Part 1
May 08, 1988|EARL GUSTKEY | Times Staff Writer
The Golden Boy, at 60:
Art Aragon is at his desk in his Van Nuys bail bond office, the one next to the tattoo shop. Through sunglasses in the dark office, he stares through the window at passers-by on Victory Boulevard.
The phone rings.
"HelloAragon," he mumbles.
He listens briefly, then mumbles again, "Sorry, no collect calls," and abruptly hangs up.
A visitor asks who it was.
"Some guy in jail," he says. "He'll call back."
Seconds later, the caller is back on the line--his nickel.
"HelloAragon.
"What're you in for, Danny?
"Possession of a controlled substance, huh?
"What's your booking number, Danny?
"How old are you?
"What's your address, Danny?
"That sounds like a trailer park. It is? That's bad, Danny. You could haul that trailer out of there one night and disappear on me and I'd get awful mad.
"You got a job, Danny?
"A roofer? How about this Danny: I get you outta jail, you fix my roof. How's that sound?
"OK, Danny, I need $260 from someone who knows you well and who owns property. How about your girlfriend? OK, how about your boyfriend? Your Mom? That's great, Danny. What's her phone number? OK, stay by that phone. I'll call you right back."
He dials.
"Hello, Mrs. . . . ? This is Art Aragon calling. Did you know your son is in . . . You know me? From where? Jerry's Bar? Oh, yeah. From years ago. Sure I remember you. Real sexy, right? Yeah, I remember you. Hey, Mama, you were so beautiful in those days you were dangerous. They shoulda put you in jail years ago, Mama.
"Hey, I'm a bail bondsman now. Your son's in jail. You want me to get him out or what? You don't? OK, suit yourself."
But the woman decides that she does want to bail her son out, and makes an appointment with Aragon.
The visitor asks Aragon if the woman really was beautiful.
"Yeah, she was," he says. "Hey, in those days, I didn't drink with bums, pal."
Aragon breaks into a wide grin.
And you know that, behind the sunglasses, he has winked.
Always, the mouth. He was the fighter they loved to hate. Arrogant Art, they called him. They booed when he won. They booed when he lost.
Recently, he was asked what he missed most from the 1950s, when he was the owner of Los Angeles.
"Nothin'!" he retorted, almost snarling.
"I hated it! Boxing's a horrible sport. Getting whacked in the head, managers and promoters stealing my money, all that road work, tryin' to make weight . . . Whaddya mean, what do I miss?
"Let me tell you something--I got brain damage from boxing, you know that?
"Well, OK, I do miss one thing.
"The broads.
"And I miss the boos, too. Walking into the ring at the Olympic, 10,000 people there, wearing that gold robe, hearing all those boos, yeah I miss that. You ever get booed by 10,000 people? It's exciting.
"I liked it even better when I beat the . . . out of some guy the crowd loved and then I'd look out at 'em, give 'em a big smile, and the boos would be even louder. I loved that."
Art, about brain damage . . .
"Well, sometimes I slur my words, right? I didn't used to sound like this. I've been to doctors. Like I say, boxing is a horrible sport. People like Don King and Burt Sugar make lots of money and there're all these fighters out there whacking each other in the head.
"Let me tell you something, I did more damage to myself my last two years in boxing than I did in the previous 14 years combined. The fighter is always the last guy to figure out when it's time to quit."
In his 60th year, the Golden Boy wins a paternity suit.
In court, Aragon's attorney has a doctor on the stand, who says to the judge: "Your honor, it is not possible for Mr. Aragon to have been the father of this woman's child."
Aragon stands up and says: "Your honor, I want a second opinion."
The Golden Boy. In the 1950s, before the Dodgers arrived, Art Aragon was the king of Los Angeles.
Take a look at the pictures on the walls at Golden Boy Bail Bonds. Hey, isn't that . . . ? You bet it is. It's Marilyn Monroe and the Golden Boy. And is that . . . ? Yep. Jayne Mansfield and Art. And there he is with Mamie Van Doren. And there's Bob Hope, Joe Louis . . . Between 1950 and 1953, Aragon fought 23 times at the Olympic Auditorium and his bouts drew $626,442. No one knows how many times his fights sold out the old arena, but he's the acknowledged record-holder.
He fought for his biggest purse against Carmen Basilio in 1958, at old Wrigley Field. Aragon earned $104,000--and took the worst beating anyone at ringside that night had ever seen. "When I started fighting in 1944, I was broke," Aragon said. "When I fought Basilio, I made $104,000 and owed my ex-wives $200,000. What sense does that make?
"Hey, in the 1950s, I \o7 owned \f7 this town. Ask anyone who was around then. And then those . . . Dodgers came to town. I had to start booking my fights around Dodger games. I hate 'em. When I get up in the morning and see they've lost, it makes my whole day."
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