Ray Gange, star of Rude Boy. Photo by Tequila Mockingbird.
Ray Gange starred in a movie called Rude Boy. It is a grand film following the Clash that humanized the London punk scene. Ray played himself–a tough punk who called a cunt a cunt and fought like a hooligan.
In the early 80s, I was hanging out with him at Cash, a contemporary art space in Hollywood next door to the Zero Zero club. Cash was run by extras casting agent Janet Cunningham. Ray and I decided to get to know each other, and to go to a party down the street under the bridge.
Ray and I stepped into the party and we were only there for a moment when he started fighting. I turned around and slugged him for fighting with my friends. He got drunk and passed out. We carried him out of the party and he woke up under the bridge. Then he asked me out. Although he was the best-looking guy in Hollywood, I never took him up on it, but we became lifelong friends.
Ray has been sober for 20 years now. He escaped the clutches of the English blight–heroin–and he continues to improve with age. He is hoping that a sequel to Rude Boy will be made, he DJs around London, and is currently enjoying fatherhood. He has a beautiful son and he has grown into a real cool guy. I always knew he had it in him.
I told him about the Oki Dog on Fairfax. He said he wasn’t sure he could handle it now. He said he got into a fight with the rent boys at the elder Oki Dog location on Gardner and Vista, which is currently the home of Fatburger (its 90 billionth location), but he wasn’t sure why…
Punks will be punks.
