[Sorry for long video - first few min should give basic idea.]
I drive to Boulder several days a week and occasionally stumble upon a local radio station playing lectures by Alan Watts. Never heard of him, so I did some Googling. Looks like his popularity peaked in the 1950s and 60s, and from his content I wonder if he could've been inspiration for the character of Dr. Simon Pritchett, or Dr. Floyd Ferris's war on thought.

I always had a hard time visualizing the characters of Pritchett and Ferris - their dialogue in the book is so harsh - why would a nation believe anything they had to say? But after listening to Alan Watts I have a new model for those guys. Watts is an excellent and entertaining orator, and his messages aren't hidden - he presents them as common sense. I can see how he easily won so many fans.

So I'm curious - has anyone else heard of Alan Watts? For Gulch members alive in the 1950s-60s: Was he popular? Did he have an influence on you or people you knew? Or is he just some guy who's lectures are played on Boulder radio stations?

Thanks.