She was only modeling because she needed something to do.
Joe Petrellis
In 1974, Gia officially moves in with her mom Kathleen, and her stepdad Henry Sperr. She kept her bedroom at her Dad’s. At 14 years old, Gia began living in “dual-residences”. Kathleen and Henry bought a cabin in the Poconos to get away and entertain friends. They were VERY social. They learned the hard way that Gia could not be left home alone, so Gia had to start going to the cabin with them on weekends. She could bring a friend and would sometimes bring Karen Karuza along.
One weekend party at the cabin, Gia was introduced to a client of Henry’s, (Henry was an Accountant), a bachelor lawyer named Meyer Siegel. He said that Gia looked like she might be able to model. Meyer knew beautiful women, he had a reputation for dating pretty models and stewardesses. He suggested that Kathleen have some pictures taken of Gia, and he recommended Joe Petrellis, a well-known commercial photographer in Philly. Meyer and Joe had been bachelor buddies for years. Joe Petrellis met model Patty Herron because of Meyer. Joe Petrellis married Patty when he was 46, ending his long bachelorhood. Meyer arranged for Gia to be photographed by Joe as a favor to him.
The night before their first shoot, Gia and some friends partied and didn’t get home until 3am. Gia’s appointment with Joe was at 9:30am. Gia was a beautiful, young, 14 year old kid. That gangly awkward stage with the face of an angel. Gia seems a bit shy and self-conscious in her first few photos.
1974 Gia’s first test shots with Joe Petrellis at his home in Manayunk, PA
The beautiful photo above looks like a gorgeous professional pose. As it turns out, Joe clicked this photo when she was still laughing because he had just tripped over a flowerpot backing up to take the shot!
The process of being photographed interested Gia. She liked cameras, and was fascinated by the technical aspects of what was going on. Gia also liked the attention focused on her. She liked that Joe told her she was pretty good at modeling. There was that little something in her eyes that was catching the camera’s attention. In nearly every shot, her eyes were wide open. She already knew not to flinch when exposed to the harsh light.
Fashion photography was Joe’s passion, but the demand for it in Philly dwindled. The city had a handful of major clothing manufacturers and only one magazine, “Philadelphia”. Joe didn’t want to move to New York. Joe had a lucrative business photographing test shots for aspiring models. When any of these girls were “discovered”, they promptly forgot that she was from Philadelphia or had ever known a Joe Petrellis. Except Gia.
Joe Petrellis became socially friendly with Gia’s mom Kathleen and stepdad Henry Sperr. Gia and Joe remained friends from 1974 when they met, until the day she died, November 18, 1986. Joe and Rob Fay were the only two friends who Kathleen allowed to consistently visit Gia in the hospital almost up to the end.
In 1975, Joe suggested Gia meet his friend Jane Kirby Harris. Jane was a tall, handsome woman in her late thirties. She was a former New York runway model. She was well known in Philadelphia.
Ms Harris taught a course in “Intensive Modeling” several nights a week in the grand ballroom at the Bellevue Stratford hotel. The girls with even the slightest bit of promise would be painstakingly trained in actual modeling techniques. Harris paid special attention to walking; it had been considered her great talent as a runway girl, and was a skill she felt that many top models failed to master. Her course was meant to turn out models, or at least good “nonprofessional models”. Gia and her Aunt Nancy signed up for the course.
Jane Harris found Gia difficult to talk with, but she was taken by her looks and her ability to coordinate clothes. “There was an innate sense you felt. This girl was so put together, without being contrived. I don’t know if the clothes were expensive, but she looked fashion. Gia did well in the course. She learned to walk beautifully. I wanted her to go to Eileen Ford after she was done with me, but she disappeared off the face of the Earth.
Besides Jane Harris’s course, Gia answered an ad in the paper for amateur models at Gimbels department store. (Gia is 15 years old) Gia had quite a few photos published for Gimbels. (Gimbels webpage coming)
Joe Petrellis did another series of tests with 15 year old Gia. This time Gia was in more sophisticated poses and clothes. “She projected like a cheetah. She was born to be in front of the camera. The way she would move … she knew her face, she knew her body. She was born with that. She was born to model. And it was no big deal to her. She was only modeling because she needed something to do.”
1975 Gia’s second test shots at Joe’s his home in Manayunk, PA
“These pictures of Gia were taken at my old house in Manayunk, according to my negative file she was 15 years old. One of the most considerate human beings that I have met in my life.” ~ Joe Petrellis
Joe and Gia kept in touch even after she moved to New York. They would call each other. Joe would go visit her in New York.
As Gia’s career became busy, in high demand, Joe’s wife left him and moved to New York with his assistant. “When I was going through my divorce and my pain, Gia would call me up and say ‘Joe, how are you? Things will look brighter for you. You’re a handsome man. Stop being a baby.’ The was the biggest baby in the world, telling me to stop being a baby.”
“She cared, she took a genuine interest; sometimes she’d call every other day. Before she went to New York, we had been driving one day and that song, that ‘Hop on the bus, Gus’ son came on. From then on she’d call and leave messages, ‘How you doin’, Gus? Let’s hop on that bus.’”
Years later, Gia was in a methadone program, but continued to use heroin. When money from modeling residuals was low, she was forced to hit up everyone she knew for cash, or to take items of hers – or anyone else’s – to the pawn shop at Seventh and South.
Joe: “I gave her money. I sent messengers to her house. I did the wrong thing. I didn’t know what else to do. I always had a little guilt that if I had talked to her mother and gotten them together … I regret the fact that we didn’t all get together and get her into somewhere good, so she worked with a good Psychiatrist.”
“But, I could’ve helped her. I know if I had, if I took her out and spent time with her and showed a genuine caring twenty-four hours a day, she might’ve come around a little bit. When you get into that pit, it’s the hardest thing in the world to climb out.”
“She always said ‘I’m not hurtin’ anybody.’ She could be as high as a kite and she could talk to you normal, you wouldn’t always know. I never saw her cry, she would always bounce back and start to laugh. I told her about a friend that died and she laughed and said ‘They’re better off.’”
After Gia passed away, Joe remained friendly with the family and still used Henry as his accountant.
In regards to above photo: Photographer Andrea Blanch: “This was for the designer Julio- with Kezia Keeble as the stylist – Bob Fink as hair – George Newell for makeup, in Elsa Peretti’s apartment. Gia was in great form & spirited that day. Her beauty, sultriness, inherent grace was apparent all the images”. My guess 1979.
BORN THIS WAY
Joe: “She was one of the sweetest girls in the world, and she always loved me. We were very, very tight. When I went through my divorce, she was there … I saw her a lot around 1979 before she was a superstar. I saw her a lot too after my divorce. Gia was very quiet, very reserved, and very generous. When she came to my house, she would always bring me flowers. She was always a very concerned person, a very giving person.”
“She would share, she would loan her car out. She was a good person, believe me. Her stepfather, Henry Sperr, was my accountant, and that’s how I met her. She got along pretty god with him. But you know how stepchildren are; they always fight with their stepfather. Gia hung out with the wrong people. She hung out with rock stars people into drugs. I’m sure of it.
Even as Gia’s star was rising, Joe continued to spend time with her, and their relationship remained unchanged even after Gia became successful.
Petrellis: I would speak with her when she was here. I would take her to fine restaurants. We were dear friends. I shot her too. My wife was a big model, Patty Harron. She did covers. I wasn’t into that. I took Gia the way she was. A beautiful person. We were very close. She helped me forget what I was going through in life, during and after my divorce. She helped me through it. She was a very giving person. But she wasn’t happy with her life!”
“She was also into women … she didn’t know what the hell she was! I’m not a psychiatrist. I’m just a photographer, and I made my money with my eyes. Sometimes you can’t just figure people out. At the end of her life, I was the only real friend there. There were none of the photographers, no models were there. Do you understand? They stayed away from her! She had two real friends: me and Rob Fay! We were the friends.”
Gia was so thoughtful, “I was in the hospital with kidney stones after my divorce, and Gia found out about it. But she knew I liked gardenias. So, I’m in excruciating pain in the hospital, and a woman walks in with a big bouquet of gardenias. There was a note that said, ‘Get well. I love you, Gia.” The woman said “Mr Joey, you must be very important.” “It was one of the nicest things she ever did for me. I used to loan her money, and she always paid me back! I knew she was doing drugs, and I used to talk to her ‘You’ve got to get some help! you can’t go on like this! You can’t!’ Everybody told her Not just me. Her stepfather and other couldn’t control her. She did what she wanted to do. When she was starting to get into the real upscale modelling, I used to go stay with her. I was like home for her.”
“We were at Mikey Dimple’s in 1981. He was a character in Philadelphia. I had a Rolls Royce then. Mikey Dimple lived in a verry poor part of Philly, but he had a beautiful little house. I parked the Rolls out in front, Gia and I went to see him. There must have been about fifty kids around that car because they’d never seen a car like that in the neighborhood. Mikey was a character. When he came downstairs, he was wearing a funny hat, and … playing this fancy trombone. He didn’t play any melody, he was just blowing it. Gia laughed so much she had to go to the bathroom. That was a very funny day. Mikey made lunch for us, it was a beautiful day.”
“We used to go up to New Hope (a town half way between Philly and NYC) together. She loved to hang out in the second had shops. Gia had her own style. She did breakthroughs in New York. People copied her, girls copied Gia. She was a role model. She was. She loved me and I loved me and I loved her. That should tell you everything. She loved my company. I always treated her to the best. I never had to buy her presents or any of that. We used to go into New Hope, and she liked to visit thrift stores. She liked vintage clothing, and she would buy a man’s blazer, and she would put and outfit together with a necktie or a shirt. She looked good! And all the girls in New York were following her. Worlwide, even when she went to Italy! They loved her! She had that personality, that sparkle. In my eyes, she wasn’t a raving beauty. She was no Grace Kelly, she was no Nicole Kidman, she was none of them. She was more buxom. She had unbelievable, beautiful breasts, gorgeous, and they stood up, but they were big! A lot of models had nothing! Gia’s personality made Gia. She photographed well, and she worked only with the best guys. You’ll see in the early pictures how clean that was. You can see the sadness in her eyes and how true she was. Impeccable girl. You see models with frowns on their faces. They’re unhappy and angry. Gia was unhappy, but she wasn’t angry. It’s different! If I was walking with her and there were beggars on the streets, she would give everyone a dollar. If she didn’t have any money, sometimes she’d say, ‘Give me a few dollars!’ I’d give her the few dollars, and she’d give them to the beggars! She had a heart of gold. I think her heart of gold could have contributed to destroying her. She would hang out with strange people that nobody wanted to associate with. Probably at the beginning she felt sorry for them, and that was her!”
Rob Fay: “I would say only Joe was a truly loyal friend. He came to visit Gia at Eagleville, and I was the only person Gia introduced him to.
“Time is Life.” As long as Gia’s strength held out, she refused to lock herself up in the house. She spent time with Rob Fay and Joe Petrellis. Gia saw Suzanne Rodier for the last time.
Gia’s strongest desire was to leave a mark on this life.
Joe is 91 years old now. He was born February 15, 1930. He visits us in the Gia Facebook groups from time to time to speak of his good friend Gia. He kicks peoples’ asses when he disagrees with a comment, and we love him for it. He’s a tough old guy who’s 100% loyal to, and protective of Gia.
Article about this incident: The Philadelphia Inquirer