Bronx
Gangs of the 1950's and 1960's Documentary
These
pages are a work in progress, so keep checking
back as I add more stuff in the coming
weeks
My Intro:
I'm
not sure how you arrived at this page, so let
me start by introducing myself. My name is James Hannon,
and I am a Bronx native (East 196th Street and Briggs
Ave) now living and working in Jersey.
I
am a documentary filmmaker who has released Out
of Our Dens - The Richard & the Young Lions
Story. You can find everything you
want to know about me and my other projects on
the other pages of this website.
Recently,
I became interested in doing a documentary on the Bronx
gangs of the 1950's
and 1960's - specifically
the Ducky Boys and the Fordham Baldies. How and why did
I get interested? Well, you can read all about how this
inspiration came about at my Tribute
to the Wanderers Movie that was recently published
in the Winter 2006 issue of Back in the Bronx magazine.
How
can we help?
Glad
you asked. As you can imagine, ex-gangmembers aren't
the most willing to give up their stories. The obvious
reason why is that they don't want to get in trouble
- and I'm not really talking about criminal trouble since
chances are they've either served their time or the statute
of limitations have long expired. What I am finding as
a big obstacle is that these ex-gangmembers don't want
their family and friends to know what they did when they
were
young and careless.
My
solution is that they can be anonymous. I am not looking
to get *anyone* in trouble - All I want to do is to tell
as true a story as I can of these two
gangs. I've already got a few connections who are absolutely
great, but I really need to get quite a few more to fill
in some of the missing pieces. Remember it's been 40
years since these gangs roamed the Bronx, so naturally
there's some forgotten memories that need just a small
push to be remembered.
So,
if you know anything about the Ducky Boys or
the Fordham Baldies, please email me and tell me.
Specifically,
I am looking for:
- Ex-gangmembers
of the Ducky Boys
- Ex-gangmembers
of the Fordham Baldies
- People
who have encountered either of these gangs either as
friends. other gangs, the police department, etc. Or
even if you
just saw them around the neighborhood, or heard a rumour
about them.
- Photographs
of them back in the day, or their hangouts (Piggy's,
Bronx Park,etc)
- If
I haven't mentioned it here, and you think it could be
useful to me, please send it over - I may not use everything,
but you'll have my heartfelt appreciation!
If
you *are* actually one of these ex-gangmembers, I promise
to
keep your identity as secret as you want me to --
AND I might even help you hook up with an old friend
or two from
the old days...
Now
for the most important part - Where to reach me...
My e-mail address is jameshannon@lantern-media.com -
this is probably the best way to reach me. You
can also reach me at the phone number at the bottom
of this page.
Keep
checking back.
Like
I said up top, this will be a changing document,
so please keep checking back as I add more stuff.
Thanks a bunch
-=James
