Sam D'Allesandro
Joe-Pourri Archive
Back in the mid-1980s, a talented and handsome poet and short fiction writer advertised a reading in Venice, CA as the son of Joe Dallesandro. He wasn't...nor was it the first time that someone claimed to be one of Joe's kids.
Sam D'Allesandro (nee Richard Anderson) was born in 1956, which would have made Joe a dad at age 7, but that didn't stop him from telling even close friends that he was truly the offspring of the actor.
It's the kind of perverse idolatry and assumption of pseudo-celebrity that surely a Warhol Superstar could appreciate.
The Wild Creatures
The collected stories of Sam D'Allesandro are available in book form from Suspect Thoughts Press and you can find more info about the author and the publisher at
http://www.suspectthoughts.com/presswild.htm
The story "14 Days" in that collection makes mention of Joe, as does the Introduction written by Sam's friend, fellow poet, and editor Kevin Killian. The tale is told that Joe learned of the L.A. event and angrily called the venue. Joe's recollection is that he was indeed "annoyed," largely "because somebody was representing themselves as my kid and your name means something, you know?" He says that he simply made it clear that the guy wasn't related and that was that. If he'd wanted to, Joe says, he could have made a bigger deal about it, but he assumed this was a fan and felt it was enough to let everybody involved know the truth. Today, he's pleased to hear that his talented namesake has left a mark in literature and continues to be discovered by readers, some of whom may have found him simply because of the last name association.