Celebrity Letters

Local and Otherwise

Here is some more of my past correspondence. These e-mails are related to people who are well known for one reason or another.

Ken Babbs is the former sidekick of author Ken Kesey and co-founder of the Merry Pranksters. I wrote a review of one of the CD's he and the Pranksters made and suggested that he should write his autobiography. This was his reply:

From : capn skyp skyp@skypilotclub.com
To : "Tom Devine" baystateob@hotmail.com
Subject : Re: Forta July 03
Date : Fri, 05 Sept 2003 11:05:34 -0700

Hey Tom, thanks for the review. The bit about Feg Shui being like a Zappa thing was right on. I guess I'll always be known as a prankster; like kesey says, "Yah never quits dah mob," but the Forta July CD is a skypilot collaboration which is why it is all new material, done on the spot, with some tweaking on the computer. The signature piece for me is Figaro de la Goof, performed spontaneously in the spirit of Neal Cassady, dubbed The Holy Goof by his buddy, Jack Kerouac. Yeah, the skypilots are a move forward from pranksterdom which took a major hit when kesey died. skypilotclub allows us to explore new realms, go where sluggards fear to fly.

Thanks for the bouquet on my trombone playing.

Zane's site has all the news about the upcoming Kesey symposium in November, plus two books coming out at the same time: kesey's jail journal and spit7, which is all about kesey.

Skypilot Band on a national tour?
hoisted aloft on a blimp
and play across country
from a platform dangling below
spending so much time
living my autobiography
I'm lacking the time to write one
but occasionally a noodle or two
appears on the website
slurped with pungent sauce.

Ken Babbs

 

In 2003 I wrote an article wondering what happened to Stephen Geoffrey's the once very popular 80's star who had disappeared into gay pornography. I received this mystery letter claiming to be from someone within the porn industry who refused to use their real name.



I had the pleasure of directing Stephen Geoffreys in a few videos, the best of which, I think, was LEATHER INTRUSION CASE 2: THE SPIDER'S KISS. He did a scene with Drew Andrews.

Stephen was great to work with. Always enthusiastic and eager to do what was required of him. His acting in porn left something to be desired, though. I thought he was wonderful in FRIGHT NIGHT, FRATERNITY VACATION and his other movies, but check out his acting in my video LEATHER AFTER MIDNIGHT. Hmmmm. Maybe by then he'd stopped caring about that part of his career.

He was having money problems, combined with drug problems. That is why he went into porn when the mainstream film world stopped calling him. His hair was thinning, to the point where he started wearing a hairpiece (sometimes he wore a cap just to take a break). We had a sit-down talk one day, and he told me about how he'd like to get back into doing movies, but he thought his porn career would prevent that. I told him that his main fan base were the horror fans, and that they wouldn't care if he was gay or did porn. They just wanted to see him as Evil Ed again, or in 976-EVIL III. He told me that he'd recently gone to a horror movie convention and was thrilled by the attention he got there. No one brought up "Sam Ritter". He seemed uplifted by our talk, and I hoped it might stir him to get back into the swing of it, but soon after, I heard he'd moved to San Francisco to avoid some people he owed money to.

But the gay porn thing was not something he was really ashamed of. Not too long after that, I helped the editor-in-chief of "Scarlet Street" magazine find Stephen for an interview, and in the magazine, he freely admitted to doing gay porn.

So, Stephen, if you're out there reading this, get in touch with me, okay?

Jett Blakk Katt

In recent years Ralph Slate has become a major and sometimes controversial figure in local historical circles. However in 2003 he was just an amateur historian who collected pictures of Springfield, and who wrote to tell me he had discovered that a photo I had run of Charlie Ryan and his supporters marching through Mason Square inadvertently solved a historical mystery.

From : "Ralph Slate" ralph.slate@hockeydb.com
To : baystateob@hotmail.com
Subject : Charlie Ryan Photo
Date : Wed, 27 Aug 2003 10:19:02 -0400 (EDT)

Hi Tom --

I was browsing your excellent website, as I often do, and came across the photos of Charlie Ryan campaigning. One of the photos looked really familiar to me -- the one entitled "ryanmutual.jpg".



I am an amateur historian, Springfield resident, and I like to collect photos of Springfield houses. I buy them at antique shows or on eBay, and I like to try and send a copy to the owner when I can identify it. The abovementioned photo looks exactly like one of the houses I have been trying to identify. You can see it here on the right:



I'm guessing that the photo is from State St., approaching Mass Mutual, can you confirm this? I have a whole slew of photos from the same photo album, I bet I can pin them all down with this coincidental tip.

Thanks!

Ralph Slate

 

For a few years I did radio with Tony Gill at WAIC in Springfield. He sent me the following account of the political scene in Springfield. Of course he was just joking - or was he?

From : "Anthony Gillylan" agillylan@msn.com
To : baystateob@hotmail.com
Date : Mon, 19 May 2003 05:57:07

Hi Tom!

Love your commentary online! I think Dave Starr was laughing precisely because he knows the city is as corrupt and incompetent as anything he's ever published. Seuss's statue would become a huge FBI surveillance target, rightfully investigated by the Feds should Springfield take over Libraries and Museums. The Cat in the Hat would find himself handcuffed the next morning, charged with masturbating in front of the little children who sought out Seuss's books to learn basic reading skills. Then the disgraced Cat in the Hat would escort Mayor Albano to Seuss's (re-built and re-imagined) House on Mulberry Street, which he was able to purchase in a sweetheart no-interest no-pay loan arranged in a City Hall back-room deal, thanks to Artichoke Ardolino.

Of course, Gerry Philips is there waiting for the both of them. You know where this is going. Cries and Whispers: Mikey and Gerry are spotted together at local Cat House!

Best

Tony Gill

Karen Powell and her husband Bob are two of Springfield's most notorious and effective political activists. They were especially active during the Albano's era's baseball stadium scheme, which was backed by the Springfield Newspapers. That sometimes caused the Powell's to receive negative press, but when the paper made fun of Karen's brand new lower back tatoo, she could barely contain her anger and contempt. 

From : Karen Powell canegroup@yahoo.com
To : "Tom Devine" baystateob@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 01:38:33 -0400

Tom,

About Mayor Mike's Daily Paper, I am still trying to figure out when I pulled my pants down. About the only thing they got right is that I did get a tatoo of a butterfly. It is on my lower back so sometimes I have to pull the waist on my jeans a little but I haven't shown anything that I would be arrested for showing in public.

I will be the first to admit that I am somewhat unconventional and I was really excited that I finally did go and have my tatoo. I told Bob that I had to do something to make me feel more like my old self because my basic personality is to buck the rules and I have been very establishment lately. I am certainly not going change my personality to suit a bunch of stuffed shirts who are just looking for something to pick apart about people.

For some reason when it comes to that "so called paper, " I don't see or hear the same things they do even when we are at the same place. They wrote about one meeting I went to during the stadium fiasco and I don't know which one of us was really there since I heard the opposite of what they reported. During the Needle Exchange, they wrote an editorial criticizing Sue and me for saying something at a meeting that we didn't say. We were not even at the meeting.

I think McDermott gets a little upset when things are not going his way so he shows just how petty and unprofessional he is. Maybe I should get Caron's name tatooed on my butt and as McDermott suggested, turn the other cheek. :)

The day I let that moron McDermott intimidate me is the day you will see pigs fly. I am also not going to change the way I act or think. I have always done what I feel comfortable doing and am not going to act like something I am not to make some "hot shots" happy.

The only time I get hurt is when someone that matters to me says something that hurts my feelings. When it is someone that doesn't mean anything to me, they don't have the power to hurt me. I may get angry initially but even that doesn't last. I could see McDermott's fingerprints all over that piece of trash and I have no doubt that he will do it again. Thankfully, he is one of those people that I don't care what his opinion of me is.

I did send Mr. Newhouse a fax concerning McDermott's unprofessional comments to Paul Caron when Paul announced his candidacy. I presume that may have touched a nerve. I also faxed Mr. Newhouse a copy of the piece they did in the Spfld tabloid with a few personal comments.

I always remember when Bob and I were getting married. My mother sat Bob down and gave him a pep talk because he would need it being married to me. She told him not to even try winning an argument because it wasn't possible with someone as stubborn as her daughter. She also told him he would have his hands full. My Mom knew me well. :)

Thanks
Karen

 

In the year 2000 Pine Point's Twig Painter Richard Doyle announced that he was running for president. He wasn't on the ballot in any state, and spent no money on his campaign, but that didn't stop him from getting widespread local publicity that included a column by Tom Shea in the Springfield newspapers. I also wrote something, and Doyle sent me this letter of gratitude.



July 20, 2000

Tommy,

Thank you for your coverage of my campaign to become the first person to be elected to the Presidency of the United States without ever appearing on the ballot of a single state. I remain confident that a groundswell of write-in voters will make me the first President elected to the presidency from Western Massachusetts since former Northampton Mayor Calvin Coolidge. However, I intend to be much more dynamic than so-called "Silent Cal" about whom one wit is said to have exclaimed after he died, "How can they tell?"

One of the keys to my massive charisma is that I always accentuate the positive. As a local educator and businessman, I am dismayed by all the pessimism I encounter among the public these days. How quickly we forget how fleeting life's problems are, and how often they are resolved for the better. For example, let me recount for you a recent crisis I experienced with my most recent (female) lover.

I wished to purchase a birthday present for my girlfriend, but as we had not been together for very long, after careful consideration I decided to purchase her a pair of gloves - romantic, but not too personal. Accompanied by my sweetheart's younger sister, we went to Walmart and I purchased a lovely pair of white gloves. Her sister also purchased a joke gift to give to my girlfriend, a sexy pair of panties. We both had our purchases gift wrapped at the store, but somehow during the wrapping the clerk got the gifts mixed up, so that I walked off with the package containing the panties while the sister went home with the gloves. Since I had no way of knowing about this mix-up, I mailed the package to my lover accompanied with the following note:

"Darling . . . I chose these because I noticed that you are not in the habit of wearing any when we go out. If it had not been for your sister, I would have gotten you the long ones with buttons, but she wears short ones that are easy to remove. These are a delicate shade, but the lady I bought them from showed me the pair she had been wearing for the past three weeks, and they were hardly soiled. I had her try yours on for me and she looked really smart. I wish I was there to put them on you for the first time, as no doubt other hands will come in contact with them before I have a chance to see you again. Just think how many times I will kiss them during the coming year! I hope you will wear them for me Friday night."

Imagine my surprise when I visited on her birthday and she hauled off and slapped me in the face! Fortunately, after much explaining, we reconciled to much laughter. So Tom let your readers remember that life is short and to face piles of trials with smiles.

President-to-be
Professor Richard "The Twig Painter" Doyle
American International College
Springfield, Massachusetts


Inner Sanctum

Every morning you can see the Northampton merchants sweeping the sidewalk in front of their stores. But today the sidewalk has tents set up for a big outdoor sale. 

At Faces they have to mop their new rubber turquoise entranceway, rather than sweep it.

But such concerns of the day are of little interest to First Church, which views downtown from the perspective of centuries.

I saw a friend of mine going into the side door, and asked him if I could go inside. He said yes and I got to see the very nice lounge area in back.

From the outside this section of the ancient building looks quite drab. 

But from the inside you can see the room is filled with colors from the stained glass windows. 

Hopefully I'll have the chance to explore more of the inside someday.

 

Springfield Council Candidates 2007

Mo Jones

We finally know the field in the upcoming Springfield primary for City Council. There are 20 candidates for eighteen positions, meaning two will have to be eliminated. Here is my initial take on the candidates, presented in the order in which they will appear on the ballot, which in Springfield favors the incumbents by automatically listing their names above all others.

James Ferraro - Never actually elected to the Council (he is merely filling a vacancy) Ferraro looked bad recently by calling for the primary to be cancelled for money saving purposes. Why doesn't he get himself elected in the first place before cancelling elections? His real sin however is that he doesn't appear to stand very strongly for anything. We already have a Council full of fence sitters.

William Foley - For years Richie Neal's cousin sat by and did nothing while Springfield went down the drain. For this he should be re-elected?

RoseMarie Mazza-Moriarty - Over the past several years she's run for nearly every office that's come open, showing time and again how anxious she is to leave the Council. The voters should grant her wish.

Timothy J. Rooke - The Council's best fiscal watchdog and a straight shooter, Rooke has more than earned re-election. He is also the only public official to have the decency to publicly apologize for what went on in the Albano era.

Bruce Stebbens - Widely considered the best Councilor of the bunch, his re-election is essential to Springfield's recovery.

Jose Tosado - A loyal Albano servant, he should have been shown the door years ago.

Kateri Walsh - It is impossible to dislike Kateri on a personal level, but politically she's a dinosaur.

Bud Williams - Another one who stood by in silence during the Albano years. It's time for fresh blood.

Claudio Concepcion - A popular 16-Acres activist, but his support of Chris Asselin showed unforgivably bad judgement.

Gloria DeFillipo - I hear good things about her, but don't know enough yet to pass judgement.

Lorenzo Gaines - The replacement for Bud Williams?

Morris Jones - What nerve he has running! His long association with the Asselins instantly disqualifies him from serious consideration.

Peter Lappin - Another promising contender, but I just don't know enough about him yet.

John Lysak - His election is to be desired.

Patrick Markey - Charlie Ryan considers him a future mayor and that's endorsement enough for me.

Vera O'Connor - Although a shameless liberal, she's still better than most incumbents.

Karen Powell - Every voter's dream come true, the election of Powell would give Springfield a major boost.

Charles Rucks - Long considered the person most likely to become Springfield's first black mayor, Ruck's election to the Council would be a big plus.

Robert Underwood - He's eccentric but a true friend of liberty. For sheer entertainment value he would be worth electing.

Hamilton Wray - A good candidate who has run before and lost. The voters should correct their error in November.

I will also be commenting on the Mayor's race and School Committee, as well as races in communities up and down the Valley, in the by and by.

I was in the Springfield Post Office downtown on Saturday when who should I run into but my old media friend Tony Gill.

While waiting in line, we were able to catch up on all the local broadcasting gossip. Tony is glad Channel 40 is being sold to a local owner, although in this day of Youtube, when anyone can film something and present it to an international audience for free, the value of traditional television is fading.

Who needs a TV station anymore? We are all broadcasters now.

While in Pine Point yesterday I paid a visit to my friend Tommy McCarthy of Gateway Hardware. His father founded the store, which is less about hardware these days as Tommy has gradually turned it into a hockey heaven. 

In 1996 Tom ran for state rep against Paul Caron and got slaughtered. The only remnant of that campaign is this sign in the doorway. Is it time that has left it in tatters, or his Democrat customers?

Friendly's Ice Cream, which was founded in the Pine Point section of Springfield, is having a video contest. Here's one of the entries featuring the son of a local political celebrity.