#sixdegreesofseparation

What do these six images have in common? Check out Curator of Graphic Arts Erika Piola's latest blog post to find out! And if you're feeling inspired, check out our Digital Catalog (http://ow.ly/6dKt50zyOaD) to play along and find six objects with six degrees of separation. Share your results with #LCPonline and #sixdegreesofseparation 

Him & Her

& Russell Tovey is adorable and funny!

Been watching lots of Andrew Scott stuff over the last month and a half due to Fleabag Season 2, obvi, 😊 👍and this / Russell Tovey comedy stuff seems kind of similar / or like six degrees of separation related things to watch, and actors that are in the same projects

Sooo new show potentially for me to binge on 😄 🙌✨

Roll on episode 2 ✌️🍿🖥

Six Degrees Of Separation From John Wayne Gacy

In 1977 through late 1979 I was waiting tables at the trendy French restaurant, Moustache Cafe, located in West Hollywood on Melrose Avenue. One of our fellow waiters was a young man in his early 20's named Dave, David Cram. Dave was always very neatly dressed in his black jeans and white shirt, sometimes a tie or bow tie. He was about 5'7", thick, curly brown hair, with a muscular build, like maybe he worked out. He was witty, very articulate, well spoken with a familiar Chicago vernacular, much like the Second City/SNL cast members speak, clipped, and precise. Think Dan Ackroyd, Jane Curtain, Gilda Radner, Belushi and you have Dave. Dave was incredibly energetic, very enthusiastic, did his job well, showed up on time, stayed late, and worked hard. We all did, you had to or you could hit the road. He had a really good sense of humor, liked to have fun, and a devilish smile with a twinkle in his eyes. I thought he was close to my age, around 27. We never hung out after work as many of us did. Two-thirds of us were actors. We were all in acting classes, studying with someone, auditioning, honing our craft. I'm sure Dave was, too, although I can't remember who he studied with.

The phrase, "If you can't take the heat, get outa the kitchen", didn't come from nowhere. Working in a busy restaurant can get rough and tumble and you can bet it did almost every shift at some point at Moustache. Peak times, you'd better buckle up, cuz the stuff could hit the fan and you might need to duck "WHERE'S MY ORDER??!!" "WHERE'S MY SALAD?!!" And at the Moustache Cafe, known far and wide for its scrumptious chocolate souffle with fresh whipped cream, that took a good half hour to bake, it wasn't uncommon to hear someone yelling, "I NEED MY SOUFFLE NOW!!!" Yes, things could get tense in a micro-second. Just getting through the packed crowd to your table could drive a saint to drink.

One word I would use to describe Dave Cram, then and now, would be: TENSE. Dave was wound tight. He had a hair-trigger temper that everyone knew to be aware of. I don't have much room to talk. I was a feisty filly myself. Later, he'd ease up and cool down, and there's charming Dave again with the great smile and straight teeth. He reminded me of a little boy in a young man's body. Dave and I often chatted during slow times before the rush, between picking up orders, doing our side-work, checking tables, picking up drinks, and our favorite pastime a bit of gossip. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there seemed to be something beneath the surface about Dave, something hidden, troubled. One night we were both stationed outside on the patio. It was on a typical gorgeous California night a specific conversation occurred, one that stays with you, one that burrows in the gray matter for all the years that follow. The stars were out, the umbrellas looking festive, white twinkle lights everywhere, Clapton, Ronstadt, The Commodores, the latest music was always playing in the background. Moustache was a cool place to hang your hat. We knew we had one of the best gigs of any actor/waiter jobs in Los Angeles. The money was great. It paid for all those 8x10 glossies, expensive acting classes, and killer clothes LA actresses were expected to have.

It must have been around the spring of '79. It had to be because John Wayne Gacy had been arrested December 21, 1978. Boys had been disappearing from in and around Chicago for the past two years when finally a popular, handsome boy, not a runaway, a beloved son, brother, nephew, grandson from a stable loving family, Robbie Piest, had not come home on the night of his mother's birthday. That wasn't Robbie. Mrs. Piest had gone to pick Robbie up at the local drugstore as planned where he worked after school. His mom came in and he told his mother he needed to go outside and talk to a building contractor about a part-time job. Mrs. Piest waited, then went outside to check on him, but he was nowhere in sight. She went home thinking it was odd, but that Robbie would just get a ride. It was her birthday and the family had planned a small dinner party to celebrate at home. But, Robbie never came home that evening. A birthday dinner party for his mother, there was no way Robbie would miss that. The Piests called the drug store asking if Robbie had come back and asked their most pressing question, "Who's the contractor Robbie was to meet?" They told them his name was, John Gacy, who owned PDM Contractors, PDM being the initials for 'Painting, Decorating, and Maintenance, but no one had seen the two together or even talking. The Piests immediately went to the police that night, but the police at that time had a 72 hour waiting period before they began any search for missing persons. Gacy was a sly, scheming predator. He actually served as a Precinct Chief for his township, plus he regularly played a clown for children's parties. Later under questioning with police, he told a detective, "You know... clowns can get away with murder." What a bizarre thing for a murder suspect to say to the police investigating him in the disappearance of a teenager.

They gave the detective's Gacy's name. When they checked Gacy's rap sheet, alarms went off. They saw he'd been arrested in '68 for sodomy with a 14-year-old boy, sentenced to 10 years, but was released on good behavior after one year. Although Gacy denied talking or meeting Robbie the night before, alarm bells were soon becoming sirens. They were on to him like bees on honey, placing him under 24-hour surveillance, and paying him daily, nightly visits. As one detective put it, "We knew the guy was dirty. We just couldn't prove it." The first search turned up nothing. The house was tidy, Gacy was cooperative, chatty, denied knowing this Robbie. Soon Gacy was very bothered. When the police had made one of their subsequent visits to search the outside of Gacy's house, Gacy was very friendly and invited them inside from the freezing Chicago cold, and made them coffee. One of the detectives asked, "Hey, John, you mind if I use your bathroom?" John replied, "No, sure, go ahead." The detective closed the door behind him and was standing in the bathroom when the heat kicked on. There was a vent low, just above the floor molding to the right of the sink. He smelled the distinctive odor all detectives know, the stench of decomposing flesh. Everything began to click. They needed another search warrant. "A search of Gacy's house on December 13 was ordered by a judge at the request of detectives and turned up several suspicious items: a 1975 high school class ring engraved with the initials J.A.S., various driver's licenses, handcuffs, a two-by-four with holes drilled in the ends, books on homosexuality and pederasty,[200] a syringe, male clothing too small for Gacy, a 6mm Brevettata starter pistol and a photo receipt from the pharmacy where Robert Piest worked."

Within 24 more hours, they were in the crawl space. Within hours they found the first body. To their amazement, more bones appeared, then more. The police were completely aghast. None of them had ever seen anything like this case ever. Eventually, 29 young men's bodies had been removed from his crawl space and concrete garage slab. When he began to run out of space he began dumping bodies off the nearby Des Plains River, dropping them from smack-dab off the middle of the Des Plains Bridge. Anyone could have seen him. Anyone. He was taking risks. They found four more bodies in the icy river. One of those bodies was 17-year-old Robbie Piest.

Up to that time, Gacy was the most prolific known serial killer in the US. He surpassed all the others, including Ted Bundy and Dean Corll. Parents and families in the mid-west were terrified, especially those whose teens had run away. The details were brutal. All the victims were between 14-24, most runaways, most in their teens, with their lives ahead of them beautiful young men trying to figure out who they were and where they were going. Sadly, 33 of them met the clown monster. Six remain unidentified. It wouldn't be a surprise if there were many more. Naturally, it was all over the news every day for months, Everyone across the country was horrified. The country mourned.

On that spring evening in '79, Dave and I were talking about books we were reading, current events, classes, all the usual stuff. I brought up the Gacy Murders. I think I was talking about an article I'd read about it. Dave told me about knowing and working for him. I was astounded. "Really, Dave, you're kidding!??" I'm not sure who was more surprised, me that Dave knew him, or Dave that I brought up the name of the monster. There was a shift in the conversation. I recall Dave's eyes widened and he became very serious and engaged. He was on high alert. He told me that, as with the murdered boys, Gacy had tricked him into putting on the handcuffs and tried to rape him but he fought him off. He talked him down, they wrestled. Dave looked like a wrestler. Other young boys that had escaped his assaults said Gacy was incredibly strong and very powerful.

I found out years later, around 1995, Dave had actually lived in Gacy's two-bedroom ranch style house while he worked for him. I'm not sure he had told me that. Gacy had become a hard-working, respected, successful building contractor. He worked long hours got the jobs finished on time or early. Gacy hired two types of employees, older, skilled craftsmen, and young boys, the majority teen runaways living on the edge. He had the young men working for him dig what he said were 'drainage trenches' in the 4' high crawl space under his house at 8213 Summerdale. Apparently, Dave didn't move out after this incident happened. It's difficult to know exactly what Dave knew or suspected. I now realize he was only twenty-one on December 21, 1978, when Gacy was finally arrested. I left the Moustache Cafe in late 1980. We lost touch with one another after I left.

**NOTE: After I wrote this, upon further research I found this:

"On July 26, 1976, Gacy employed an 18-year-old named David Cram. On August 21, Cram moved into his house. The following day, Gacy conned Cram into donning handcuffs while the youth was inebriated. Gacy swung Cram around while holding the chain linking the cuffs, then informed him that he intended to rape him. Cram, who had spent a year in the Army, kicked Gacy in the face, then freed himself from the handcuffs as Gacy lay prone. One month later, Gacy appeared at Cram's bedroom door with the intention to rape him and said: "Dave, you really don't know who I am. Maybe it would be good if you give me what I want." Cram resisted Gacy's attempts to assault him and Gacy left his bedroom. After this incident, Cram moved out of Gacy's home and subsequently left PDM Contractors, although he did periodically work for Gacy over the following two years. Shortly after Cram had vacated Gacy's residence, another employee of PDM Contractors, 18-year-old Michael Rossi, moved into Gacy's house."

It was on this link: https://upclosed.com/people/john-wayne-gacy/

Over the years, whenever I heard or read about John Wayne Gacy, I always wondered what happened to David F. Cram III. One can only imagine how haunted he became as he matured, how close he came to being one of those murdered boys. It followed him, especially when he moved home to Chicago later. People knew him, talked about him, wondered if he'd been involved. I've read their comments on the internet. After he married and eventually had his own children, two girls, and a son, it must have continued to live in his mind. His connection to the horrors was inescapable. Dave wasn't a shallow person, far from it. The person I knew and worked with was much more than a flighty, devil-may-care kid, or a living on the edge kind of fellow. He was responsible, often serious, thoughtful, empathetic, compassionate, and kind young man.

A few years ago I again Googled Dave and was sad to discover he'd died in 2001 by suicide at the young age of 43, leaving a loving wife and three children, all devastated. I found there's a lot on Dave. He's referred to often, whenever Gacy is written about, there's Dave. I found that he and his wife had named their son, David Cram IV. Dave Jr. followed his father 2009 and by all the messages, it seems also by suicide. He was almost 18-years-old. One can only imagine the sorrow a 10-year-old boy feels when his daddy is suddenly gone. Father and son are buried side-by-side with a double-marker.

No one will ever convince me that Gacy didn't kill many other than the 33 young boys and young men. How many lives were devastated by the clown monster? Gacy was right when he told the Chicago detective, "You know… clowns can get away with murder."

Rest in Peace with your beloved son, Dave

David F Cram, III

August 22, 1957 - April 28, 2001

Chicago, Illinois

David F. Cram IV

1991 -2009

Chicago, Illinois

The article below, "Draw For Suicides", tells of the discovery of my long-ago former colleague, Dave's body in the Cook County Forest Preserve.

"Draw For Suicides" (Excerpted from the link posted below)

By Karen Rivedal, Tribune staff reporter

Chicago Tribune

"Because of the large number of isolated sites, the forest preserves also can be a draw for suicides. Police said that financial problems and failed relationships, sometimes coupled with mental illness and chemical dependencies, were factors in most of the 11 suicides--nine men and two women--this year.

One of the suicides handled by forest preserve police involved a 43-year-old Chicago man who figured heavily some 22 1/2 years before in the biggest arrest of Albrecht's police career.

In winter 1978, Albrecht was a detective for the Des Plaines Police Department, working surveillance on John Wayne Gacy, then a Des Plaines businessman suspected in the disappearance of a 15-year-old boy. On Dec. 21, a young friend of Gacy's named David Cram approached Albrecht and other officers at a gas station and told them that Gacy--who was eating at a restaurant next door--had confessed to his attorneys the night before to killing 33 boys and young men. Cram also said Gacy planned to drive that same day to a nearby cemetery where Gacy's father was buried and kill himself.

Armed with that information, Albrecht and his partner arrested Gacy on a drug offense they had witnessed earlier in the day. Later, in police custody, Gacy confessed his killing spree to Albrecht and other officers, drawing a detailed map of the crawlspace under his house where many of the bodies were buried.

On April 28 of this year, preserve police removed Cram's body from LaBagh Woods West, where he had hanged himself. Investigators found empty beer bottles and folders about alcohol addiction in his car, Albrecht said."

David F. Cram III Obituary: https://www.legacy.com/.../chicagotribune/obituary.aspx...

David Cram IV Obituary: https://www.legacy.com/.../chicagotribune/obituary.aspx...

Interview with Gacy's defense attorney, Judge Sam Armirante:

La noche promete ser de una importancia esencial para John Flanders, "Flan", Kittredge (Donald Sutherland) y su esposa Ouisa (Stockard Channing, nominada al Oscar a la Mejor Actriz): están frente a su amigo e inversor Geoffrey Miller (Sir Ian McKellen), con quien está a punto de cerrar la venta de una pintura de Paul Cézanne. El negocio es millonario, pero les cae la inesperada visita de un muchacho que afirma haber sido asaltado. Éste se hace llamar Paul (Will Smith, que entonces estaba saboreando las mieles del éxito como rapero y como protagonista de la sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air") y, además, los sorprende confirmándoles que es compañero de la universidad de sus hijos y que es hijo del gran actor Sidney Poitier. Su carisma es indudable y no tarda en sorprenderlos con su profusa cultura literaria, sus dotes culinarios y anécdotas variadas sobre su presunto padre.

Conmovidos por tan extraordinaria personalidad, la pareja, luego de sanar su herida, le permite pasar la noche en su casa y le da cincuenta dólares. A la mañana siguiente, le encuentran en la cama con un prostituto (Lou Milione) y, en medio de un gran escándalo, echan a ambos del departamento noyorquino. Hablando con amigos, descubren que el modus operandi del muchacho es similar y emprenden la tarea de buscar a tan extraño, aunque encantador, personaje, para intentar evitar que continúe con su desquiciada cruzada.

La historia es increíble, pero real: su inspiración es David Hampton, un adolescente que estafó a estrellas de la magnitud de Melanie Griffith, Calvin Klein o Gary Sinise haciéndose pasar por David Poitier, hijo de, claro, Sidney Poitier. Hampton recibió una condena que iba de los dieciocho meses a los cuatro años de prisión y murió en 2003 por complicaciones del sida. Luego llegaría la pieza teatral, escrita (al igual que el guión de esta película) por John Guare. La dirección recayó en el australiano Fred Schepisi, quén se valió de talentos actorales como Mary Beth Hurt, Heather Graham, Bruce Davison, Richard Masur, Eric Thal, Kelly Bishop, Anthony Rapp, J. J. Abrams (sí, el director de "Star Wars, el despertar de la fuerza" y "Star Trek") y, en el rol de Trent Conway, el primer incauto qua cae ante los encantos de Paul, Anthony Michael Hall.