Stanley Marsh 3
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Image:Amarillo Texas Cadillac Ranch1 2005-05-29.jpg Stanley Marsh 3 is a millionaire, artist, philanthropist, and prankster from Amarillo, Texas, USA. He is perhaps best known as the sponsor of the Cadillac Ranch, a public art installation near Amarillo.
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[edit] Art projects and pranks
In the 1970s, Marsh collaborated with the art group, Ant Farm, to create the Cadillac Ranch. Marsh has funded other public art projects in Amarillo besides Cadillac Ranch, which include the "Dynamite Museum", an ongoing project consisting of hundreds of mock traffic signs.<ref name="signs">"Public Art in Private Places: Amarillo's Unusual Signs" Retrieved on June 7, 2006</ref> These signs, bearing messages such as "Road does not end", "Lubbock is a grease spot," and "I have traveled a great deal in Amarillo" may be found throughout the city of Amarillo. Additional public art projects sponsored by Marsh were a supposed remains of a giant statue called, "Ozymandias" and the "Floating Mesa", a huge natural mesa with a narrow white band wrapped on top of it.<ref>"The yellow rose of Texas" Retrieved on June 7, 2006</ref><ref>"Floating Mesa" Retrieved on June 7, 2006</ref> Despite the attention of the art projects sponsored by Marsh, critics have called them eye sores with little or no artistic value. In response to the criticism, he quoted as saying, "Art is a legalized form of insanity, and I do it very well."<ref>"Unanticipated Rewards--Cadillac Ranch". Retrieved on March 6, 2006</ref>
Marsh also appears in documentaries which featured Cadillac Ranch or the city of Amarillo such as "The Plutonium Circus" and "Road Does Not End", a short documentary by a Dallas-based filmmaker about Marsh and the art projects he funded.<ref>"Stanley Adds 'Star' To Résumé" Retrieved on August 25, 2006</ref>
In 1999, Marsh disrupted a live television broadcast from Amarillo by the cable television network, The Weather Channel when he performed a Native American snow dance in front of the cameras.<ref>"Marsh's dance disrupts live TV broadcast " Retrieved on June 7, 2006</ref> Image:Amarillo Tx - Dynamite Museum - Cricket Panhandler.jpg
[edit] Personal life
Stanley Marsh 3's grandfather, Stanley Marsh, was an oilman who, along with Don Harrington and Lawrence R. Hagy, started a business that developed oil and gas properties in the Texas Panhandle.<ref>"MARSH, STANLEY." "Handbook of Texas". Retrieved on July 2, 2006.</ref> While Marsh is the third person in his family named Stanley, he uses the Arabic numeral "3" in place of the traditional Roman numeral "III" ("the third"), as he considers the latter to be pretentious.<ref name="signs" />
Marsh also used to own Texas television stations, KVIA-TV and KVII-TV through the Marsh Media company.<ref>"A History of ABC 7" Retrieved on June 7, 2006</ref> The offices of Marsh Enterprises are located in Amarillo's tallest building, Chase Tower.
In the 1990s, Marsh had four lawsuits alleging imprisonment, sexual misconduct and harassment of teens. All four of them were later settled. One of the lawsuits included a member of the Whittenburg family, the former owners of the Amarillo Globe-News.<ref>"Marsh settles four lawsuits" Retrieved on June 7, 2006</ref>
Marsh and his wife, Gwendolyn O'Brien "Wendy" Marsh, reside in an estate called, "Toad Hall ." The couple have five children.<ref>"Wendy Marsh." "Amarillo Globe-News." Retrieved on July 3, 2006.</ref> The Marsh family founded The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Lectureship in Pharmacology and Neurochemistry of Substance Abuse/Addiction at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The family also donated land to the Amarillo private school, Ascension Academy.
