The meeting of old friends Suzanne Mallouk and Rodrigo Salomon. It was interesting to meet people that you have not seen for a long time to see how they have changed with the way they look and what they are now doing with their lives. I am happy to say that most people that I met still looked good and are doing well for themselves. Two good examples are Suzanne and Rodrigo. I knew both of them from the New York club scene in the 80's. The last time I saw Suzanne was with Jean Michel Basquiat, which was quite awhile ago. (click on the highlights to see about the book "Widow Basquiat" This book was written about Suzanne and Jean Michel) Suzanne was also featured in the Basquiat Documentary called Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. She is now known as Dr. Mallouk, a well respected psychiatrist and psychotherapist. She put herself first through Hunter College in New York to get a BA in psychology and chemistry. Then she graduated in 2000 from St. George university medical school in Grenada, British West Indies. She completed her internship in internal medicine and residency in general psychiatry at Beth Israel Center and Albert Einstein College of medicine. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and neurology and is a member of the American Psychiatry Association. She now has her own practice in New York City.
I last met Rodrigo when I acted in a film that he directed called "Videopathy" a really special 12 minute short film. It has been about 20 years since the last time we worked together on that film. Rodrigo was on the New York scene going all the way back to when he first arrived to the East Village. His neighbor was David Johansen and he introduced him to the New York Dolls, Billie Murcia and Sylvain Sylvain and the rest is history. He has dabbled in all art forms. He created Salomon Studio in 1975. It was an artist workspace that hosted film, art and dance exhibits. He has had his own art gallery "Salomon Arts Gallery" since 2003. They represent cutting edge artists in New York. Salomon Arts has been host to talented artists in many fields, from painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking to dance, music, poetry readings and films. They are at the hub of creativity and cutting edge performances in the heart of Tribeca. He is still the elegant man about town kissing the ladies.