Got this in my mail this morning, coming from Malcolm Gault Williams (“Legendary Surfers”):
**
Leroy "Granny" Grannis
It's
gonna be hard to write about this, but bear with me and please read on... The
care of our elderly is one of the greatest things we can do while we're on the
planet...
Leroy
Grannis -- Granny -- has fallen on hard times. Famous for his surfing photos and
as an elder of the tribe -- a local of Carlsbad and Hermosa -- you would think
he'd be able to supplement his Social Security and
MediCal with modest earnings from his photography and his life
savings.
Unfortunately,
what "estate" he had has been eaten up by executors, and others. I am told that
a certain Renee Linton and Lars Isaacson are two of those who are
involved.
Granny no longer can
afford to stay in the assisted living home he has been living in and has moved
to his son's home. John Van Ornum has been helping Leroy's daughter Katie get
the word out and is exploring setting up a fund for donations. For more
information, you can reach John at: jvo_v101@yahoo.com
To
read about Granny's contribution to surfing, please go to the LEGENDARY SURFERS
chapter, updated 2/15/2005: LeRoy
"Granny"
Grannis
I just saw this as well. If your from the 50’s, 60’s and into the 70’s, LeRoy “Granny” Grannis was one of the familiar faces that you’d see on the beach From the West Coast to Hawaii as well as far away places that surfers could only dream about.
LeRoy has put many of us on the pages of surfing magazines throughout the years with his “eye’s” for the special moment in capturing a surfer at his best.
I hope folks will step up and give a little back to this wonderful gentleman who’s given us, so many speacial moments in the surfing world.
RIGHT NOW THERE IS A LEGAL BATTLE GOING ON OVER THE ESTATE. GRANNY IS IN A FINANCIAL MESS AND LIVING IN AN ASSISTED FACILITY IN TORRANCE BEACH. HE IS UNABLE TO HELP HIMSELF AT THIS POINT. I AM TRYING TO SET UP A FUND TO HANDLE DONATIONS BUT I NEED HELP AND JUST ASKED THE GUYS FROM SURFRIDER FOR IT…I LIVE ON MOLOKAI AND HAVE UNOFFICIALLY BEEN ELECTED AS “POINT MAN” FOR ALL OF THIS. WHAT A FIRESTORM BUT I AM WILLING TO HELP. A LOT HAVE PEOPLE HAVE COME FORWARD WITH OFFERS. I JUST CAN’T HANDLE THEM YET.
> From: Peter Pope Kahapea <surf.hanaleihawaii@hawaiiantel.net>
> Subject: LeRoy
> To: jvo_v101@yahoo.com
> Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009, 7:22 AM
> Aloha John,
> My name is Peter"Pope"Kahapea. I’ve just read
> a short note about LeRoy’s health and his situation from
> the “SurferMag” bulletin board. To say the least,
> I’m in shock.
>
> I’m from the 60’s era of surfing, from Hawaii who
> moved to the South Bay in 1960.
>
> I would appriciate any information that you might provide
> so I can get the word out here on the Island of Kaua’i.
> The last time I saw LeRoy was in Australia right after his
> book came out and with Greg Nolls Traveling Surf Legends.
>
> Mahalo for your time.
>
> Peter"Pope"Kahapea
>
>
> attached, is a photo that LeRoy took of myself, Donald
> Takayama on the left and Harold Iggy, on the right for a
> Dewey Weber ad.
>
> “Donald, Peter, Iggy … 22nd St Hermosa, 1963”
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This is terrible news. Grannis is without question the grand master of surf photography. All who came along after him owe him a debt of gratitude for paving the way. All those young digi monkeys who get comped on exotic boat trips to perfect waves should donate 1% of a year’s income to help out. You know, the guys who couldn’t ‘follow focus’ if their lives depended on it, yet make good $ through the use of automatic-everything cameras.
I’m proud to own a few prints that have the “Grannis Studios” stamp on the back.
as a high schooler in the sixties, seeing the photo of Peter"Pope"Kahapea’s board with too many decals in SURFER (similar but maybe not the same shot as here) made a HUGE impression on me as far as graphic design - my later profession but a term unknown to me then and for another decade or more. Thanks for that.
This seems to be something worthwhile to take part in.
You must have seen this photo. From a Weber ad around 1963. It seems Pete was rather fond of that #10 shirt. It was his contestant jersey from when he won the juniors division at Makaha.
The “elder statesman” of the same years Makaha International Surfing Championship & first World Surfing Championships has lent his support to this very worthy cause.
An unbelievable thing happened at the Makaha International that winter," continued Doyle, writing of Winter 1963-64. “Midget Farrelly, an Australian, only seventeen years old and almost unknown, won. Even more incredible was the fact that almost everyone who saw the contest thought he should have won. Maybe, we thought, the judges were finally getting sensitive to the criticism that the contest rules at the Makaha were outdated. Maybe the judges were ready to put down their pencils and just watch for a change. But nobody expected the winner to be an Australian.”
good on you and your mates for stepping up for "Granny, Midget.
