In 1995 a cast of Zappa was installed in the center of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Zappa was immortalized by Konstantinas Bogdanas, the Lithuanian sculptor who had previously cast portraits of Vladimir Lenin.[1][2]
In 2002, a bronze bust was installed in a square in Bad Doberan, a small town in the north of Germany, where, since 1990, there has been an annual international festival celebrating the music of Frank Zappa, the "Zappanale".
In 2008 a cast of Zappa was installed in Baltimore created by Konstantinas Bogdanas, the Lithuanian sculptor.[3]
The Tokyo Tower Wax Museum, which closed down in 2013, featured a permanent exhibition about rock music and had a wax statue of Zappa.[4][5][6][7]
Zappa's official illustrator Cal Schenkel made various advertising comics to promote Zappa's latest records.[9]
In Marcel Gotlib's comics series Hamster Jovial the title character listen to 200 Motels and questions the lyrics of the song Penis Dimension.[10] The cartoonist frequently referenced Zappa in other comics too.[11]
A September 1970 issue of National Lampoon featured a parody of Archie Comics in which teenagers go to a Zappa concert. The artwork was provided by Michael Choquett, Sean Kelly, Joe Orlando, Henry Scarpelli and Peter Bramley.[12]
Belgian cartoonist Kamagurka once drew a comic strip for Zappa, but left the speech balloons open. After meeting him backstage he let Zappa fill in the text of this comic, named Zappa In Zoeloeland (1977). The comic strip was later published in Humo.[15][16]
Zappa has a cameo in Hector Leemans's Bakelandt comic book album Het Verraad van de Repensnijder (1979).[18]
One of Luc Cromheecke's earliest comics featured Zap, a motorcyclist who looked like Zappa.[19][20]
In the satirical comic book Pest In 't Paleis (1983) by Guido van Meir and Jan Bosschaert a group of Belgian politicians gather around the musical drum from the front cover of We're Only In It For The Money.[21]
Frank Zappa had cameos in the Belgian comics series The Adventures of Nero by Marc Sleen,[24] namely the albums De Zwarte Toren (1983), Het Beest Zonder Naam (1985) and Doe De Petoe (1994).[25]
In 1994 German cartoonist Wittek made a comic book album based on Zappa's Joe's Garage.[28]
Dutch comics artist Peter Pontiac illustrated bootleg copies of book with Zappa's lyrics.[29][30]
Belgian cartoonist Wegé often adds cameos of Zappa in his cartoons.[31][32]
British cartoonist Chuck Death invented crazy stories about Zappa in his Great Pop Things comics series.[33]
Jean Solé created a 1975 comic strip about Zappa's song Stinkfoot, which was published in Fluide Glacial[34] and later used as the cover of Zappa's bootleg album ' 'Tis The Season To Be Jelly.[35]
In 2012 a compilation album was released, Frank Zappa Comics Tribute, featured comics starring Zappa.[36]
Belgian cartoonist Karl Meersman drew two caricatures of Zappa.[37]
In 2005 "Zappaesk" (Eine Hommage an die Mutter der Erfindung) by Andreas Rausch was released by the Ehapa Comic Collection, Cologne. Since 2023 an updated English Version of the 240 pages book, with more illustrations and original coloured pages was made available as an E-Book. [38]
Food and drink
There are now hops named after Frank Zappa: Zappa Hops Guide: Yes, They’re Named After That Zappa
Frank Zappa appeared in the 1968 film Head (1968) which stars the Monkees. He is in the presence of a talking cow and tells Davy Jones to focus more on the band's music, because the youth of America depends on you to show the way.[41][42][43]
Joel and Ethan Coen's first amateur movie, The Banana Film, featured a man eating a banana, set to music from Zappa's Hot Rats.[44]
Frank Zappa made a satirical film, 200 Motels (1971), which is about him and his band The Mothers of Invention, but nevertheless only features him in minor footage.
Chief editor Guy Mortier of the Flemish magazine Humo shared a physical resemblance to Zappa, which was a running gag in its pages for decades. They even joked about it when they interviewed Zappa for their publication.[57][58][59][60][61]
Wild Man Fischer, who once recorded in Frank Zappa's studio, later had a falling-out with him. He recorded two songs about him afterwards, one named "Frank", the other "I'm Sorry, Frank Zappa".[71]
George Thorogood & The Destroyers covered The Mothers' song "Trouble Every Day" on their 1997 album Rockin' My Life Away. The song is dedicated to Zappa in the liner notes.
Weird Al Yankovic's song Genius In France from Poodle Hat (2003) is a tribute to Zappa and features Zappa's son Dweezil on guitar and vocals.
Gov't Mule recorded a song entitled "Left Coast Groovies (For FZ)", included on their debut album released in 1995. The introductory riff is followed by a voice in the background saying "what the fuck", a frequent expression of Zappa's. The song was often introduced in concert with a monologue about Zappa, concluding with the band telling audience members "If you don't like Frank Zappa, get the fuck out".[74][75]
Zappa made an appearance on The Steve Allen Show in 1963. This appearance featured Frank demonstrating the wide scope of percussion by playing the spokes of a spinning bicycle wheel with drum sticks.[79][80]
Zappa appeared on an episode of the Monkees' TV series entitled "The Monkees Blow Their Minds" (air date: 3/11/68). Here, he was shown "playing" a car by beating it into submission. This is done in a Monkees-style montage to the Zappa song "Mother People" after being interviewed by Monkee Michael Nesmith. Zappa agreed to appear on the show provided he could "be" Nesmith; Nesmith, in turn, liked the idea, so long as he could "be" Zappa. The two wore cheap, exaggerated disguises and the interview was performed as if Mike was Frank and Frank was Mike, in a manner analogous to Ringo Starr's appearance as "Larry the Dwarf, dressed up like Frank Zappa" in 200 Motels.[42][43]
His composition The Big Squeeze, which can be found on The Lost Episodes, was specifically written for a Luden's Cough Drops TV commercial.[81]
Zappa's music was used set to bizarre imagery in the experimental and highly controversial Dutch TV show Hoepla in 1967.[82]
Zappa was subject of a documentary by Dutch documentary maker Roelof Kiers, simply named Frank Zappa. After being broadcast on 11 February 1971[83] it led to controversy among viewers and questions asked in the Tweede Kamer.
He appeared on What's My Line? on 23 September 1971, during the show's syndicated run, as a mystery guest.[84]
Zappa appeared on "The Mike Douglas Show", 28 October 1976. He is interviewed and performs one instrumental selection on guitar. His segment last approximately 17 minutes. Also present are J.J. Walker and Kenny Rogers.
Zappa was the host and musical guest of a Season Four episode of Saturday Night Live in October 1978. His odd sense of humor and constant mugging to the camera once led Lorne Michaels to ban this episode.[citation needed] This, however, proved to be temporary as the Zappa episode has been rerun a few times on NBC. In the same show he portrayed Connie Conehead's date. He was also part of another skit, entitled "Night of Freak Mountain", in which Zappa met with a couple of hippies who offered various drugs to him, which he declined, stating "I don't do drugs." The hippies regarded his statement in awe and surprise. As part of the musical performance of "I'm the Slime" (on an earlier episode hosted by Candice Bergen), the transparent screen of a fake television monitor fills up with a slimy green goo.[85][86]
Zappa appeared in a 1979 episode of the game show Make Me Laugh.[87]
In 1981 Zappa made a music video, You Are What You Is, which featured U.S. President Ronald Reagan on the electric chair.[88] In the 1994 Beavis and Butt-Head episode Canoe Beavis and Butt-head come across this music video while channel surfing and instantly switch the channel because it sucks so much. In an interview Mike Judge claimed that many Zappa fans were mad at him, but he did it as a tribute to Zappa who claimed in an interview that he liked the show.[89]
He played Attilla the Hunchback in Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre, in the episode titled "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers" (1984).[90][91]
In the cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 the show's creators frequently referenced Zappa, because they were huge fans.[99] Zappa too loved the show and tried to collaborate with the staff to adapt one of his musical scripts, Hunchentoot, into a film. Zappa's death prevented it from ever being produced. In the week of his passing an episode was dedicated to him.[100]
Music from Zappa's background catalogue was featured prominently in the first season of the satirical animated TV series Duckman (1994). He died before the pilot episode aired, but it was dedicated to him. Zappa's son, Dweezil Zappa performed the voice of Ajax in the series.[101][102]
The Roseanne Show Season 6 Episode 14 "Busted" aired in January 1994 right after Frank's death. Ahmet Zappa plays the roommate of Becky's estranged husband Mark. In the apartment they share are three Frank Zappa posters on the walls. "Man From Utopia" "Them Or Us" "No D Glasses". There appears to be a bust of Frank on the dresser. After the credits roll a full screen "F. Z. R. I. P." appears.
In the 1980s, biologist Ed Murdy named a genus of gobiid fishes of New Guinea Zappa after Zappa, stating that he liked "his music... his politics and principles" and that "the name itself is a good one for scientific nomenclature."[109]
Biologist Ferdinando Boero named a phialellid jellyfish Phialella zappai[110] in order to get the chance to meet the musician. A Zappa concert in Genoa focused largely on the jellyfish and on Dr. Boero. A small portion of this concert was released on You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore: Vol. 6 as "Lonesome Cowboy Nando".[111] Zappa stated, "There is nothing I'd like better than to have a jellyfish named after me."[112]
Other species named after Zappa include a fossil snail named Amaurotoma zappa and the Cameroonese spider Pachygnatha zappa, so named because a marking on the female's ventral surface resembles the Zappa mustache.[113] A gene of the bacterium Proteus mirabilis that causes urinary tract infection is named zapA (others are named zapB through zapE).[114]
In late July, 2007, the city of Berlin, at the urging of the MUSIKFABRIK ORWOhaus (musicians community), renamed Street 13 in the Marzahn district (part of the former East Berlin) the "Frank-Zappa-Straße."[118]
The street of Partinico, Sicily, where Zappa's father lived at number 13, Via Zammatà, has been renamed to Via Frank Zappa.[119]
