Gene Palma redux
Images copyright © Robin Victor Farbman. Used with permission
Labels: Gene Palma
posted by Ray Young at
7:46 PM
Monday, March 15, 2010
Images copyright © Robin Victor Farbman. Used with permission
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11 Comments:
Are these recent?! He's still around?! I swear, the first time I saw Taxi Driver, I thought he was wearing some kind of plastic wig.
So? Are they recent?
I emailed the photographer after you left your comment, but he hasn't replied. If and when he does, I'll let you know!
The hair is, uh, different. Either painted or it's a plastic helmet.
He just replied: they were taken in the early-to-mid 80s. I fixed the post copy!
It just occurred to me that I had already taken the photos when I recognized Palma in the movie. So, I must have taken the photos before 1976.
Thanks, Robin!
I was trying to determine a date by his clothing, but the man simply transcended fashion!
Thanks for the update. There's no info on this guy anywhere. Is he still alive? Anybody know?
By the way, minor correction but I just popped in my DVD to watch him again and he says "40 years" rather than "30" although I'd always seen it written as "30" myself.
I think my favorite part of Gene Palma, as a drummer myself, is that he announces he's going to do Gene Krupa or Chick Webb and then just bangs out a drum fill that sounds nothing like their styles.
Yeah, you gotta wonder if he ever played a full drum kit, or was his entire career all knocked out on that single snare?
If he's still alive, Palma would probably be in his 80s. There's little about him on the internet, and, last I looked at YouTube, the only clip of him in Taxi Driver is dubbed in Spanish!
The other night I happened to catch REMEMBER MY NAME at the New Beverly and in one scene where Geraldine Chaplin and Anthony Perkins are reminiscing about their days in NY one of them mentions "that guy we used to see on the streets playing the drums". I couldn't help but wonder if they were talking about Palma.
He used to put shoe polish on his hair to make it look that slick. It does make it look plastic though, I agree. Freaky! Wonder where old Gene is now...
I saw him once on the street with a snare drum and hi-hat. Not only did he do Chick Webb, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, but after announcing that he was going to do Elvis Presley from a yearo in the mid-50's, he sang a bit of "Hound Dog" while playing a twist beat with the snare and hi-hat. Sounded nothing like Elvis but it was unforgettable.
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