It's quite true, although it must be pointed out that there have been three generations of Drs Bronner since the mid 20th century, and many generations of soap-making Heilbronners before that. I missed getting to talk to the most famous Dr. Bronner, the All-One-God-Faith-Health-Wealth-Moral-ABC Dr. Bronner by about a half dozen years. But I did get to talk to his nearly as kooky son -- boy, did I. It was for a May, 2002 issue of Time Out New York. I wrote nearly 100 articles for Time Out back in the oughts and NONE of 'em are online, doing me precisely no good. Good thing I keep physical copies of everything! So here are the receipts:
But first, let me back-up for those not in the know. I first became a fan of Dr. Bonner's Magic Soaps in the late '80s by way of my ex-wife. It's kind of a hippie thing. It's sort of an all-purpose liquid soap product that comes in these bottles that are covered in downright delirious Jeremiad-like reading matter, which I've always found infectious. I once wrote an entire play using that voice: "Carpenter Jesus says strong mind and healthy body for peace and inner wellness! A drop on tongue and teeth for fresh breath, etc! Dilute! Dilute! OK!" It's a castile soap, made from olive oil rather than lye, and is supposed to be better for your health and the environment. I always picture hairy hippies using it at the beach or when camping. And it comes in varieties such as peppermint, that make your skin feel tingly as though you just brushed your entire body with toothpaste. I imagine it's probably pretty amazing when you're high. I, um...I wouldn't know.
I especially love the fact that the product manages to bridge two worlds. On the one hand it's fully in the medicine show tradition of promising that their product does EVERYTHING from shampooing your hair to bestowing cosmic enlightenment, right down to having a "Doctor" as the head of the company. On the other hand, it's a very socially conscious organization. In addition to being a relatively safe product, the company is structured such that the CEO does not earn more than 7 times the lowest paid employee, and when the company is seeing a profit, the boon is shared. With the cartoon character mascot (not unlike Colonel Sanders) and the brand loyalty this quirky soap inspires, almost everyone who has ever existed on earth would have drunk the corporate Kool-Aid a long time ago, expanded, sold shares, and become another ugly American monster. But that's not how this family rolls. They are models to be emulated. But now let me fill you in some more.
The original Dr. Bronner was Dr. Emanuel Bronner (Emanuel Heilbronner, 1908-1997). Today is his birthday. WAS he a doctor? I doubt it, though he made no medical claims anyway. Let's just say he was a doctor of soap. And whether or not he possessed a doctoral diploma, he certainly possessed all the knowledge he needed to make his product, drawn from generations of his ancestors back in Heilbronn, Germany. Bronner immigrated to the U.S. in 1929. Unfortunately he was unable to persuade his family, who were Jews, to join him in the U.S. and they were murdered by those goddamn Nazi bastards in the Holocaust. This is why Bronner took the "Heil" off his name. Heil my ass, Fritz!
In 1946 there was some kind of incident at the University of Chicago. Some students invited Bronner to speak on his semi-messianic soap philosophy and he went off on a tear. Authorities had to be called. He was sent to a mental health facility and given shock treatments which he later blamed for the blindness that plagued his old age. Yes. Dr. Bronner was literally a blind prophet.
Like I say, Emmanuel had passed from the scene before the time of my article. The Dr. Bronner I talked to was his son Ralph. Now there was a Chatty Cathy. He talked and talked and talked and talked. I mean, literally for hours. I think it was the longest interview I ever conducted, or to be more accurate, received. Normally I'm brusque in such situations and cut 'em off, but Ralph was entirely too entertaining for that. Funny, charming, ebullient. Naturally, he was a good deal more sane than his father (and he did a hilarious impression of his father), but still he pushed the outer limits of "gift of gab". Epic! Part salesman, part raconteur, part company historian. The occasion of the article was that there was a show in the works, which was part of the apparatus to promote Sara Lamm's documentary Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox, which was presented at the Present Company Theatorium. There was a rough-cut of the film at the event. My Time Out New York article wound up in the film (Ralph flashes it around), though I'm not mentioned by name. The movie premiered on the Sundance TV channel in 2007. Ralph passed in 2015.
The reigning Dr. Bronner these days is Ralph's nephew David (b. 1973) and he actually does possess a degree in biology from Harvard. In addition to running the company he's an activist on a zillion fronts, and very much maintains the family tradition of being a squeaky wheel.
Check out the website here. This is an unpaid endorsement!
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