#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...
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!
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".
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!
Ask Ralph what the fifth food group is and he'll tell you Mr. Softee -- it's the creamiest, dreamiest soft ice cream! Really -- it's right there in the song!
"The creamiest, dreamiest soft ice cream,
You get from Mister Softee.
For a refreshing delight supreme,
Look for Mister Softee.
My milkshakes and my sundaes and my cones are such a treat,
Listen for my store on wheels, ding-a-ling down the street.
The creamiest, dreamiest soft ice cream,
You get from Mister Softee.
For a refreshing delight supreme,
Look for Mister Softee.
S-O-F-T Double 'E', Mister Softee."
Ralph's Grandmother's birthday! If Norman Rockwell grew up in the Bronx, this is what he would have painted. Note Young Ralph's Davy Crockett t-shirt in the first photo (click on the photos for larger versions).
Eating. Is it an Art or a Sport? Depending on your view, Ralph can be considered either a Master or a Legend. Most of his stories involves food (and the price of it). If it was really good food, it was "very reasonable" in price. When I suggested that he call his memoir "Cheap Skates & Dinner Plates", he came at me with letter opener.
Like all great gastro-romantics, his love of food began somewhere. So here is an early photo of Ralph and his grandmother enjoying a great joy of his life!
