George DiCaprio | |
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 George DiCaprio (left) and Ron Turner (right) in 1982. | |
| Born | George Paul DiCaprio October 2, 1943 New York City, U.S. |
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| Children | Leonardo DiCaprio |
George Paul DiCaprio (born October 2, 1943) is an American performance artist and writer known for his work in the realm of underground comix. He has collaborated with Timothy Leary and Laurie Anderson. He is the father of actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio was born George Paul DiCaprio on October 2, 1943 in New York City to George Leon DiCaprio (1902–1965) and Olga Anne Jacobs (1904–1984). His father was the son of Italian immigrants, Salvatore Di Caprio (1866–1966) and Rosina Cassella (1875–1941), and his mother was of German descent. [1] [2] [3]
DiCaprio was active in underground comix throughout the 1970s, as a writer, editor, publisher, and distributor. [4] He is known for such titles as Greaser Comics, Forbidden Knowledge, and Cocaine Comix, collaborating with artists such as Laurie Anderson, Pete von Sholly, and Rich Chidlaw.
DiCaprio's first foray into comix came in 1970 with Baloney Moccasins Comics: A Magazine for the Medieval Mind, a politically themed one-shot densely illustrated by Laurie Anderson. [5] The book was released by DiCaprio's short-lived self-publishing imprint (in partnership with R. Jaccoma), Half-Ass Press. [6] (DiCaprio and Jaccoma had been part of a New York City-based firm known as Cloud Studios.) [7]
In 1979, Last Gasp published the one-shot comic Neurocomics: Timothy Leary. "Evolved from transmissions of Dr. Timothy Leary as filtered through Pete Von Sholly & George DiCaprio", "Neurocomics was written by DiCaprio based on Timothy Leary's extensive ruminations on" [8] life, the brain, and intelligence. [9] As M. Steven Fox of ComixJoint wrote of the project, "though a 32-page book cannot possibly convey the full complexity of an elaborate concept like the eight-circuit model of consciousness, Neurocomics provides a concise primer on the subject." [8]
As a distributor in the 1970s and 1980s, DiCaprio supplied West Coast retailers with underground and independent comics. [10] [11] [12]
DiCaprio was also a performance artist. Comics writer Harvey Pekar details a performance in Los Angeles in February 1988 where DiCaprio claimed that he did "a light show using brine shrimp and worms. I'd hit 'em with cold water and they'd move around and I'd project 'em on a wall magnified. It blew people's minds." [13]
DiCaprio played an important role in his son's early career as an actor. He used to screen scripts for him, and was instrumental in getting Leo to portray Arthur Rimbaud in the 1995 film Total Eclipse . [4]
Since 2008, DiCaprio has worked as an executive producer in the film industry, mainly for documentaries and short films; one of his first assignments was as a co-executive producer of the TV series Greensburg , [14]
In 2021, he made his film acting debut, portraying Mr. Jack in Paul Thomas Anderson's film Licorice Pizza . [15]
DiCaprio revealed that he has an interest in pursuing politics in July 2025. [16] [17]
DiCaprio met Irmelin Indenbirken (born 1945), a German immigrant, in college; the two later married and moved to Los Angeles. [2] The couple had one son, Leonardo DiCaprio, and divorced shortly after, when Leonardo was a year old, so DiCaprio could begin a relationship with another woman named Peggy Farrar. [18] [19] [20] While Leonardo lived mostly with his mother, his parents agreed to live next door to each other so as not to deprive him of his father's presence in his life. [21] [4] He has a stepson, Adam Farrar, through his marriage to Peggy Farrar. [20]
Stout: 'Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio's father used to distribute all of the underground comix in Los Angeles.'
Williams: 'Now there's a fellow down here in Los Angeles named George DiCaprio, who's the underground distributor for Southern California....'
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