new york city
No. 5: Debbie Harry (2000)
That’s Debbie’s car going by downstairs, the picture snapped from my window on 7th Avenue. Debbie needs no introduction, but we didn’t talk about Blondie at all for her Goodie. We talked a lot about childhood and the way New York used to be, and her issue is also about Jackie 60, the legendary nightspot created by Chi Chi Valenti and … Read more
No. 12: Al Carlin (2001)
Al Carlin, may he rest in peace, was the father of my friend Marilou, who I met in 1988. While visiting her family on Long Island one day, I was struck by Al’s charm and his storytelling. When Goodie came into existence a decade or so later, his stories still rang in my head. So we went back out … Read more
No. 13: Baby Dee (2001)
I can’t think of anyone who dressed up the streets of New York better than Baby Dee did once upon a time, as she rolled through the neighborhoods on her harpcycle playing her accordion. My Dear Readers letter from her Goodie: “We were thinking, ‘Gee, what shall we send out for Christmas?’ It has to be something delightful … Read more
No. 14: Victor Bockris (2002)
Liza Stelle first introduced me to Victor Bockris on Sixth Avenue one day in 1985. We had all stopped to look at some tiny paintings spread out for sale on a blanket. They were little landscapes, and I think they cost ten dollars each. I no longer remember if the painter was a man or … Read more
No. 16: Cathy Clarke (2002)
I met Cathy Clarke in 1993 in the hospital room of a friend who had broken her back, and almost immediately Clarkie, as lots of people called her, became one of my favorite people. She still is, although it has been a long time since I’ve seen her. She always had the most wonderful stories to tell–and … Read more
No. 17: Captain Bob (2002)
I first met Captain Bob in 2001, after the terrible day of September 11th. He ran a little bar on a barge which sat on the river surrounded by old boats. I had seen him often there, but I hadn’t spoken to him. On September 11th I went over to sit on the lightship Frying … Read more
No. 22: Lionel Ziprin (2004)
This Rembrandt-like photo was taken near the end of Lionel’s life by his granddaughter, Aishling Labat (the daughter of Lionel’s beautiful daughter Zia), in early 2009. Lionel was an extraordinary person, an artist, a mystic, a scholar, a poet and the most extraordinary teller of stories. He grew up on East Broadway during the Depression, … Read more
No. 23: Indra Tamang (2004)
In 1972, Indra Tamang met Charles Henri Ford, considered the father of American Surrealism, in the dining room of the Kathmandu Hotel where he was a waiter. Soon, CHF hired Indra as a personal assistant and cook. In 1974 Charles brought Indra to New York, where he has lived ever since. For decades he worked … Read more
No. 24: Herbie Kearney
These accidentally double-exposed photos were taken in 1992 in the Valley of Il Porto and in Naples, Italy. That’s Vali Myers with the red hair and my head hanging there in a shadow. Wearing the red shirt and walking along the street is Herbie Kearney, the Irishman with the golden voice for songs, poems and … Read more
No. 28: Terence Sellers (2005)
When Terence Sellers left New York in 2005, the fading cultural fabric of our city lost a luminous filament. To any room Terence adds a dark sparkle of glamour. She is a scholar and bibliophile, a diarist, an aesthete, an active player in the rich theater of the underground, and for almost 30 years, she … Read more
No. 29: Armen Ra (2006)
Armen is a musical virtuoso. He taught himself to play the theremin, with which he can sing any great aria. His early years are reminiscent of Marcel Proust’s childhood, as they were spent very pleasantly in beautiful gardens under the influence of great ladies, but in Iran, not France. He grew up on picture galleries … Read more
No. 31: Hank O’Neal (2006)
Perhaps most inspiring about Hank O’Neal is the way he’s made a life’s work out of all of his favorite things. He’s been recording music since 1966 and has a label (Chiaroscuro Records) full of stardust.Over the decades he’s been lucky to count among his friends such people as Eddie Condon, Lee Wiley, Djuna Barnes, … Read more