Suze Rotolo

Susan Elizabeth Rotolo (born November 20, 1943), nicknamed Suze Rotolo, is an artist who specializes in artist's books and who teaches at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Related Topics:
November 20 - 1943 - Artist's book

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Rotolo is also the blonde woman walking with Bob Dylan on the cover of the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. She was Dylan's girlfriend in New York in the early 1960s.

Related Topics:
Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

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She was born and raised in Queens, NY. Her parents were Joachim Rotolo and Mary Pezzati Rotolo, friends of the Soviet spy Charles Flato. The elder Rotolos also were acquainted with people named Goldstien, Miller, Steinberg, Zuckerman, and many others who were investigated for their left-wing politics.

Related Topics:
Queens - NY - Mary Pezzati Rotolo - Charles Flato

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Her older sister is Carla Rotolo who also knew Dylan in the 1960s. Her uncle was the American portrait painter Pietro Pezzati.

Related Topics:
Carla Rotolo - Pietro Pezzati

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Her political views are widely regarded as having triggered Dylan's topical songwriting. She worked for a time for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

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Also important, but less often noted, the influence of Bertolt Brecht on Dylan's songwriting and performing has been acknowledged by Dylan as stemming from her participation in Brechtian theater during their relationship. Dylan's interest in painting can also be traced back to his relationship with Rotolo.

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She travelled to Cuba in the 1960's, with a group of students, at a time when it was unlawful for Americans to do so without approval.

Related Topics:
Cuba - Americans

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She married Italian Enzo Bartoccioli, a film editor who works for the United Nations, in the 1970s. They have one son who is a guitarist in New York.

Related Topics:
Italian - United Nations

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In November 2004, she made an unannounced appearance at the Experience Music Project, on a panel discussing Dylan's early days in Greenwich Village. She and her husband also were involved in putting on a memorial event for Dave van Ronk after the singer's death in 2002.

Related Topics:
2004 - Experience Music Project - Greenwich Village - Dave van Ronk

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Rotolo appears in Martin Scorsese's film ', a documentary focusing on Dylan's early career from 1961 to 1966. It played on the American Masters series on U. S. public television in September 2005.

Related Topics:
Martin Scorsese's - 1961 - 1966

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