Dead at 27 - Jim Morrison - the very embodiment of the burn bright, die young philosophy of life, handsome, talented, smart - a rockstar, poet, shaman - The Lizard King who could do anything, was gone.
To his fans he was a god of rock and roll, who transcended the mundane world to reach somewhere else, somewhere beautiful, somewhere profound.
To the establishment he was a dangerous provocateur who turned concerts into riots. To his father, he was a disappointment with a complete lack of talent who should have given up music and got a proper job.
In this biographical documentary Dr Graeme Yorston explores the chaotic life and tragic death of Jim Morrison, from his perspective as a psychiatrist.
Getting behind the mythology and the conspiracy theories to discover the shy, sensitive and deeply troubled soul to find out what really happened to end his short life.
We will look beyond the poster-boy image and drunken antics to find the intelligent well-read poet, the sometimes tender, sometimes cruel lover, the too often dressed down military son who declared war on authority to reveal how a man who seemed to have it all, ended up dead in a Paris bathtub at the age of 27.
Finding out more:
There are lots of biographies of Jim Morrrison, many are sensationalized and give one person’s perspective on a man who, in reality, presented different faces to different people. I have added some of the better ones to my Amazon Store Page. I also found the MildEquator.com website to be an invaluable source of dates and hard facts. https://www.amazon.com/shop/professorgraemeyorston
Copyright Disclaimer
The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.
Academic Papers:
Holm-Hadulla, R. M., Hofmann, F. H., Sperth, M., & Mayer, C. H. (2021). Creativity and psychopathology: An interdisciplinary view. Psychopathology, 54(1), 39-46.
Hopkins, W. P., & Fine, H. J. (1977). The end of Jim Morrison: A schizoid suicide--A phenomenological study in object-relations. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 14(4), 423.
Images
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Wellcome Collection
Internet Archive
MildEquator.com
Music
Debussy: The girl with the flaxen hair – Marcel Meyer PD
PeriTune: Café Musette CC3
Mikecolemusic: Space Storm CC4
Density and Time: Growth decay, Travelator, Pelagic
Original Music by Angus Yorston: Back in the City, Spahn Ranch, Funkadelica, Walk on an Empty Beach, Looking at Wallpaper, Exertion, Shaman. Copyright 2026
Video edited by Manavi Sakunika and produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston
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