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July - August 2001 |
See Past News
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As the season is in full boom, Frank has relaxed in his studio for most of the summer. Occasionally he walks across the field to visit his newly born grandchildren and plays with them for hours on end. It is a wonderful sight and the true meaning of life when you see him playing with the kids. This seems to be the best rehab for his condition and not a day goes by without an hour or two spent with some of the grandchildren. He always has a camera at his side, so an opportunity to capture a magic moment on film is rarely missed. He spends most of the day tinkering with a few of the hundreds of cameras in his personal collection. Frank just recently added two black Pentax MX bodies to his array of photographic equipment. Both are in mint condition and are now at the top of his camera list for the time being. His never ending desire for new cameras reminds me of the Disney film "Toy Story". Where the young boy would fancy his new purchased toys temporally but in time always went back to his personal favorite, "Woody". In Franks case, the new purchase is at his side or around his neck for the first few weeks then is slowly moved to the guest couch and is soon banished to the camera closet. But in the end, the gold Leica or the Contax are back at his side.
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We are awaiting our shipment of the new book called Testament and will be offering it to you by the end of the month. Limited copies in the leather bound edition will be available sometime in September on a first come basis. Members may reserve copies simply by emailing me personally.
We are now in the final stages of the Death Dealer stein and are anticipating delivery sometime around Christmas. The prototype stein was hand painted by Frank and he hopes the manufacturer can duplicate the colors on the helmet. "Good Luck". I can't even find these colors on his palate, let alone duplicate these subtle tones of green and yellow he used on the warriors horns.
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Franks
home in LI. NY.
1961.
Once Frank became
popular in the mid 60's
his signature address
sign was stolen numerous
times by local fans |
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With the extreme heat toward the end of July, it was basically a sit home and watch the ball games kind of month. Occasionally, Frank will pick up the brush and work on a painting or two, and if the moment is right, he will produce a beautiful watercolor for Ellie or a portrait of one of his grandchildren. Even through all Frank's recent adversities, he no longer has the motivation he once did, but his fabulous talent is still there. Even in his prime, from 1955-1995, he would prefer to play ball with his kids before sitting down and bashing out another oil painting. Numerous times publishers called asking Frank if the job was finished yet and his response was, "Oh yeah, I'm finishing it up as we speak, let me go so I can put the final touches on the dame. Yeah don't worry so much, it'll be on your deck first thing in the morning." The truth of the matter was that he hadn't even started the painting. He hung up the phone and turned to his sons and replied, " lets get out of here and play some ball. Both my brother and I just heard our dad tell a fib to the guy who pays for our food and clothing.
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Rare
appearances at NY Comic
Con.
Frank signed autographs
for hours |
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My brother asked our dad, " are you sure you don't want to paint that picture now Pop." He replied, "Are you kidding me, I'd rather play ball with you guys more than anything in the whole world. I can finish this picture tonight while you guys are asleep." So off we went to the school yard to play a game of catch or something on that line. I think my dad looked forward to playing ball with us more than we did. It was evident that painting was his livelihood, but spending quality time with his family came first. He always disregarded anything the publishers said to him and never really cared about the ulcers he gave Jim Warren and the printers. Later that evening he put us in bed and boosted our egos by stating what good baseball players we were going to become. Once again, I asked when he was going to start that picture and he replied, "When you go to sleep." Well, if you were not aware of his legendary speed or not, sure enough the painting was completed and on the kitchen table when we got up the next day. "wow pop, you sure painted a good one this time, but it still looks wet". Dad calmly picked up the painting, walked over to the oven, and to my disbelief, proceeded to stick it in the oven waving it back and forth. My brother and I were taken back and looked at each other thinking dad needs to get some sleep. Shortly there after, dad pulled the painting from the oven and to our astonishment, it warped like an old two-by-four, and was now the shape of the letter "C". My brother and I were in shock! Uh Oh, now what? Dad never let anything bother him as he walked gingerly over to the kitchen sink. "Now watch this", he replied. He
started rubbing water on the back side of the art and once again both my brother and I were amazed at what was happening. The painting began to take its natural shape again, slowly, but surely. In a matter of minutes it was as good as new.
A true story from around 1962.
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