RIP Bill Gallo, One of the Greats
When my father brought me into the Daily News office building where he worked when I was a kid, I was fascinated by the Xerox machine. I didn't care so much about the big names tapping away on the typewriters in glass-enclosed offices or the murder stories crackling through the police radio or the massive presses thundering out thousands of papers a minute. I still have a photocopy of my 8-year-old hand. That was gold.
Right next to it is a cartoon dashed off to me that day -- of the character Basement Bertha saying, "Ah, Ursula, how could I ever forget you?" -- by Bill Gallo. We were a Mets family, so that cartoon occupied a special place in my bedroom for 30 years.
Gallo, 88, died last night. His obit is here. He's a New York legend, but if you are a sports fan, you'll probably recognize some of his brilliance in this gallery. His work on Muhammad Ali is particularly fun to see and read about.
I'd met Bill Gallo only a handful of times, but I knew that he was "one of the greats," not for his prodigious talent, but because my father said so. My father didn't say that about someone who was simply skilled with words or a pen. The newspaper business has always had its shifty, sneaky-but-smart characters, but it also had people like Bill Gallo, who encouraged the success of others, who had a smile and a "hello" for others even on a bad day, and who took a moment to say, "good column" to the young fellows in the office.
My first boss, by coincidence, was Bill's son, Greg, who was the sports editor of the New York Post for many years. Like his father, he was a man of decency while also having the sharp fire necessary to make it in the New York tabloid world.
I'm glad that Bill Gallo is up in heaven, a year to the day that my father was buried. No doubt, they're reminiscing.
Along with Thurman Munson, perhaps ...
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Jun '10
Re: RIP Bill Gallo, One of the Greats
Glad to know he was such a good guy --- I always loved his work.
May '10
Re: RIP Bill Gallo, One of the Greats
Scan the Bertha Pic. We need to see the Bertha certificate.
Re: RIP Bill Gallo, One of the Greats
Ha ha, good one.
I believe it's at my mom's house, unfortunately :(
Safe there, however, from grubby hands and drooly mouthes.
Re: RIP Bill Gallo, One of the Greats
I loved Basement Bertha. Next to Bill Reel, Bill Gallo was a favorite in our home!
Sep '10
Re: RIP Bill Gallo, One of the Greats
Oh, that makes me sad. RIP.