{"id":4311,"date":"2022-01-10T22:17:47","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=4155"},"modified":"2025-03-07T22:18:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T06:18:57","slug":"characters-in-the-basketball-diaries","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/behind-the-basketball-diaries\/characters-in-the-basketball-diaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Characters in The Basketball Diaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a list of characters who appear in The Basketball Diaries<\/a> <\/em>by Jim Carroll. Eventually I hope to provide character descriptions–but for now I’m just listing their names, neighborhoods, and the pages on which they appear in the Penguin editions of The Basketball Diaries<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Father 84, 139-40, 144-45
Mother 3, 18, 37, 77, 97, 145, 179
Brother 96-97, 114<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Characters from the Lower East Side<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Biddy League (Madison Square Boys’ Club)
Coach Lefty 3, 8-9, 15-16, 36
Tony Milliano (See\u00a0“People Who Died”<\/a>) 3, 4-5, 30, 120
Kevin Dolan (Jim\u2019s cousin) 3, 17, 77-78
Carson (also member of “Diaper Bandits”) 8, 15
Yogi 4-5, 7, 77-78, 155-57
Herbie Hemslie (See\u00a0“People Who Died”<\/a>) 10, 11, 13, 27, 177-78, 192, 207
Bobo Hemslie 177-78
Pedro 10, 11, 128
Buddy 13-14
Chris 18
Fat Eddie (See\u00a0“People Who Died”<\/a>) 19, 51, 57-61, 152
X<\/strong>Bobby Sachs<\/a>\u00a0(died of Leukenia, age 16; (See\u00a0“People Who Died”<\/a>) 67-68
Pudgy 30
Ronnie Jackson 30-32, 160, 193
Freddy C. 30-32
Joey (West side; may be “Joey L.” below) 107-8
Mike McIntosh (West side) 112-14
Peter (West side) 112
Kenny\/Kevin (seems to change names in middle of diary) 110-12
Sharron and Lou-Lou (pre-teen drag queens) 110-12
Buddy 13-14
Mrs. McNulty 5-6
Bill (old man at the caves in Inwood\u2019s park) 42
Steve Malone (little league coach) 70
Buddy (Apartment building superintendent) 110-11
Sister Mary Grace (teacher at St. Agnes Grade School) 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girlfriends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Joan (lower east side) 3
Deborah Duckster (Inwood) 20, 107-8, 126, 133
Blinkie (Long Island) 58-61
Melody (blind date arranged by Bunty Gargen) 72-73
Lisa Cornbly (Professional Children’s School; probably Linda Cambi) 129-30
Hedi Hunter (Sutton Place) 138-39
(Harry, Hedi’s butler 139)
Bunny Begalot (NYU) 166-67<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Characters from Inwood and Vicinity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kevin (cousin) 117, 77-78
Chris 18
Johnny 48-50
Danny 48-51, 55
Sam McGiggle 48
Sean 51
Leapy Louie Salvado (basketball rival from the Bronx) 52
Ronny 55
Donny 56
Barry 117
Butch 117
Bobby Blake (the kleptomaniac) 94-97, 114
Al Dolan 195-96
Sal (park attendant) 51
Sal Salvado (barber) 52
Rudy (foreman at Yankee Stadium) 53<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catholic School, 8th Grade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brother Wally Wale (geography teacher) 28
Brother Kenneth (good teacher) 28
Brother G. (enjoys the “M.O. routine”) 35
Billy “Dong” Burlap (epileptic) 28
Carlo Puzo 29
Mikey Benavisti 35
Vinnie Benavisti (Mikey’s older brother) 36<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer and Winter Basketball Leagues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Benny Greenbaum (queer scout) 54, 153-59
Joe Slapstick (coach) 153-55
Willie Coll 18, 42, 43, 54, 55-56, 128-29
Tom McNulty (center) 54
Tom Miggrello 55
Lewie Alcinder 115
Vaughn Harper 115
Earl Manigault 115
Sammy Fulton 155
Art Baylor 154-55
Ben Davis 155
Bobby Bellum 153-54
Bax Porter 153-54
Yogi 4-5, 7, 77-78, 155-57
Corky 155-57<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long Island Characters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Celia Sisters 58-61
Fat Eddie (parents’ summer home) 57-61
Winkie and Blinkie 58-61<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rye Character<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Willie Goodbody 118<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trinity School Characters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

See Trinity Yearbook Page<\/a>
Mr. Brothers (Latin teacher) 65, 96
Mr. Belt (Headmaster) 65
Mr. Bluster (Principal)
Dudley Doolittle (Coach) 69, 80, 87-89, 130, 165
Eggie Blaumgarden 65, 66
Larry Labratory 66
Bunty Gargen 72, 84
Marc Clutcher 79, 86-89, 98-99, 107-8, 133-34, 196-97, 163-65
Anton Neutron 79-80, 86-89, 98-99, 133-34, 163-65
David Lang 85, 86-89, 98-99, 134-38
Ravi Curry 86<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denizens of Headquarters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jimmy Mancole 112-14, 122, 130-32, 143-44, 183, 169-70, 173-74, 192-93, 198, 199, 202, 206-9,
Brian Browning (See\u00a0“People Who Died”<\/a>) 80-83, 103, 112-14, 117, 171, 192, 210
John Browning 80
Sloppy Eddie 80
Willie Appleears 80, 169, 175
Jimmy Dantone 82, 210
Henry 112-14, 150, 191-93, 198
Black Earl 163
Shlink 130-32
Willie 142
Billie 142
G-Burger 150
Moochie 150
Frankie Pinewater 202-4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misc. Addicts and Dope Pals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Johnny Murry 81
Joey L. (See “Joey” above)112-14
Fudgy 141
Genie Walsh 172
Lucy 173
Willie Bender 174-75
Marty 175
Desmond 175
Kooky 175
Diane Moody 184-85
Ju-Ju Johnson 204-6
Johnny Gator 204
Ray 161<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misc. Dealers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ron Hemslie 7, 14, 192
Bunky 42
Lefty (Puerto Rican pusher) 98-99
Popo 98-99
Cal (superintendent) 118
Fat Victor 141
Kookie 186
Diamond 186
John Tom 208<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See Also<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Basketball Diaries page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a list of characters who appear in The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll. Eventually I hope to provide character descriptions–but for now I’m just listing their names, neighborhoods, and the pages on which they appear in the Penguin editions of The Basketball Diaries. Family Father 84, 139-40, 144-45Mother 3, 18, 37, 77, 97, 145, 179Brother 96-97, … Continue reading Characters in The Basketball Diaries<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":30,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[13],"class_list":["post-4311","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-17x","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/behind-the-basketball-diaries\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":0},"title":"Behind The Basketball Diaries","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Book Information about all the various editions of\u00a0The Basketball Diaries, with photos and descriptions. Important Places An interactive map detailing Jim Carroll locations with photos, descriptions, and links. Characters in the book: 1964-1968 Trinity Yearbooks\u00a0-- Pages from Jim Carroll's senior yearbook.List of all the characters\u00a0who appear in the book.x\"Bobby\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4652,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/behind-the-basketball-diaries\/stories-from-dennis-driscoll\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":1},"title":"Stories from Dennis Driscoll","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Dennis Driscoll grew up in Inwood, a neighborhood in upper manhattan, during the period Jim Carroll writes about in The Basketball Diaries. Many of the characters in The Basketball Diaries were Dennis's friends and they appear in his stories. With encouragement from his friends on the Jim Carroll Discussion List\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-14.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-14.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-14.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":2},"title":"Background & Context","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"These are some special feature areas on individual topics to provide more in-depth information on Jim Carroll. About Jim Carroll Overview of Jim Carroll's life and works (see also Biographies). In Memoriam Acknowledgment and documentation of Carroll's death Behind The Basketball Diaries These pages offer background and context for\u00a0The Basketball\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/carroll-dicaprio-bd-film.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/carroll-dicaprio-bd-film.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/carroll-dicaprio-bd-film.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/carroll-dicaprio-bd-film.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":576,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/diaries-and-fiction-by-jim-carroll\/the-basketball-diaries\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":3},"title":"The Basketball Diaries: Editions","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"August 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Carroll wrote his autobiographical tales of \"growing up hip\" on New York's mean streets\" between the ages of 12 and 16, from 1962 to 1966. Carroll earned a scholarship to a posh private school (see\u00a0Trinity Yearbook page) and spent his time playing basketball, stealing, hustling gay men to support his\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/bd1cov.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4704,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carrolls-films\/scott-kalverts-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-film-guide\/the-basketball-diaries-problems-with-scott-kalverts-film\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":4},"title":"The Basketball Diaries: Problems with Scott Kalvert’s Film","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Disclaimer: I wrote this analysis for the Jim Carroll Website and not for the Leonardo DiCaprio Fan Club or the Filmic Technique Appreciation Society. I don't like this film, and I have no obligation to say anything nice about it, so please do not send me e-mail protesting my critique\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4035,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/photos-video-audio\/photo-gallery\/the-jim-carroll-website-image-gallery-misc-new-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":5},"title":"The Jim Carroll Website: Image Gallery: Misc. New Images","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"> > Misc. New Images > 8 January 2001 >These are images for which I haven't yet created pages. Portraits Jim Carroll -- Portrait from Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart (PBS) Jim Carroll, Spring 1971 (by Gerard Malanga) Jim Carroll, Ted Berrigan, Lee Crabtree, and Julius Orlovsky (1969) Jim\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4311"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8878,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4311\/revisions\/8878"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=4311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}