Uncle Ugly or Eric von Zipper?

Uncle Ugly portrait by Virgil Elliott.

Thanks to a splendid write-up by Nicki Dwyer about Joe's Cafe Gallery — which you can read @ Nicki's Central West End Guide here — we were contacted by a former habitué of Gaslight Square, the artist Virgil Elliott, who now lives and works in California. He was most interested in the photographs by Thelma Blumberg, with captions written by O'Connell's legend Jack Parker, and provided this additonal information about the photograph of the Boneshakers.

The bikers in the "Boneshakers" photo are Paul Stearns (standing) and Dennis Brannaker (sitting on the steps). The location of the shot is the porch/steps of The Exit, the coffeehouse at the corner of Boyle and Westminster. This was the summer of 1968. 

Dennis Brannaker drove a cab for a living, and at some point acquired the nickname of "Uncle Ugly," after being known previously by some people as "Dirty Denny."  But since there was another guy named Dirty Denny around (a junkie, hustler and thief, not associated with the Boneshakers), Dennis Brannaker preferred to be called Uncle Ugly, or "Unc" for short.  He's still around, and works the door at BB's blues club on Broadway, near the baseball stadium. I painted his portrait two years ago on a brief visit to St. Louis.

"These guys were in a motorcycle club called the Boneshakers. They weren’t just for show, they were actual tough guys. I got in a brawl once with Paul, the guy standing. The kid in horn rims and sandals was some beatnik intellectual hanging around to see the sights." — Jack Parker

(Terrible capture of a Thelma Blumberg photo featured at Joe's Cafe Gallery and available for $150.)

The raised index finger is a characteristic gesture for Unc whenever he's about to offer one of Uncle Ugly's Helpful Hints, which all his friends know well. He has a keen sense of humor, which I tried to indicate in this quickly-executed portrait. I see him as the kind of character that Frans Hals loved to paint.

I came to the Square as a young beatnik artist in 1965, and somehow became a member of the Boneshakers motorcycle club a couple of years later. The term "Boneshakers" was in reference to the kind of motorcycles we rode, which had no rear suspension and thus shook the rider's bones. It was not intended as a synonym for "bone crushers" or any other violence-connected term, though it was often misconstrued as such by others. We certainly weren't afraid to fight if the situation called for it, but that was not the focus of our association. We were a club, not a gang, and a merry bunch of wild, fun-loving young people we were.

Today I'm primarily an artist and author living in California, having covered a lot of miles and years since the Gaslight Square days. It always saddens me to visit St. Louis and drive through where the Square used to be, and see that there isn't a trace of it left. Thank you again for bringing back some fond memories. I'll try to visit your gallery next time I'm in town.

Thank you so much, Mr. Virgil Elliott!