The MTV-era music video “Hell” filming “The Grateful Dead” was a long and weird trip.
The band's “Movie and Video Man” Len Dell'amico wrote a new memoir, “Friends of the Devil: My Wild Ride with Jerry Garcia and the Death of Gratitude”. He details the feeling of “Love, the Chaos of Happy and the Pot-Many Pots” from 1980 to the death of frontman Garcia in 1995.
The filmmaker directed the 1987 music video. He claimed that the Fox News numbers were ducks drunk on champagne while filming with ducks on their leather bags.
Bobby Weir, founding member of the 77-year-old gratitude death, watched “Go in and dying”
Len Dell'amico (right) became friends with Jerry Garcia from 1980 until the star died in 1995. (Len Dell'amico)
“I think [founding member] Bob Weir is in charge, “Dell'amico laughs.” He just came out of vacation. . . . He knows we're making videos. He knows how important this is. I remember the girl on the mountain, Garcia's wife [at the time]seeing him say, “Bobby, he is a god now.” He looks beautiful, in such a good shape, and performs well. ”
“We all know we’re shooting at the bar,” Dell’amico shared. “When you shoot in a bar, you'll hire someone who comes in to make a holiday bottle. You don't want to have free alcohol on the set. I've spread the word – no wine. We're going to enjoy fake champagne. It never comes out.”
Bob Weir (left) and Jerry Garcia performed at the Alpine Valley Amphitheater on June 26, 1987 in East Troy, Wisconsin. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
“But then I saw the duck drinking in real time.” “I said, 'Oh, it's great! It looks like we have a well-trained duck.' Then, I saw him gradually stand out.
Len Dell'amico directed the 1987 music video “Hell Barrel”. (Anne Millman)
According to Dell'amico's book, it was Weir who came up with the idea of holding a duck in the video, which made everyone happy. He also asked for a tiger. 400 pounds of nine feet long. The Bengal tiger was brought in.
Jerry Garcia saw it here in an MTV interview with Telornic Studios in New York City. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
Dell'amico described that during the shooting, the duck was curious about what was in the weir glass. He said it kept sip back and forth. Eventually, it puts the entire bill and “has a nice pull on it.” Once, the duck “falls down from inside.” For Dell'amico, getting a convincing performance was “incredible good luck”.
But the next day, he received a “angry” call from Coach Ducks.
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Bob Weir performed with the gratified dead on December 31, 1987 at the Oakland Coliseum, California. (Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“He was frustrated,” Delmeko recalled Fox News numbers. “He kept saying, ‘He was drunk!’ He was excited.
“I made some calls,” Dell'amico said. “I found out Will gave him $50 people to get him real champagne. I remember holding a bottle of champagne in my hand. I thought it was a prop! So, I had to apologize to the trainer. How could I do this correctly? The coaches explained that the animal was trained on white grapes. That's why it was crazy for champagne.”
From left: Phil Lesh, Bob Will and Jerry Garcia, performing at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, California, July 15, 1984. (Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“Well, the duck is back,” said Dale Amiko. “The coach said he will train her on other things for a while. So, it's a happy ending.”
Len Dell'amico's book “Friends of the Devil: Wild Ride with Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead” is now out. (Weldon Owen)
According to Dell'amico's book, the duck was knocked back by white grapes.
“We found Bob and Bob and [a] Dominatrix drives around and duck sample Bob's Glass stands out among the duck collapsed ducks, which is subtle, but it's fun once you notice it,” he wrote.
Len Dell'amico is behind the scenes of “Hell in Hell” and “Throwing Stones” to promote the band's hit album “In the Dark.” (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital contacted a 77-year-old Weir spokesperson for comment.
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Bob Weir attended the 67th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California on February 2, 2025. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Filmmagic/Getty Images)
Dell'amico admits that it's less stressful to be friends with Garcia. He described him as soft and ridiculous in his speech. His surprisingly modest home is “like a college dormitory” with several flannel shirts and pants in the closet and an ashtray nearby. Garcia often says, “I would rather do things than do things.”
“I was amazed at the depth of his humility and persistence being seen as a normal person,” Dell'amico said.
The Thankful Dead (Clockwise: Bob Will, Phil Lesh, Bill Crutzman, Ron Pepen McKenin, Mickey Hart and Jerry Garcia) took photos in 1970. Chris Walter/Wireimage/Getty Images)
“You might think it’s easy, but it’s not when you’re that name.
Jerry Garcia was at the Mountain Music Festival in Calavaras, California on August 23, 1987. (Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images)
He shared: “We’ll go out for a meal and the restaurant manager will come over and say, ‘This meal is on us.’ “Garcia always says, ‘No, thank you. We can pay for it. We have money. Why don’t you give free meals to people who don’t have money? 'The manager was shocked by it, but he wanted to talk about what he wanted to talk about, he wanted to talk about his spirit, religion, philosophy, he wanted to talk about how great it was.
“No one has a bad relationship with Garcia,” said Dell'amico.
“No one has a bad relationship with Garcia,” said Len Dell'amico. (Photo taken in Malcolm Lubliner/Michael Ochs archives/Getty image)
“You can't help but love this guy despite the flaws,” he explained. “And he has a lot of flaws. He's a travel musician trying to maintain a family. It's not easy.”
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Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia and Fleetwood Mac Hugging's Christine McVie. (LGI Inventory/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
“I remember coming across the phrase ‘charm machine’,” Dell’amico reflects. “That's Garcia. Seeing him is about knowing him. Knowing that he loves him… He is the kindest, smart and sympathetic person I've ever met. Many celebrities are self-drawn and narcissistic. That's never Garcia.”
Dell'amico said he spoke with Garcia a few weeks before his last death. They recall the past and the good times. Looking back, Dell'amico wonders if Garcia knows he won't be staying longer.
Jerry Garcia played the pedal guitar with Grateful Dead in 1987. LenDell'amico suspected Garcia knew he was short. (Picture by Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“He knew he had a heart disease,” Dell'amico explained. “I don't know how long it's because he never talked about it. Why? Because he didn't complain about anything, forever. His philosophy is, 'The complainer is the asshole. To what you have now, no matter what it is, how many, how many, because you're here.
Len Dell'amico said Jerry Garcia's reputation and wealth were able to live humbly. (Clayton Call/Redferns/Getty Images)
“This is a man who once lived in a car. He won a grand prize in his life. It was fame and attention that caused potential misfortunes. He just wanted to be himself… His philosophy is that animals are not afraid of death, so why do we have any benefits and what is fear?
Len Dell'amico said he and Jerry Garcia talked about the past at their last meeting. (Clayton Call/Redferns/Getty Images)
“I remember we were sitting there and recalling an hour and a half,” Delmico said quietly. “It was hysterical. We laughed until we cried. But then I thought, 'Why did he talk about his early life on that day?' I denied that he wanted to know something he wanted to laugh with his good friends because I don't think he had a lot of time.”
Singer Bob Dylan, wearing sunglasses, looked upset on his way to Jerry Garcia's funeral. (Kim Komenich/Getty Images)
Garcia died during sleep at a residential drug treatment center in California, according to the New York Times. He is 53 years old. A spokesman for the band said the cause was a heart attack. According to the media, Garcia tried to stop smoking and losing weight.
On August 1, 1942, this day in history, Jerry Garcia was born in San Francisco
Len Dell'amico says Jerry Garcia is not a tragic character. (Barry Chin/Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Dell'amico stressed that despite Garcia's brief life, the artist is not a tragic figure.
“It would be crazy to call him broken,” he said. “He did more than most people in 53 years. Yes, he was under constant pressure. He had to make tough choices. He certainly had material problems. But from all the time I've been in the acting business, I can tell you that it's not uncommon. But, he thinks he's already died from an overdone person, he's dead from a heart disease.
Jerry Garcia was in Las Vegas the year before her death. (Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“Our common belief is that life is life – nature is what happens forever,” he reflected. “Humans are the only creatures who worry about death…he is not. Even during those days, he was his happy self. I think that's how we should remember him.”
