On March 3, 1983, Peter Ivers was found murdered in his loft, ending a short-lived but essential pop cultural moment. For the previous two years, Ivers had hosted the underground LA-based music and sketch-comedy cable show New Wave Theatre, which brought together comedians-turned-Hollywood players like John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Harold Ramis with West Coast punk rockers Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, Fear, and others--transforming music and comedy forever. The show was a jubilant, chaotic cabaret, and Ivers was its charismatic leader and muse. He was, in fact, the only person with the vision, the generosity of spirit, and the myriad of talented friends to bring together these two very different but equally influential worlds, and with his death the improbable and electric union came to an end. This is the first book to explore both that fertile, gritty scene and the life and death of its guiding spirit.--From publisher description.