At the risk of becoming the obituary specialist here, I’m saddened by the passing of Jim Carroll, poet, author and rocker behind the indelible punk-era nugget “People Who Died.”
I did have a chance to interview Carroll in the 90s when the movie version of his classic autobiographical novel The Basketball Diaries was released. He was a very funny and had a curious way of speaking — kind of like a Bronx-born Shaggy from Scooby Doo.
The movie was one of the first starring roles for its lead actors, Mark Wahlberg and Leonardo DiCaprio. I recall asking Carroll what he thought of DiCaprio, then an acclaimed but emerging actor who had not reached Titanic celebrity.
Carroll croaked his reply: “I think either this guy is going to become one of the biggest stars, or he is going to end up making some great gay porno.”
