Tag Archives: Fondas Ladis

Sinister Cinema: Greeks in Hollywood

Paging through Greeks in Hollywood: In the Silent Movie Era, I was stopped in my tracks when I saw the clipping of Jack Pierce, legendary makeup artist, working on Boris Karloff. If you dig the original Universal Monsters, Pierce pretty … Continue reading

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Mort: Gus Konstin

And Brian Wallace just popped me the sad news from the San Francisco Chronicle that Gus Konstin — owner of John’s Grill — has died. Under Gus’s tenure, the grill set up the various tributes to Hammett, in celebration of … Continue reading

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Tombstone: Blackjack Jerome — or, What I Did on Hammett’s 121st Birthday

Earlier this year Fondas Ladis from Greece was in the burg, researching a biography of John “Blackjack” Jerome. Blackjack was a Greek, who among other activities became famous as a strikebreaker, in San Francisco and around the country. Tradition has … Continue reading

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Frisco Beat: And an “Adios” to the Powell Hotel. . . .

On May 19 I made my way to the bar in John’s Grill for a meeting with the Greek writer Fondas Ladis, in the burg doing research on a biography of Blackjack Jerome. As I hiked up the first block of … Continue reading

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