Mickey Dora. "Da Cat" Artist of the Continental Drift

Mickey Chapin Dora, Miklos S. Dora III, Miki Dora, MSD III. The names are many, and so are the facets of the man they call "Da Cat." Mickey Dora is surfing's Black Knight, the consummate antihero of the Malibu era.

Born in Budapest, Hungary to Miklos and Ramona Dora (who soon divorced), his stepfather, the great surfer Gard Chapin, introduced the boy to the ways of the ocean and a life at the beach. Dora was a worthy student and an excellent test pilot for the surfboard Chapin bought him. "Chapin was one of the few guys who instantly recognized that my pintails would work," surfboard innovator Joe Quigg recalls. "I got ridiculed and (Bob) Simmons laughed at them, but Chapin got one, and he bought one for Mickey, and that was his first surfboard."

Young Dora was a touch iconoclastic from the get-go. His early plan to fire-bomb the shack at San Onofre would have been offensive even to his independently minded stepdad had he carried it out. Stories of Dora's youth abound; stories on his Malibu years and beyond are legend. But Da Cat's outrageous scams, ruses and poses mask a man of extreme sensitivity and brilliance -- in and out of the water.

With the advent of foam surfboards and the more maneuver-oriented surfing styles of the late '50s, Dora's subtle mastery of wave positioning and the nuances of board control set him apart from the pack at Malibu, and his appearances there became the fodder of legend. His deft mannerisms on and off the beach and calculatedly eccentric comings and goings epitomized the Jack Kerouac/James Dean cult of cool. Who knew what lurked behind those Ray Ban sunglasses?

After Gidget created a cinematic genre, Dora became a sometime stunt double for several of the early '60s Hollywood beach flicks beginning with 1964's Muscle Beach Party. He was also worked in Bikini Beach (1964), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) and Ski Party (1965). He was featured as himself in Bill Delaney's Surfers: The Movie (1990).

In his halcyon days, Dora circulated mysteriously, sometimes penetrated the L.A. scene and lived an increasingly covert existence. Occasional interviews with the nascent surf media were veiled, cryptic and showed a penetrating and surreal wit. Above all, he was clearly oppressed by the accelerating loss of the idyllic world of his youth.

As his beloved Malibu increasingly swarmed with interlopers, Dora's go-outs became more like slalom runs as he wove intricate paths through scores of kooks, pushing and shoving his way along the zippering hollows. When accused of being ruthless, Dora told Surfer, "It's a lie. I'm vicious. We're all pushing and shoving, jockeying for position, and if I get the wave first -- if I'm in the best position -- then I feel I deserve it."

In the '60s, Dora grew to loathe contests and the "fascistic" control they exercised over surfers, the beaches and the waves. He called contest judges senile surf freaks and rejected the authority of the sport's self-appointed leaders. At the 1967 Malibu Invitational Surf Classic, competing for the last time, Da Cat took off on a wave, trimmed beautifully across its blue-green face and, passing in front of the judges, bent over, dropped his black shorts and exposed his naked ass to the gathered dignitaries and spectators.

Eventually Dora's disgust with contemporary California forced a decisive career move and lifestyle shift, and he escaped into a self-imposed (and strategic) exile, abandoning his fabled haunts to the Valley usurpers and Hollywood geeks. He has lived in France, traveled extensively in South Africa, Australia and the South Pacific and Indian oceans. He returned to the United States in the '80s to serve jail time for grand larceny (credit card fraud) and perhaps other criminal pursuits.

Since then, Dora, still with no permanent residence, has remained a surf tribe icon over the years. He has been invited (and sometimes attended) legends events, and lives much of the year in France, where he is often seen at Quiksilver functions, giving him a sense of community in the international surfing establishment. Like many of the aging stars, Dora has benefited from the nostalgia of the so-called longboard renaissance, and a new edition of his famous Greg Noll Da Cat surfboard (which sold thousands as the first limited-edition signature model in the mid-'60s) has been a great success.

"We made 250 of them, and we've got eight left," Noll reveals. "We started out at $1,000, which some people thought was outrageous, but then they went to $2,000, and the last 15 or 20 are going for $3,000 each." Clearly the Dora image and name (each Da Cat model is signed by both Noll and Dora) has cachet.

Later a slew of Dora's possessions (presumably sold to lighten his load and raise some cash) were offered for sale via the Internet. The lot included Miki's 1967 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational trophy (name engraved, mint condition), a personal photo album of surf and family from 1940 to the '60s, silver ID bracelet (name engraved, 1942), 23 small surf shots from the Gidget movies and Dora's pencil sketch of a nude woman.

Miki Dora passed away on January 3, 2002 at age 67 at his father's home in Montecito, California after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. But interest in him refuses to die. In 2005, CR Stecyk and Drew Kampion released an authorized biography called Dora Lives using approved interviews and vintage photos. Three years later, Dave Rensin published All for a Few Perfect Waves. As the graffiti at Malibu has boasted for ages, the legend not only lives: "Dora rules."



-- Drew Kampion (updated, December 2009)

Miklos S. Dora / Artist of the Secound Kind

Miklos S. Dora.  1934 - 2002

"Da Cat" Surfed Malibu in the 50's. "Most Graceful Man on a Board"


Mickey was a good friend who I met when I moved next door to him in 1968 on a small Street in Brentwood, CA, Gretna Green just below Montana. I was just out of High School and this was my first Apartment. The place was cheap because it was to be torn down and as a Artist I would ditch Santa Monica City Collage and rummage through trash cans to find objects to collage my Apartment with. Meeting Mickey in passing and having him over sealed the bond. I think he was taken by free thinking and anti-establishment rederect. He was also taken with my artistic endeavors and saw them on the level of freedom he was familar with, just a different medium. I had of course heard of him from Palisades High School and Bruce Brown Surfing Movies at the Santa Monica Civic. He lived in a small one bedroom apartment filled with memorabilia from his adventures including The Hollywood and Vine Street Sign, Surf Boards, African Statues, A Brass Bed draped in Costume Jewelry and bangles, and a Desk where he forged passes to the Oscars and other effects. There was so much stuff, all interesting that you literally had to climb under and over stuff to get to one room to other. He wasn't a hoarder, he just had a small Apt. and a garage with a vintage Lotus 1 seater Race Car and Porsche Speedster and of course his VW Bus which he told me on numerous occasions was set with car bombs at Malibu for cutting people off on waves. He watched the news at night and had the occasional Girl over but other than that stayed pretty much to himself. He would on occasions take off to Biarritz or South Africa and ask me along but being so young the prospect seemed risky so I passed. He had Beautiful Girlfriend who I met on several occasions who had a small but beautiful house just off San Vicente below 20th street. He was a charmer.


I latter moved to Venice Beach and set up a sculpture studio which comprised of 2 store fronts. He rented a mail box from me obviously for his personal business and even gave me a New 360 Yamaha Enduro Dirt Bike. I was sceptical but he said he didn't have the space to store it and to enjoy it which I did. He would come down to Venice and we would have breakfast on the days he checked his mail. He called me Eagle Eye. Whenever he would tell me his wild adventures one of my eye brows would go up. I remember one morning we were eating our eggs and toast and in walks this muscle man all greased up, we looked at each other like what the heck is this guy. It was a young Arnold Schwarzenegger who had just appeared on the scene. We had a good laugh and I latter hired Arnold and some of his muscle friends to help move some of my concrete sculptures. Arnold was building concrete block walls at the time in 1968.


I had seen Mickey surf and used to hang out with him at Lifeguard Station 5 at the bottom of Santa Monica Canyon. He introduced me to Wilt Chamberlain who hung out there among his other casual acquaintances. We had a easy repore. Mickey was not all that complicated like people say. He was kind, generous, a loyal friend and did what he had to do to Surf. I mean can you see Dora working? I think not. I knew about his scams but it was during the Viet Nam Years and I saw what he did as No More Criminal than the Government and Politicians of the time. This was the 60's. I have no idea what was going on the back ground with Mickey but I would always catch that Dora Grin and Unusual Mannerisms cluing me that he had just pulled something off. It was second nature to him and he lived by his wits to Surf. I totally respected him for it. I hear people talk about what a scammer he was but in the Big Picture he was a Artist and did what he had to do for his Craft.


One day he split the country and I didn't hear from him for a year or so. I believe he was jailed and afterwards split for Marrakesh or something like that. He left the Country at this point in time, and I never saw him again. I would get calls from him on a Black Box a device used to make free calls that were untraceable every 3 or 4 months and he would give me some clues to his wear abouts and Waves. He stayed in touch with me till around 1995 and I never heard from him again till I heard he died through the grapevine. It was a shock that a guy in such great physical shape could be taken down by Cancer at 67. I miss his originality and talent. I still love watching old clips of him and remember his endorsed Surf Board with Da Cat on it.


He was a original and did what he had to do to Surf. He was no Black Knight but a guy who was 2 steps ahead of the next guy. The last clip I saw of Dora was on a PBS Movie In Search of Mickey Dora. The finally found him in the south of France most likely living off some 
Frenchman's dime. The only shot they got of him was him standing behind his long board stuck in the sand with his hand sticking out giving the Finger. Classic Dora Style. He did not care and was finished with Hollywood Tensile and was living his last years doing what he loved, chasing the next great wave living out of his Mercedes Van. I will always have his face etched in my brain, and feel Lucky to have been friends with one of the True Great Artists of Surfing in our Lives. Honestly to to me he was just Mickey with that Impeccable Smile and Hand Mannerisms that were Memorizing.


One day Mickey invited me to the Movie Studio's for a audition to try out for a surf movie. They were casting 18 year old which I fit the bill but Dora was 14 years older. The casting director knew Mickey and I couldn't surf good enough so they kicked the 2 of us out of the office. Mickey pulled out Cherry Bombs and M80's and through them down the hall as we made a mad dash out of the studio parking lot in his Maroon Speedster.

As much as I miss Mickey now, his humor always brings a smile back to my face. In one of his last Interviews he was to sick to come to the table for Lunch, but met outside on a bench in Sunshine. The Interviewer asked if he spent much time there. Mickey Replied, "Ah Yeah, You know, Cant Die without a Sun Tan", with sarcasm and smile. This is how I will remember him.

February Ad in "Art in America ". Opening Feb. 4. 6-8pm. at The Michael Lord Gallery, Palm Springs, CA.

Click Tittle to View Contemporary Modernist Sculptor Christopher Georgesco Archieves

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My New Exhibition consists of 5 Stainless Steel Table Top Sculptures and 3 Stain less Steel 8' Sculptures in the Front Gallery. The Larger Rear Gallery will have examples from my 1998 Show of Black Geometric Volumes, one is the model for a piece which which was recently Installed on Palm Canyon Blvd. in Palm Springs called "Balzac". Its mate a Female version is tittled "Black Maria" and they are both on Metal Pedestals around 8' h overall.

                                                                            

 There are a Set of Three White Columns which Tittled "Transfiguration" and work together to activate the Space between Them. Most of my work is primarily conceived as The Point in Space that Circles have in Common. The Sculpture itself is the area which 4 circles have in common and all other components are eliminated leaving a Monolith. Another White Column in the show is a "Obelisk around 9' tall comprised of opposing elongated Triangles with reversed sides flipped 2 up 2 down causing the piece to twist subtly 90 degrees.

                                                                              

                There will be Five Leaf Sculptures from around 2002 - 2008 made from Painted Steel with Stainless Steel Feet in Gold, White, Yellow and Red. These pieces resemble Leaves but are conceived from the same Vocabulary I have worked with for the past 43 years with the exception of straight metal Dowlings connecting the work as radius lines. These pieces all are around just under 8' -12' Tall. Out of the Sculptures I have made these are the first to include Color, a departure from the use of natural materials used for their Color and Texture. This Series express's a more playful Joy towards my work more than other series previous.