ADDIO … IL MIO AMICO by Tim Ferrante, January 14, 2013
He was a part of Westerns…All’Italiana! from the moment it was conceived. I called my friend Gary Dorst in early 1983 and shared the idea of a fanzine devoted to Italian westerns. He loved it, of course. That’s why I called him; I needed a cheering section. And by April of that year the first edition – all 50 copies! – had been written, assembled and printed. So I assigned Gary as the co-editor and he stayed in that post through WAI! double issue #3 & 4. It was but a small part of our broader friendship that lasted 35 years. Gary’s love for Italian westerns, soundtracks, monster movies, autographs, art and on and on were in perfect sync with mine. I wasn’t alone, for Gary’s accumulation of devoted friends spanned many decades. He was admired and loved by so many. And deservedly so. Because it was easy to do.
Gary Dorst died at the age of 65 in his sleep sometime
between Jan 13-14, 2013. And I’m grieving. But it’s his wife, Joyce, and his
children, grandchildren and surviving family who are grieving most of all. His
close friend, Dick Klemensen…I cannot imagine what he must be going through. As
I said, there are many, many more who cherished Gary. He was a gift, you see.
And we all knew it.
Dear friends, if you knew him you know how difficult it
will be to reconcile his passing. He will live within our hearts and memories.
I still see us at Paramount Studios on the Enterprise bridge set of Star Trek
IV when a friend gained us access while the soundstage was dark. He’s sitting
across from me at Table 14 at Forry Ackerman’s birthday bash in Hollywood. He’s
posing outside of the ABC-TV corporate headquarters in New York City as I snap
his picture. And we’re sitting together in his car in Madison, Wisconsin, him
coaxing this would-be writer to send a John Russo interview to Fangoria
magazine because he was so sure they’d publish it. So I did. And they published
it just like he said. The vivid and happy memories of this human being! I laugh
with joy – my heart uncontrollably weeps.
Good-bye, Gary. We love you. Always did and always will.
Your loss is incalculable. Your influence and unwavering friendship will never
be forgotten. God bless you.
[Picture caption: Gary Dorst outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre,
Hollywood, CA. 1986]
Photo: © 2013 Tim Ferrante.
may he RIP and my condolences go out to his family and and their loss god bless
ReplyDeleteBiltmore: Sorry to hear about Gary
ReplyDeleteI met Gary through record collecting around 1985. I'd had an operation and wanted to spend recovery time playing records but my Receiver would not work. I called Gary. He came over and drove me to Best Buy to get a new one. He helped get me in the store and carried the new one out to the car and then did all the hook ups. What a guy! Then,, about 6 years later the receiver stopped working. I mentioned this to Gary, 2 days later there is a knock and there he was at the door with a nice receiver he had found at a garage sale. What a guy!!! He will be missed. Dennis
ReplyDeleteI attended Gary's memorial service yesterday. Nice layout of photo's of Gary's life. His son and daughter had a nice tribute on the memorial card... "In the place where Dad is now there will always be endless garage sales, flea markets, etc. He will find a lot of priceless items; and be so prould of what he finds; Never paying full price" .. Dennis
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