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“The Goal is the Journey,” was my beloved, dearly departed Capt’n Max’s motto, and a very special juncture in our journey through life, love, death and more love is about to occur: Max to the MAXIMUS!
On what would be Max’s 82nd birthday – Saturday, November 8th, 2025 – the citizens of Bonoboville and I will hold a bonoboësque, multi-media, multi-cultural celebration of the remarkable life, storybook romance and historic “free speech” legacy of Pr. Maximillian Rudolph Leblovic Lobkowicz di Filangieri (November 8, 1943 – May 13, 2025), affectionately known to family and friends as “Mickey,” and to fans and other friends as “Captain Max.”
Doors will open at the Womb Room Sanctuary of the little Love Church of The Bonobo Way at Dr. Suzy’s Speakeasy (where we speak about things, like love and death, that are not so easy to speak about) in the Dr. Susan Block Institute of Bonoboville, LA. Remembrance rituals, heartfelt eulogies and testimonials from around the world, prayers to all the Gods and Goddesses (“just in case,” as Max would say), music, films, food, drink, flowers and festivities will flow on through the night.
For address, more information, and to RVSP, call 626.461.5950.
The “Max to the MAXIMUS” Memorial will also be broadcast live on DrSusanBlock.com as well as on X/Twitter @DrSuzy, Facebook: Villa Bonobo, IG: Bonoboville and our Bonoboville Youtube channel.
The word “Maximus” means “the greatest” in Latin,” Dr. Suzy explains, “and Max was the greatest Latin lover! He was also a great visionary artist, journalist and freedom-fighter, my greatest partner, producer, publisher, designer, muse and my ‘witness’ throughout our 40-year love affair and 33-year marriage, chock-full of international romance, epic shows, legendary HBO specials, stimulating Speakeasies, Bedside Chats and wild Bacchanals in our vibrant intentional community of Bonoboville, our little island of peace through pleasure, female empowerment, male well-being, sharing, caring and love in a sea of pain, a state of hate and a world of war.
Born in the middle of war, at the Vatican Hospital as WWII Allied bombs fell on Rome, Max chose a path of peace. On his father’s side, he traced his aristocratic ancestry back to the Lobkowicz princes of medieval Prague, and through his mother, he was descended from Enlightenment philosopher, Prince Gaetano Filangieri, whose writings on liberty and equality influenced Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, as well as the work of his friend Benjamin Franklin, and over two centuries later, the work of his descendent, Max.
Following in Gaetano Filangieri’s footsteps and inspired by the jovial mysticism of George Gurdjieff, Max’s philosophy of life could be summed up by his motto, “The Goal is the Journey.” A trailblazing publisher, revolutionary radio artist and connoisseur of the arts of love, Max published The L.A. Star (with Paul and Shirley Eberle) Love Magazine (with Willem de Ridder), Hate Magazine, Finger Magazine, God, Charles Gatewood’s Forbidden Photographs, Annie Sprinkle’s Hot Sh*t, The Sprinkle Report, The Brentwood Bla Bla, Beverly Hills the Magazine, Meetings with Remarkable People, The Pearl, Lasse Braun’s Lady Caligula, Dr. Susan Block’s Journal, The 10 Commandments of Pleasure (third American edition), Dr. Suzy’s Speakeasy Magazine, Dr. Block’s Pleasure Shop and Block’s most recent book The Bonobo Way: The Evolution of Peace through Pleasure. He also produced Colin Hicks in Italy, Mickey Caballero on Radio Genoa, The Dr. Susan Block Show (since 1991) on 100 stations across America and featured on HBO, Dr. Suzy’s Bedside Chats, Bedtime Stories, Desert Susan and F.D.R. Radio, which he co-hosted, and produced several acclaimed art exhibits, including Dr. Suzy’s Speakeasy of Erotic Art (featured on HBO’s Real Sex 25), “Sex Acts” in Soho, “Erotic Art of the Apocalypse” in DTLA and “Art Bombs: American Libertines for Peace” in Cannes, France.
Max is survived by his brother Pr. Charles Lobkowicz; son Michael Leblovic; daughter Daniele Macdonald; daughter Kari Schiaman; son Jonathan Dreksler; grandchildren Anna Baer, Talia Amato, Paige Belmont, Madix Leblovic, Jacob Schiaman, Juliet Schiaman; great grandchildren Taylor Amato, Levon Baer; niece Giovanella Lobkowicz; cousins Giovanni Rossi Filangieri and Anna Aliena Ciriello; and many beloved friends – and by me, his devoted “Admiral” Suzy.
Though my heart is still – and always will be – broken from the loss of my Great Love, I choose to celebrate the extraordinary, exhilarating life he lived; a life that touched and inspired me and so many others. I also want to honor Max’s passionate belief in free speech and consenting-adult free love, his fierce opposition to war, occupation and police brutality, his visionary liberation therapy, his marvelous magazines pioneering ‘reader-written media’ long before ‘social media,’ his whimsical humor, his love for the bonobos, how he met every challenge with a smile, or how he published and really lived The Bonobo Way.
In these times of escalating fascism, authoritarian censorship, unchecked violence, neo-Puritanical hypocrisy and billionaire-worshipping, war-glorifying, genocide-supporting, algorithm-driven, apocalyptic inhumanity, Max to the MAXIMUS will be a blast from the past to inspire a better future – from Eros to Thanatos and back to Eros again – a wild and joyful beacon of bonoboësque hope for humanity, a tribute to real free speech, sharing community, bonobo conservation, pro-bonobo values, peace on Earth – and a good time for all.
Several members of Max’s family will attend in person and some will speak at the Memorial, as will many friends of Max, from around the world. Others will participate via Zoom. It’s all free. But if you’d like to make a donation, click here. We appreciate it!
Speaking of “free,” in memory of Capt’n Max and in honor of his freedom-fighting legacy, we declare November 8, 2025 to be a national holiday: Free Speech Day. Exercise your First Amendment Rights – or support somebody else’s!
Click the following links for stories of Max’s extraordinary life and heartbreaking death:
“RIP Max”
On Substack
X/Twitter Thread
“Maximillian Lobkowicz di Filangieri Obituary”
On Substack
On Dignity Memorial
On Counterpunch
“Cremating Captain Max”
On Substack
“Bottomless Grief & Topless Cake”
On Substack
On Counterpunch
“My Beloved Max” Collage Collection
Max Collage 1: “Family History”
On Substack
Max Collage 2: “On DrSuzy.Tv”
On Substack
Max Collage 3: “Travels with Max in France”
On Substack
Max Collage 4: “Winter Holidays”
On Substack
“Max to the Maximus” Memorial
On Substack
On Facebook Events
On Meetup
PR in AVN, Xbiz & ASN.
Join us – in person or on the air – as we celebrate Freedom Speech Day and life lived to the MAXIMUS.
much bonobo love,
Dr. Suzy
Susan Marilyn Block, Ph.D.
Director, The Dr. Susan Block Institute
Bonoboville, Los Angeles
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