Stanley Marsh 3

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Stanley Marsh, 3 (born ca. 1938), is a millionaire, artist, philanthropist, and prankster from Amarillo, Texas, USA. He is perhaps best known as the sponsor of the Cadillac Ranch, a public art installation near Amarillo.

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[edit] Art projects and pranks

In the 1970s, Marsh collaborated with the art group Ant Farm to create the Cadillac Ranch. Marsh has funded other public art projects in Amarillo besides Cadillac Ranch, which include the "Dynamite Museum," an ongoing project consisting of hundreds of mock traffic signs.[1] These signs, bearing messages such as "Road does not end," "Lubbock is a grease spot," and "I have traveled a great deal in Amarillo," may be found throughout the city of Amarillo. A series of the mock traffic signs are also displayed in Adrian, Texas, about 45 miles west of Amarillo. Mr. Marsh was said to have wanted the signs to only be placed in towns beginning with the letter "A". Additional public art projects sponsored by Marsh were a supposed remains of a giant statue called "Ozymandias" and the "Floating Mesa," a huge natural mesa with a narrow white band wrapped on top of it.[2][3] Despite the attention of the art projects sponsored by Marsh, critics have called them eyesores with little or no artistic value. In response to the criticism, he is quoted as saying, "Art is a legalized form of insanity, and I do it very well."[4]

Marsh also appears in documentaries which featured Cadillac Ranch or the city of Amarillo such as The Plutonium Circus and Road Does Not End, a short documentary by a Dallas-based filmmaker about Marsh and the art projects he funded.[5]

In 1999, Marsh disrupted a live television broadcast from Amarillo by the cable television network The Weather Channel when he performed a Native American snow dance in front of the cameras.[6]

One of Stanley Marsh 3's many mock traffic signs.
One of Stanley Marsh 3's many mock traffic signs.

[edit] Personal life

Stanley Marsh 3's father, Stanley Marsh, was an oilman who, along with Don Harrington and Lawrence R. Hagy, started a business that developed oil and gas properties in the Texas Panhandle.[7] While Marsh is the third person in his family named Stanley, he uses the Arabic numeral "3" in place of the traditional Roman numeral "III" ("the third"), as he considers the latter to be pretentious.[1]

Marsh also used to own Texas television stations, KVIA-TV and KVII-TV through the Marsh Media company.[8] The offices of Marsh Enterprises are located in Amarillo's tallest building, Chase Tower.

In the 1990s, Marsh had four lawsuits alleging imprisonment, sexual misconduct and harassment of teens. All four of them were later settled. One of the lawsuits included a member of the Whittenburg family, the former owners of the Amarillo Globe-News.[9]

Marsh and his wife, Gwendolyn O'Brien "Wendy" Marsh, reside in an estate called, "Toad Hall ." The couple has five children.[10] The Marsh family founded The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Lectureship in Pharmacology and Neurochemistry of Substance Abuse/Addiction at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The family also donated land to the Amarillo private school Ascension Academy.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b "Public Art in Private Places: Amarillo's Unusual Signs" Retrieved on June 7, 2006
  2. ^ "The yellow rose of Texas" Retrieved on June 7, 2006
  3. ^ "Floating Mesa" Retrieved on June 7, 2006
  4. ^ "Unanticipated Rewards—Cadillac Ranch". Retrieved on March 6, 2006
  5. ^ "Stanley Adds 'Star' To Résumé" Retrieved on August 25, 2006.
  6. ^ "Marsh's dance disrupts live TV broadcast " Retrieved on June 7, 2006
  7. ^ "MARSH, STANLEY." "Handbook of Texas". Retrieved on July 2, 2006.
  8. ^ "A History of ABC 7" Retrieved on June 7, 2006
  9. ^ "Marsh settles four lawsuits" Retrieved on June 7, 2006
  10. ^ "Wendy Marsh." "Amarillo Globe-News." Retrieved on July 3, 2006.

[edit] External links

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