Larry 'Ratso' Sloman

Biography

Larry Sloman, known as Ratso, is a New York based author who has written about music and collaborated on celebrity books. He grew up in Queens, graduated from Queens College in 1969 and took a master's degree at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He wrote for Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy and Creem during the 1970s and later held top editorial posts at National Lampoon and High Times. His books include On the Road with Bob Dylan, an account of the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour, and The Secret Life of Houdini, written with William Kalush. He helped Howard Stern write Private Parts and Miss America, worked on memoirs with David Blaine, Anthony Kiedis and Mike Tyson, and appears in Kinky Friedman's mystery novels. In 2019 he put out the album Stubborn Heart, which includes a duet with Nick Cave, and with George Lois he directed Bob Dylan's Jokerman video. In Marty Supreme (2025) he plays Murray Mauser.

76years old

Turns 77 on July 9in 239 days

Born July 9, 1950Queens, New York City, New York, USA
Star sign: CancerThe sign runs June 21 to July 22
Also credited as Larry Sloman

Movie Career

Films: 4
Career span: 21 years2004 to 2025

Every film, newest first

2025Marty SupremeIMDb rating 7.5
2022Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a SongIMDb rating 7.6
2019Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin ScorseseIMDb rating 7.5
2004Satan's Little HelperIMDb rating 5.3

Genres

Did you know?!

About the name
Joan Baez gave Sloman the nickname Ratso, saying he resembled Dustin Hoffman's character Ratso Rizzo in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy.
Behind the camera
Sloman worked with John Cale in 1984, writing two songs for the musician's ninth solo studio album, Caribbean Sunset. That year also saw the two collaborate on "Ooh La La," a studio track on Cale's otherwise live album John Cale Comes Alive.
Behind the camera
Sloman worked with Howard Stern on two books, Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995), both of which became best-sellers.
A change of course
Starting in 1985, Sloman spent a few years as National Lampoon magazine's executive editor. He also held the editor-in-chief job at High Times.
Beyond film
On 5 April 2019, Sloman put out a studio album called Stubborn Heart. The album features a duet with Nick Cave, among others.