Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, a rock music journalist, author and one-time romantic partner of Doors frontman Jim Morrison, died on July 23 at the age of 75.
Kennealy-Morrison’s passing was reported on the Facebook page of Lizard Queen Press, a publishing brand she founded.
“To say we are all reeling from the news is an understatement,” the message about Kennealy-Morrison reads. “We will miss our friend very very much. She was a beautiful soul, a talented writer, and a loving and wonderful friend.” No cause of death was mentioned.
According to The New York Times, Kennealy-Morrison met Jim Morrison in 1969 when she interviewed him for Jazz & Pop magazine, for which she was editor-in-chief. She and the singer soon began a romantic relationship. In 1970, Patricia, who practiced Celtic paganism, took part in a matrimonial “hand-fasting ceremony” with Morrison that involved drops of their blood.
Their relationship remained a long-distance one until Jim’s death in 1971.
In 1979, Patricia added “Morrison” to her last name, and she served as a technical adviser on the 1991 Oliver Stone-directed biopic The Doors. She was portrayed by Kathleen Quinlan in the film, in which she also had a cameo, appearing as the priestess who performed the hand-fasting ceremony.
Kennealy-Morrison later criticized the movie, according to The New York Times, feeling it didn’t feature her prominently enough and that it trivialized the ceremony. In 1992, she published a memoir titled Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison, which she said was a response to The Doors movie.
Kennealy-Morrison later wrote fantasy novels and rock-music-themed mystery books.
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