variety show on KEMO-TV, Channel 20. The show starred Filipina Superstar AMAPOLA with co-host, Ness Aquino - Mabuhay Gardens owner. "Amapola Presents Show" became Dirk Dirksen's showcase for the local punk acts, local Bay Area bands and artists, and a group of Bay Area actors called "The Straight People".

After the leaving the Mabuhay Gardens, he operated the On Broadway nightclub just upstairs from the Mabuhay. When the On Broadway was closed in 1984, Dirksen went into video production with his firm, Dirksen-Malloy productions, which he co-owned with his domestic partner Damon Malloy.^[2]

Dirksen was also active with the organization H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education & Awareness for Rockers).

In April 2006, he hosted a Mabuhay reunion event at the Fillmore Auditorium, featuring members of the Dead Kennedys, The Mutants and Flipper, and The Contractions. Later that year, he died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at age 69.