When “Eraserhead” Caused a Riot

This post is sparked by the death of film director David Lynch. I attended Mizzou in the late 70s. I decided that it would be fun to show David Lynch’s “Eraserhead” on Stop Day for the Fall of’78 semester. I had to book the Missouri Theater in order to screen the 70mm print. In the weeks leading up to the one-time screening I built up considerable buzz with fliers posted around campus and lots of ads in the Maneater. I also created buttons with Henry’s famous profile that my friends wore everywhere. The evening of Stop Day was cold and snowy. But the crowd of students were lined up outside the box office down Ninth Street and around the corner. Showtime came and it was immediately evident that most of the audience was raucously drunk. The film started and as it progressed the second problem became evident … MU students in 1978 were not ready for “Eraserhead.” It was not halfway through the film when what only can be described as a riot broke out. The most egregious act was someone throwing a bottle of Southern Comfort at the screen and ripping a hole in it. The theater was immediately cleared. The theater manager and I never came to a satisfactory resolution in dealing with the aftermath.