Short post on Gerry and Ric

 

Uncle Gerry and Uncle Ric, ca. 1973. 

In the early 70s, Uncle Gerry and Uncle Ric moved for a time to LA. They'd worked in plant maintenance services here in San Francisco and continued doing so down south. While in LA, they lived in the guest house of Ryan O'Neal and tended to the grounds around his property. Uncle Jim, with whom I recently met, went down during school break one summer to stay with them. During the visit, Ric and Gerry took Jim up to the Griffith Observatory where this picture was taken. Knowing now that Ric had studied at the Lee Strasberg school of acting in NYC, it makes sense that they would have made this move. I imagine that Ric was trying to break into the 'biz' during their time in LA. To no avail, I think.

Jim said that bunking in O'Neal's guest house was pretty neat. He told me that he got to meet O'Neal as well, who, of course, at the time was a hot commodity in Hollywood. It's probably an understatement to say that teenage Jim was duly impressed.