Gordie Marks

Gordon "Gordie" Marks wanted to become a photographer. He was intrigued by the latest gear, read all the photo magazines, and took his camera with him everywhere. His inspiration? You might think it was Weegee, the photojournalist whose stark images grabbed the pages of the New York papers. Perhaps it was one of the great WPA photographers who documented the great depression and left us with some of the most enduring images of the twentieth century. No, those weren't who drove Gordie, it was Flashgun Casey, Crime Photographer, whose radio show ran for some 400 episodes, featured his assistant Ann Williams, and their meeting place, the Blue Note jazz club. What more could a young man want. Unfortunately, the picture above was taken by his brother, the only one in the family who could take a picture that was in focus. Gordie eventually traded in his gear, and started down a new path after hearing his first episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator.