Back a few years ago, I wondered who the most famous person might be in the town I lived in.
We had a few former NFL players who were born here, and a couple who lived here – including a couple of Pro Football Hall of Famers – but the ones who were born here were mostly local legends, and the ones who were great moved out here from elsewhere after their careers ended.
The superstar entertainer MC Hammer has lived here for many years, and raised his family here, and he’s always approachable – but Hammer was not born and raised here. (Oakland rightfully claims him.)
We have had a Playboy centerfold (see Miss December 1973) and a lot of great people who were “Tracy Famous,” but aren’t well known a few miles past our city limits.
Then, a short time later, an item in our local Tracy Press’ regular “Twice-Told Tales” column of historical hometown tidbits mentioned that a young man named Rod Lauren, who had grown up here when he was known as Roger Strunk, was starring in a movie that was playing at the Grand Theater downtown … back in 1963.
I was intrigued. We actually had a local kid who starred in a movie?
As it turned out, that kid had quite a story. He wanted to be an actor, moonlighted as a singer, and was discovered by RCA Victor in the most serendipitous way in the days when RCA Victor was going strong with another small-town singer named Elvis. Our kid was given a new name and a big-budget publicity push, and he hit the American Top 40 with his first record. Appearances on TV shows hosted by Ed Sullivan, Bob Hope, Dick Clark, Perry Como and Steve Allen quickly followed.
He acted in several movies – starring (or playing one of the leads) in a couple – and in a few TV shows (usually in bit parts, but with at least one memorable role in an episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”) but then, before he turned thirty years old, his career had faded … only to take a dramatic turn.
The remarkable story of his life is told in “I Dreamed: The Story of Rod Lauren. And Roger Strunk.”
Note that this story is being written “live”; it is incomplete, is being written and released in segments and fragments, and includes a discography, filmography, and other sections that are works in progress.
– David Jackson
Tracy, Calif.
Credits
Many of the photographs and other ephemera included in this presentation are from the collection of the author, or were generously provided by members of the Strunk family and other fans of Rod Lauren. They are used with their kind permission.
Copyright Notice
Rod Lauren music used in this presentation are copyright by RCA Victor (used by permission of Sony Music) and Chancellor Records (used by permission of Universal Music Group).
All music is presented under license from ASCAP and BMI. Downloading, re-recording or any other form of copying or distribution is strictly prohibited under international copyright laws.
Certain photographs and images used in this presentation are from the private collection of the author and may not be copied, reproduced or otherwise published, distributed or used in any manner without the expressed written permission of the author. Other photographs and images are used with the permission of the copyright holder; such copyright or ownership is noted with the specific item.
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