Editing Utah Phillips (section)

==Early years==
Phillips was born in [[Cleveland]] to Edwin Deroger Phillips and Frances Kathleen Coates. His father, Edwin Phillips, was a labor organizer, and his parents' activism influenced much of his life's work. Phillips was a card-carrying member of the [[Industrial Workers of the World]] (Wobblies), which were headquartered in Chicago. His parents divorced and his mother remarried. Phillips was adopted at the age of five by his stepfather, Syd Cohen, who managed the Hippodrome Theater in Cleveland, one of the last vaudeville houses in the city. Cohen moved the family to [[Salt Lake City]], Utah, where he managed the Lyric Theater, another vaudeville house. Phillips attributes his early exposure to vaudeville through his stepfather as being an important influence on his later career.<ref>Phillips, Utah. [http://www.clownzen.com/clownofit/utahphillips.html clownzen.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218092632/http://www.clownzen.com/clownofit/utahphillips.html |date=December 18, 2013 }} June 2002 interview. Retrieved December 7, 2013.</ref>

Phillips attended [[East High School (Salt Lake City)|East High School]] in Salt Lake City, where he was involved in the arts and plays.<ref name="folkworks.org">[http://folkworks.org/columns/how-can-i-keep-from-talking-ross-altman/40229-polly-stewart-salt-lake-folk-revival "Folk Revival in Salt Lake City?"], folkworks.org. Retrieved 7 December 2013</ref> He served in the [[United States Army]] for three years in the 1950s. Witnessing the devastation of [[Korean War|post-war]] [[Korea]] greatly influenced his social and political thinking. After discharge from the army, Phillips rode the railroads, and wrote songs.<ref name="theunion">{{cite web |url=http://theunion.com/article/20080526/NEWS/88594631 |title=From hobo to fame |access-date=14 April 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530183331/http://www.theunion.com/article/20080526/NEWS/88594631 |archive-date=May 30, 2008 |last=Pelline |first=Jeff |author2=Butler, Pat |date=May 26, 2008 |work=[[The Union (newspaper)|The Union]] |df=mdy-all }}</ref>