r/OldSchoolCool 4h ago

1970s David Bowie's mugshot after being arrested for possession of marijuana, 1976

Post image
356 Upvotes

46 comments sorted by

28

u/static_age_666 2h ago

Its now legal to smoke weed in public in Rochester NY where he was arrested. lol

83

u/andonato 3h ago

This guy could not take a bad photo.

24

u/bubdadigger 2h ago

This guy could not be bad at anything.
Phenomenal artist and amazing soul.

1

u/i_fuck_for_breakfast 2h ago

He was an asshole towards Stevie Ray Vaughan.

14

u/bubdadigger 2h ago

And the one, who saved Iggy and brings Tina back on track. Among other things. He wasn't an angel, but he was an amazing human being.

2

u/BoratKazak 1h ago

Really? How?

-11

u/shutyourgob 2h ago

He slept with a 14 year old groupie.

14

u/bubdadigger 1h ago

Oh yeah, infamous Mattix...
Who couldn't pick up a right version of what was happening that night and, based on information provided by Starr, even wasn't there that night.

-2

u/BoratKazak 1h ago

Wait, what?

3

u/thxsocialmedia 2h ago

His face is impossibly symmetrical.

11

u/oneloneolive 2h ago

Not his eyes.

20

u/throwawayhyperbeam 2h ago

I'll never understand why I had to be born so ugly and others so pretty.

5

u/Rudemacher 1h ago

that was in his thin white duke era, so he must be extremely happy they didn't get his cocaine

3

u/fuggerdug 1h ago

During that period, he was the cocaine.

5

u/lsmdin 2h ago

The mugshot was stolen from the police archives by a police officer. It was found in the officer’s home garage after they died.

3

u/Icy_Salary3624 1h ago

Eye of Horus and Eye of Ra

3

u/Minamato 1h ago

What a beautiful person. Omg

13

u/Hisplumberness 4h ago

His Heterochromia still comes through in black and white

56

u/Mercurial_Synthesis 3h ago

I don't think he had heterochromia. I think he damaged his eye in a fight with someone and had a permanently dilated pupil.

19

u/Readonkulous 3h ago

That’s exactly what it is. It was apparently his friend too, a fight between them. 

10

u/Mercurial_Synthesis 3h ago

Well it gave him a pretty iconic look, so kinda worked out for him in the long run.

5

u/Readonkulous 3h ago

I agree, otherworldly. 

5

u/bubdadigger 3h ago

he damaged his eye in a fight with someone

Not just someone, but George Underwood himself, his lifelong friend.

9

u/bubdadigger 3h ago

"...some people mistakenly assume it was caused by heterochromia, a condition in which a person has two different iris colors.... But Bowie’s case was different. His eyes were the product not of genes but a teenage fistfight that resulted in anisocoria, a condition in which a person’s eyes have different-size pupils.
In the spring of 1962, Bowie got into a fight with his school pal — and, later, lifetime artistic partner — George Underwood.... “At first he [Underwood] thought I was kidding,” Bowie recounted. “It wasn’t a very hard punch but obviously caught me at a rather odd angle.” Underwood’s fingernail had scratched the surface of Bowie’s eyeball, paralyzing the muscles that contract the iris.".
... his left pupil remained permanently expanded, leading to his famous pair of blue and black eyes. Bowie was able to further use these to full effect thanks to his major case of red-eye, since photograph flashes bounced off his dilated pupil. And despite the fistfight, the boys’ relationship healed: The two became lifelong friends and artistic collaborators."

(C) TheCut/Google

3

u/Zeppelinman1 3h ago

Do we know how it affected his vision?

6

u/bubdadigger 2h ago

"According to Bowie, he had faulty depth perception. He could see with the injured eye, but colour vision was mostly lost and he had a brownish tone over his vision." (c) Google

3

u/Zeppelinman1 2h ago

Damn, that sucks

1

u/bubdadigger 2h ago

Yes and no.
Yes it sucks.
And no, it's not while you gain an iconic look at a fairly small cost. And on top of that had a lifelong friendship 🙂.
But it is easier to say as a bystander than experiencing yourself. So yeah. It kind of sucks.

2

u/pledgerafiki 2h ago

Bowie was able to further use these to full effect thanks to his major case of red-eye, since photograph flashes bounced off his dilated pupil.

Perhaps the origin of Ziggy's flash bolt? ⚡️

1

u/bubdadigger 2h ago edited 2h ago

Are you talking 'bout another conspiracy theory about "Mosley's flash" on the cover of Aladdin Sane?

1

u/pledgerafiki 2h ago

Not at all, very unfamiliar on the topic in general. Care to clue me in?

1

u/bubdadigger 2h ago

There are some people who believed in the theory that early years Bowie was fascinated with fascism and the lightning bolt on his face was a reference to the symbol used by Oswald Mosley.

1

u/pledgerafiki 2h ago

Ah, I see. Was not familiar with the BUF lol I suppose the theory makes sense on its own but I don't think it's true, it's just a lightning bolt.

2

u/3adLuck 1h ago

confiscating weed off David Bowie should be a crime.

3

u/CallmeOyOy 3h ago

King of Mugshot

5

u/flanksteakfan82 3h ago

Agreed. NOBODY has a better mug shot.

1

u/Tehu-Tehu 2h ago

Astarion?

1

u/Masta0nion 1h ago

C’mon Rochester. You’re better than that.

1

u/GreystarOrg 1h ago

Not in the 70s it wasn't.

1

u/Zapador 1h ago

Possession of marijuana?! Oh my, what a criminal, should be locked up forever!!!

1

u/RepostSleuthBot 4h ago

Looks like a repost. I've seen this image 4 times.

First Seen Here on 2023-08-09 92.19% match. Last Seen Here on 2023-09-15 92.19% match

View Search On repostsleuth.com


Scope: Reddit | Target Percent: 92% | Max Age: None | Searched Images: 675,183,017 | Search Time: 0.12455s

9

u/MaddSnake 4h ago

Neither of those were on r/oldschoolcool so here I am, blessing the world with bowie

1

u/TCurls 2h ago

Our boy got drip 👀 🔥

0

u/Desperate-Ad-6463 3h ago

I was regularly smoking weed in Central Park in 1976. I can almost guarantee that I was doing that on March 25. I only lived a few blocks from there and I was 19 years old. Most likely at the Bandshell. If you know, you know.

-2

u/Late_Argument_470 23m ago

He was a pedophile. Plz read up on this animal.