Suzy Creamcheese was stopped for an interview on the BBC’s ‘Man Alive’ TV series, at the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream benefit event for the International Times in London, 1967.
Who was Suzy Creamcheese? Technically it was a character played by various women who worked with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. According to author Barry Miles, “Suzy Creamcheese was a generic name that Frank Zappa gave to the group of Jewish girls, fans of the Mothers of Invention, who hung out at Ratner’s Dairy Restaurant on Fairfax” (I think he must have meant Canter’s Deli). The original Suzy on the Mothers’ ‘Freak Out’ record was Jeannie Vassoir. And then Pamela Zarubica was Suzy on other albums.
This Suzy is Susan Zieger and she was briefly married to John Hopkins, editor and co-founder of International Times. She became famous in the underground from this TV spot and maintained that she was the original inspiration for the Suzy character that became part of Frank Zappa lore.
The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream was a legendary benefit concert held in the Great Hall of Alexandra Palace in London, featuring Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, Tomorrow, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Yoko Ono and dozens of other artists. Pink Floyd played at sunrise.
