Jack Gaunt, 1924 - 2007 When I was growing up, one of the other dads on my block was this guy. He was a beat photographer with the LA Times, →[More:]and I was always very smitten with his stories and pictures. He covered the Watts Riots, and pretty much every other calamity that hit LA.

He also took this picture, which I have posted about previously. I was, along other kids on the block, in the Times a lot, when they needed some sort of "cute" spot photo in one of the inside sections.

The reality was that he drank heavily, and when we was not out covering all this stuff, he was in the front yard drinking. I remember that during the Watts Riots, he had a revolver out on the patio table just in case any of "them" drove by.

He had two daughters, which he had no use for. He retired as one of those "equity refugees" to the Oregon Coast, and he and his wife drank until she died and he became infirm enough to be unable to live on his own.

His daughter turned out to be one of the honchos (honchas?) of Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs.

From where I am now, he had a great professional life (I SO wanted to be him, or at least replace my real dad with him) and otherwise wasted his time here on earth.