Howard Kaylan: Movies & Box Office

Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan on June 22, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter and occasional actor, best known as the co‑founder and lead vocalist of the 1960s pop‑rock group The Turtles. Raised in the Bronx and later in Utica, New York, before moving to Westchester, Los Angeles, Kaylan displayed musical talent early, winning a Bank of America Fine Arts Award at sixteen and graduating as valedictorian of Westchester High School before briefly attending UCLA on scholarship. He first achieved commercial success in 1965 when he and Mark Volman formed The Turtles, whose breezy hits such as “Happy Together” and “She’d Rather Be with Me” propelled the band to international fame and secured Kaylan’s reputation as a prolific pop songwriter. After the original Turtles disbanded in 1970, Kaylan and Volman joined Frank Zappa’s avant‑garde ensemble The Mothers of Invention, where contractual restrictions forced them to adopt the pseudonyms “Eddie” and “Phlorescent Leech,” a gimmick that later evolved into the comedy‑rock duo Flo & Eddie. Over the next two decades Flo & Eddie released nine albums, contributed backing vocals to over a hundred recordings by artists ranging from John Lennon to the Ramones, and appeared in films and television programs, cementing Kaylan’s status as a versatile entertainer. In the 1990s Kaylan turned his creative energy toward literary pursuits, publishing short fantasy stories and authoring the memoir Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, Etc., which offers an insider’s view of the 1960s and 1970s music scenes. He released a solo collection, Dust Bunnies, in 2006, and remained active in media by writing “Eddie’s Media Corner” and making cameo appearances on shows such as General Hospital and The Garry Shandling Show. Health issues prompted his retirement from touring in 2018, after more than five decades of performance. Despite stepping away from the stage, Kaylan’s catalog—especially the timeless Turtles hits—continues to generate significant licensing revenue for commercials, films and video games, underscoring his lasting impact on popular culture.