Portrait of the Author in Red Bowtie #1

#1? How many red bowtie photos are there? Too many. I've got #2 waiting in the wings. Here Young Ralph roasts a wiener in the yard. Those bright Italian whites make me wonder if that even is a bowtie and not just some ketchup he wiped on his lapel...

Rocky Mountain Swan

We're in Colorado Springs at the dawn of the Seventies. Ralph receives an award from the business owner to whom he has sold his very first newspaper ad. I don't know what the award was for, or why any award, except one for ballet, would be represented by a glass swan. My greater interest is in Ralph's manual acceptance of the swan -- pinkie out, the same way he eats a White Castle hamburger.

 

Bill Duck's Business Card! Of course, Ralph still has it!

The Neighborhood

St. Raymond's Ave in the late 1950s. The scene looks like Ralph's first communion. And there he is, dead center -- so Italian, so intense (to quote the Irving Klaw Trio, whose members included Ralph's eldest son, Jeff). Another photographic time capsule of one of the great cultures of mid-20th century New York. Take the time to click on the photo for a larger view to study each face. What a collection! Look closely and you'll find "XXX" Al, Ralph the Plumber, and the father of Joseph Medeglia, the priest at the baptism in "The Godfather".

Bishop Takes Rookie

In honor of Labor Day and the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, here's a photo of Ralph with Joey Bishop, possibly the most unusual shot he ever took with a fan. Joey deposited Ralph at Safeway and got 35 cents.

I guess that doesn't really have anything to do with Labor Day or Jerry Lewis. The closest connection I could find was this skit from "The Dean Martin Variety Hour" featuring Dean and Joey.

They don't make 'em like they used to -- that goes for Dean, Joey AND Ralph!