I sent Rocky Manning a link to the blog entries about his crew, the Levittown rocks. His reply follows:
Hi Frank,
This is great reading about all of us when we were in Levittown back in the 50's and 60's. Mousy is gone, Bugsy is gone, Bumpy is gone also. Lucky is still around. Bill Kelly is ok I will see him Sunday. I made a copy for him to read
Thanks for sending this to me. They still call me Rocky.
Rocky Manning
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Bumpy--Ed Whiting
Bugsy-- Richie O'Mack
Lucky-- Ted O'Mack
Mousy--Joe Lulenski
Rocky--Bill Manning
Lucky-- Ted O'Mack
No nickname--Billy Kelly
Others, including some girls, were on the fringe.
Notes from Tom Paturzo Baker
About Lucky O'Mack: I think his real name was Theodore. He did not want his name known. Not cool. I believe he adopted the name from Lucky Luciano, the gangster (at least that is what he claimed.) He wanted people to think he was a lot tougher than he really was. He used his older brothers as a "back-up" system.
About Bumpy: Called that because of his skin condition. I always thought he was harmless, just the persona and image of being a rock. He gained some social acceptance with the "Rocks."
This story concludes our five-part series about the rocks.
8 comments:
Ted O'Mack was called "Lucky" because he smoked Lucky Strikes cigarettes----not, after the gangster. They weren't so cool, after all, they served jail time for stupid reasons/crimes. They were the original JD's of Levittown.
Just for the record:
Ted O'Mack lives in Florida with his wife & 4 daughters, 5 grandchildren & 2 great- grandchildren.
Richie O'Mack did get married & has a son, Richard. He (Richie) was killed in an automobile accident years ago.
Trust me, they were embarrassed of their past and reputations.
Regarding Bill Kelly:
He was living in West Islip (the last I heard). He never married.
Bill is the nicest person (always was & always, will be)!!
I love this web site! Great job!
Bill Kelly I believe is the last "Rock". Rocky Manning passed away October 10th, 2017.
I was engaged to Richie O'Mack. He did not marry or have children. He did die in a car accident in the 1970's.
I was engaged to Richie O'Mack. He never married. He died in a car accident in July 1973. (I was anonymous post above).
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