Andy Romanoff has been The Eye of Photography’s Los Angeles correspondent since its first days of publication. He has written about museums, galleries, festivals, and artists, always bringing his idiosyncratic viewpoint to bear.
But for all we knew about him it turns out there was much we had never suspected. Now he has revealed much in a memoir called Stories I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You. Starting today we are going to publish a chapter a month from his tales of criminal life, drugs and parties, San Francisco in the sixties and Los Angeles in the seventies and eighties, his life in the underbelly and at the top of the movie business and always, always his love of photography.
Blind Desire – Part One
When I was younger, all I knew of women was of my overwhelming desire to possess them. Women were glorious creatures. Kissing and fondling them was achingly important, and sleeping with them, tasting them, having their arms around me on the back of my motorcycle or sitting snuggled close to them in my car— beyond nameable. I did everything I could imagine to win their favor. I showed off, played smart, played my bad boy card, played whatever seemed most likely.
What I didn’t have was much curiosity to know who they actually were. As far as I knew I already knew them — because I wanted them. It would be fair to say that the actual woman was not very important. That person way second to the pheromones and attributes that blinded me and the fantasies I lived in. Now is this really true … well partly. I was probably not as clueless as I remember. I had girlfriends, dated, talked endlessly with them through the night about the things we thought mattered. I was vaguely presentable and never knowingly mean. But at this remove what I recall most is the aching burning desire that overpowered everything when a beautiful woman caught my eye…
Andy Romanoff
To read more, Stories I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You is available as an eBook or a printed edition here
