By MATTERS BY JACK NEWORTH
In the early days of homelessness in Santa Monica I recall seeing lonely people having loud, incoherent conversations with themselves. These days as I walk along the boardwalk I often experience the same thing, only to realize it’s just a guy with a cell phone headset talking about a stock trade. With that in mind, I admit to preconceived notions when I first laid eyes on Joe Geletko, 71. He was pushing his bicycle across the sand, with a large duffel bag over his shoulder to collect recyclables from the trash cans.
A month later when I saw Joe on the beach again he said he collected the cans and bottles to “keep busy in between movies.” Silently I was saying,“Yeah, right, that’s what Tom Cruise does between ‘Mission Impossibles.’”Actually, now that I think of it, it beats jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch. The point is I didn’t believe Joe’s story but it didn’t matter, he was charming.
The next time I ran into Joe we chatted about his life. I learned that while I don’t jump up and down on couches, I apparently jump to conclusions. Joe was so different than I had assumed. It turns out he was a mailman in Santa Monica for 31 years. He and his wife Kathy of 48 years, have four daughters and one son, ranging in ages from 37 to 47, all of whom attended UCLA. At age 51, Joe decided to take up surfing and now, 20 years later, he surfs every day. In fact he’s a bit of a legend among some young surfers.
When Joe retired from the postal service at 55 he decided he’d give the movies a try. A cynic would say, “dream on.” Well, that’s exactly what Joe did. Through persistence, and his unique charm, he’s been in been in 300 movies, with speaking parts in 11 of them. He’s had scenes with Meryl Streep, Will Ferell and Clint Eastwood in “Million Dollar Baby,” and the upcoming, “Flags of our Fathers” where Joe plays an admiral no less. He was also in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with Brad and Angelina but swears baby Shiloh is not his.
In his work as an extra, stand in, and one-line parts, Joe’s dream, along with so many, was to have one national commercial. But after 16 years of trying and with his 70th birthday approaching, what were the odds? To celebrate that birthday Joe went surfing with one of his daughters who brought a camera. Joe doesn’t necessarily believe in destiny, but only a week later he got a call from his agent. The production company doing a Safeway-Vons commercial was looking for an older surfer. There was hope.
At the audition all the other actors were either muscle-bound or younger, or both, so Joe felt his chances slipping away. But for some reason Joe had thought to take his daughter’s photos with him. And sure enough when his turn came and he was asked his surfing experience Joe showed them the photos and he got his national commercial. I think his daughter may still be looking for her 10 percent, however.
The budget for the commercial was a staggering $1 million. Joe didn’t get the lion’s share, or even a flea’s share, but he says it was the most satisfying money he has ever earned. And it’s still coming in. Joe, the ex-mailman, looks forward to getting the mail each day because he gets residuals.
What’s in Joe’s future? Knowing him, lots. Surfing, traveling, enjoying every day with his family and friends. Clint Eastwood is five years older, so who knows, he might take young Joe under his wing? And Joe isn’t ruling out directing one day, although he acknowledges that could cut into his recycling.
So if you ever see an exceptionally fit 71-year-old pushing his bike across the sand with a duffel bag over his shoulder, don’t jump to conclusions. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. They’re obviously not filming that day. If you see Tom Cruise with him picking up recyclables — no offense to Oprah — wouldn’t that be a nice change? (Jack Neworth can often be found at the beach, near lifeguard station No. 26, trying to think of his next column. He)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 14, 2006. Read the original PDF.