Bronx Gangs Documentary Diary

January 19th, 2007 entry - Two Ducky Boys in a Ducky house!

First blog of the year, and some really cool stuff happened!

A month or so ago, I was thinking that I was done with all the Ducky Boy interviews that I was going to get for my Ducky Boy Documentary. Then something really cool happened:

Rocky, Kevin and James

Eileen, a sister of one of the Ducky Boys gets in touch with me... She tells me that she has quite a few family members who were Ducky and offers to try and get at least one in touch with me.. I'm thrilled about this, and even more thrilled when she says that her brother Kevin is willing to help me... So Kevin and I talk on the phone a few times and we eventually set up an interview for Tuesday, Jan 16th. But my luck doesn't stop there --- Kevin tells me he ran into one of his old Ducky Boy friends Rocky, and told him about my project and Rocky was willing to be interviewed that day AND he had also been a member the real Wanderers gang!

Needless to say I'm feeling really good about all of this, when I find out that Kevin and family still own the house that he and his family grew up in and that it was available if I wanted to film the interviews there. Of course I said yes! It was so cool being able to be in this place that raised and housed quite a few "core" Ducky... Did I mention, that the house was probably about 200 yards away from the BUILDING I GREW UP IN?!? Granted, I'm about 18 years younger than the Ducky Boys, but it is just another personal "fate" connection that I had with these kids. (If you read my Wanderers tribute article, you'll see that I was going to do this documentary before I found out any of these personal connections to them)

the Ducky House

Anyhoo, when I got there on Tuesday, and walked up to the front door, I remembered that when I was a kid, I used to knock on this door as a trick or treater on Halloween looking for candy... I don't remember what Halloween loot I got here, but if I only knew this was a Ducky House back then, I would've run from the house! When I mentioned this to Kevin & Rocky, Rocky mentioned that I was lucky to get away with my pants! Luckily, these Kevin & Rocky grew up and became two of the nicest people.

Once we were inside and the interviews began, I learned quite a bit, and got some great stories about the Ducky, their turf, the neighborhood, and their friends and families. I also found out quite a lot about rival gangs such as Allerton, Parkside, and the real-life Wanderers who did actually exist. Rocky was a member of the Wanderers for a period and helped fill in some of the missing pieces about them that were hard to find. Kevin even dug up some old pictures which are going to help a lot in the documentary!

I really had a productive day with Kevin & Rocky - They helped me tremendously in so many ways and I'd like to publicly thank them -- and a big "thank you" to Kevin's sister Eileen for getting me in contact with them. There is even a possibility of finding even more Ducky Boys in the future - but I'm not going to talk specifics as I don't want to jinx it!

Also I want to thank Pat St John for some invaluable tips on interviewing, and for being such a great believer in me and my projects...

A repeat request for my current and ex-Bronxite Readers I'd also like to put out a request for any old video clips or pictures from the Bronx -- particularly if it relates to the following: Belmont & Arthur Ave Botanical Gardens & Bronx Park The Fordham Road to Gun Hill Road section between Webster & Jerome Avenues. Anything related to Bronx Gangs of the 1950's and 1960's - particularly the Ducky Boys or the Fordham Baldies Here's the deal: We're poor independent film-makers and really can't pay you for these clips & photos, but if you contribute something that I can use in the final product and you are willing and able to sign the proper release forms, here's what you will get in return: Two passes to the premiere of the documentary to be held in NYC. A DVD copy of the final Bronx Gangs documentary. Your name prominently displayed in the credits of the documentary as a contributor.

As always, thank you for reading these blogs and keep those comments coming in to
jameshannon@lantern-media.com

-=James