Who was Cynthia Plaster Caster? Tributes pour in as 'super groupie' and artist dies aged 74

Cynthia Plaster Caster, also known as Cynthia Albritton, recently passed away on April 21 at the age of 74. The news was confirmed by her representatives, who said that she died following a long illness.

Albittron was famous for the plaster casts she took of several top musicians’ private parts. An official statement from her family members is still awaited and further details about her funeral are yet to be revealed.

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Everything known about Cynthia Plaster Caster

Cynthia Plaster Caster was a famous American artist and self-described recovering groupie who gained recognition for creating plaster casts of popular persons’ private parts. She began her career in 1968 and was a resident of Chicago at the time.

Albittron’s collection included Jimi Hendrix, Wayne Kramer, Pete Shelley, Jello Biafra, Laetitia Sadier, Sally Timms, Karen O, and others. She eventually expanded her subjects to include filmmakers and other artists, which amassed a collection of 50 plaster p*nises.

Cynthia Plaster Caster performing at ATP Bowlie 2 weekend festival at Butlin's holiday camp, Minehead, Somerset (Image via Edd Wesmacott/Getty Images)

She met Frank Zappa, who found her concept of casting a humorous and creative art form. Zappa moved to Los Angeles, which according to Albittron was a veritable groupie heaven with no lack of willing assistants eager to prepare the subjects for casting.

After her apartment was robbed in 1971, she and Zappa decided that the casts should be preserved for a future exhibition, and entrusted them to Zappa’s legal partner, Herb Cohen, for safekeeping. The exhibition idea did not work due to the lack of famous rock stars willing to participate and she made no casts between 1971 and 1980.

Cynthia had to go to court in 1993 to retrieve the 25 casts Cohen held and she held her first exhibition of the casts in New York City in 2000. Her career was showcased in the 2001 documentary, Plaster Caster, and she inspired two songs, Five Short Minutes by Jim Croce and Plaster Caster by Kiss.

A television conversation between her and Frank Zappa’s group, the GTOs, was also included on their 1969 album, Permanent Damage. She unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Chicago on the Hard Party ticket in 2010.

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Netizens pay tribute to Cynthia Plaster Caster on Twitter

Twitter was flooded with tributes from the public as soon as they heard the news of Cynthia’s death:

Further details about her family and personal life are yet to be revealed.