Club Obi Wan

http://www.accordingtohoyleblog.com/tag/gary-white/

The interview was done June 2009.

His new website does as well:
http://www.custom-hatter.com/



Regards! Michaelson

Can he back that? I love how they mention "Raiders of the Lost Arc" in the interview. Was that a math-based movie?

I recall hearing that he was one of the folks that received a C&D from LFL when CS was in pre-production.

Interesting that as time as passed, some of those vendors who had received those C&D's are slowly coming out and spinning new stories yet again. He's not the only one.

Regards! Michaelson

this guy is amazing. seriously...how can he keep up telling this story?

He's not the only one

who are you reffering to, michaelson?

I'll point no fingers, but it's going on....again.

Regards! Michaelson

I love how his site calls it "The Indie" as if it were independent film or music. haha I also didn't know you have to divide by pi to get an accurate measurement for ordering a hat!

Randy

haha I also didn't know you have to divide by pi to get an accurate measurement for ordering a hat!

That's how you get a general hat size from a measurement in inches.

I'm 22 7/8, roughly 22.8...divide by 3.14...roughly 7.29...roughly 7 1/4...kinda stuck between sizes

Actually, read a bit more carefully, boys. Nowhere does White actually claim to have made any hats for any movie in particular. The interviewer in the article mentions LC, but White only speaks of the HJ Raiders and it's origins. As for the website, it's a list of movies. It might imply that he supplied hats for those movies, but it doesn't actually say that at all. He does, however, offer styles from those movies. He seems to leave the customer free to make his own misinterpretations.

Does it make it right? No, I don't think so. But legally, he might be well in the clear.

Not sure I agree there, Chewie. The list is presented as his resume, so we can safely assume he's claiming to have made hats for all the films and productions listed. He also doesn't specifically state he won those awards, but they're listed as well.

Regards! Michaelson

At least he now admits the original hat was made by HJ. Back in 1993 when White was advertising in the Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine, he told me the Raiders hat was made in Hollywood and that the original maker was dead. A poster at theraven.net awhile back did say White made a direct claim to him that he had made the hats for LC.

I think if he really did have some involvement with the Indy films, he would have made some small mention of it to me back in '93.

Jack

I don't understand why he does that. He makes a fine hat (I own one from MANY years ago), and should just allow his hats to speak for themselves.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:I don't understand why he does that. He makes a fine hat (I own one from MANY years ago), and should just allow his hats to speak for themselves.

Regards! Michaelson

Yes, I've heard he makes great hats, but unfortunately he did a poor job on my HJ reblock; it looked great (though not completely Indyesque) but it came back a couple of sizes too small.

Jack

Ouch!

Regards! Michaelson

The only ones that I know that actually got hats into any of the Indy films are HJ, Stetson, and AB.

Now with this last film, Bernie had hats from several hatters, and as I have said earlier, was in somewhat of a panic mode when he found us, Marc and I. Apparently, none of the other samples were what he was after, having hats in hand from the prior films.

So, all of these hatters that sent in samples could make the claim they sent hats for one of the Indy films, but it never got used. It remained a sample, that was passed over. Perhaps they just omit that fact, and figure if they sent hats in as samples, they supplied hats. It's a big leap, but no doubt some have done it.

But I like Gary. Nice guy. Not a rogue like someone else I could mention, but won't. Fedora

Who's Harisson Ford?

VP wrote:Who's Harisson Ford?

An actor invented by someone with dyslexia?

Regards, Geert

Fedora wrote: But I like Gary. Nice guy. Not a rogue like someone else I could mention, but won't. Fedora

Gosh, I can't but wonder who that could possibly be? LOL But I'm very Glad you didn't mention his name.

fedoralover

The word censor would have caught it, plus the rule against mentioning or discussing banned individuals.

Regard! Michaelson

bink bink bink bink bink

Yep, I'm still a member here.

Just a second....I can fix that....

Regards! Michaelson

That would take more than HALF the stress out of my life!

True, but then you answer to '@#$%' at work most of the time anyway, so what's the point.

Regards! Michaelson

Don't remind me!

The word censor would have caught it, plus the rule against mentioning or discussing banned individuals.

Oh, it wasn't the one you are thinking about Fedoralover. I was thinking of someone else, who is NOT a member here, or has ever been. And of course, I won't mention the name. Heck I had forgotten about the other. Water under the bridge. I don't hold grudges, life is too short, and it takes too much energy that could be spent on constructive things. Just to set it straight.

Regardless of Gary's claims, I have always found him to be a perfect gentleman. And as I said, I think highly of Gary White. In my book, he is one of the good guys. And there are alot of good guy hatters out there, in fact, 99.999999 per cent are stand up folks. And honest. It seems to come with the craft.

Face it, if you are a busy hatter, you HAVE no time to get into trouble! The work load won't allow it. Fedora

Michaelson wrote:The word censor would have caught it, plus the rule against mentioning or discussing banned individuals.

ah ok, now I see why all the mystery. even if I'll never fully understand this rule. reminds me of the way mages don't say the name of voldermort in harry potter's novels

I suppose the admins made this rule because talking about banned members leads to controversies...

eazybox wrote:At least he now admits the original hat was made by HJ. Back in 1993 when White was advertising in the Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine, he told me the Raiders hat was made in Hollywood and that the original maker was dead. A poster at theraven.net awhile back did say White made a direct claim to him that he had made the hats for LC.

I think if he really did have some involvement with the Indy films, he would have made some small mention of it to me back in '93.

Jack

I bought one of his Indy hats at that time and he told me the same thing. His list of films does read like a resume, and I read it as him taking credit for those film hats.

Restless Dreamer wrote: I suppose the admins made this rule because talking about banned members leads to controversies...

Yep. And it can lead to flame wars and unnecessary additional messes. When folks earn banishment, they earn it completely. They stirred up trouble while here, so why give them the chance to cause more trouble once they're gone? Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

binkmeisterRick wrote:Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

yessir!

sith, could you post some pics of this "Indy" hat Gary White made for you?

gwyddion wrote:

VP wrote:Who's Harisson Ford?

An actor invented by someone with dyslexia?

Regards, Geert

! Nice come back. Boy, I am glad I am not lysdexic ! W>

sithspawn wrote: I bought one of his Indy hats at that time and he told me the same thing. His list of films does read like a resume, and I read it as him taking credit for those film hats.

I hope you got a good hat and that you didn't buy it based on the false claims. At that time I had already bought a couple of HJ's from Lee Keppler, but White was so adament that Herbert Johnson was not the original maker that I had to contact Lee and also Richard Swales of HJ to sort things out.

Jack

WConly wrote:

gwyddion wrote:

VP wrote:Who's Harisson Ford?

An actor invented by someone with dyslexia?

Regards, Geert

! Nice come back. Boy, I am glad I am not lysdexic ! W>

I am Dyslexics of the world, Untie!

Regards, Geert

eazybox wrote:

sithspawn wrote: I bought one of his Indy hats at that time and he told me the same thing. His list of films does read like a resume, and I read it as him taking credit for those film hats.

I hope you got a good hat and that you didn't buy it based on the false claims. At that time I had already bought a couple of HJ's from Lee Keppler, but White was so adament that Herbert Johnson was not the original maker that I had to contact Lee and also Richard Swales of HJ to sort things out.

Jack

Man, reading this makes me glad that all of those who came here before I did did such a tremendous job in finding out the truth about all the gear

Regards, Geert

gwyddion wrote: Man, reading this makes me glad that all of those who came here before I did did such a tremendous job in finding out the truth about all the gear

Regards, Geert

Yes, and I think Lee Keppler might have been the guy who first got the gear rolling in this hobby-- so we all owe him a special "thank you."

Jack

Lee was definitely one of the first.

Regards! Michaelson

Gee, I wonder who else we could lump into that category, Michaelson?

binkmeisterRick wrote:Gee, I wonder who else we could lump into that category, Michaelson?

Whoa, I certainly didn't mean to slight anyone there-- I know others like Michaelson and _ have done an enormous amount of research on the gear, but I've always heard Lee was the pioneer-- if not, I happily stand corrected.

Anyway, Lee was the first popularizer of the hobby that I was aware of back in the late '80's and early '90's-- up until I saw his ads, I thought I was the only one with this rather unusual interest in SA hats.

Jack

Oh, I didn't think it was taken as a slight, Jack! I was just nodding the hat to some of the other folks, too. No worries.

binkmeisterRick wrote:Oh, I didn't think it was taken as a slight, Jack! I was just nodding the hat to some of the other folks, too. No worries.

And they ALL deserve high praise, that's for sure!

Jack

_ wrote:

binkmeisterRick wrote: That would take more than HALF the stress out of my life!

What would life be without stress. Besides, if you removed the other half, who would make the pies?

You have a point there.

eazybox wrote:

sithspawn wrote: I bought one of his Indy hats at that time and he told me the same thing. His list of films does read like a resume, and I read it as him taking credit for those film hats.

I hope you got a good hat and that you didn't buy it based on the false claims. At that time I had already bought a couple of HJ's from Lee Keppler, but White was so adament that Herbert Johnson was not the original maker that I had to contact Lee and also Richard Swales of HJ to sort things out.

Jack

I didn't buy any of what he said. I already had a HJ from Lee Keppler. Just wanted something I could wear all the time. My HJ was for special occassions. I NO LONGER have the Gary White hat or the HJ for that matter. Sold over the years to buy other things. I now have the AB.

but White was so adament that Herbert Johnson was not the original maker that I had to contact Lee and also Richard Swales of HJ to sort things out.

I bought a hat from Gary way back, and perhaps Michaelson knows the time line, because I gave the hat to Michaelson from Gary, at some point in time. (I think)

But my point being, that at this time, Gary and I talked about HJ, and he knew they were the original supplier, at least for the Raiders fedora, as that was what I was after from him. A Raiders fedora. He mentioned that the HJs were varying so much during this time period, and I knew that to be a fact as well, because I had just seen one, new, that had a 5 inch open crown on it. I was looking for a taller hat, and he made me one with a 5 5/8 open crown height. While I still had the Gary hat, I got in an HJ with a 6 inch open crown! It seems that during this time period, with Swales still manning the hat sales, it was snake surprise when you opened up your HJ box. Then after this, it was almost impossible to buy an HJ for a time period, as Mr. Swales could not get them in, or something of that nature. Not really sure. But there was a backlog on HJ orders during this period. I think Swales must have been sending out any brown hat as an Indy fedora at this time, if you consider the various crown heights.

Gary had just gotten in a short crowned HJ, to reblock it, shortly after he had mailed out my hat. I spent quite a few hours on the phone with Gary back then, but he never made the claim to me, that he actually made any of the film hats. And, I never brought it up. And sometime after this, there was that war over there, and his felt supplier was in one of those countries with the chaos.(Yugoslavia?) He changed suppliers during this time period. But still used the same area of Europe, and now I know it was because the hat bodies were very cheap to buy, as the dollar was strong then. Early Akubra customers will recall this era of the strong dollar. Not sure who Gary changed to, as the memory is bad, but the Czech Republic seems familiar.

On Lee, yeah, this man is the guy I looked up to when I started my own hat biz. I always thought Lee was the old man, or pioneer of supplying Indy gear to us. Lee has been around the block, that is for sure. And he was the guy who found out where the original Indy hats came from, as he told me that story. Lee sold HJs for awhile, until something happened with Swales and Lee, not sure what.

_, I would LOVE to comment(in detail) on your post, but better not...... Except to say, I am sure this chap is a nice guy, in a non competitive environment. I have heard as much from folks that know him personally. I am sure he was devastated when he was passed over, for the Indy 4 deal. So, it doesn't surprise me today, what happened back then. I would have a cup of java with him, and talk hats today. And I would love to tour his shop. He has a really nice one, or so I hear. Fedora

Fedora wrote: I bought a hat from Gary way back, and perhaps Michaelson knows the time line, because I gave the hat to Michaelson from Gary, at some point in time. (I think)

Try 1998-99, Steve. Yeah...THAT long ago!

Regards! Michaelson

Try 1998-99, Steve. Yeah...THAT long ago!

Wow, that long ago? Time flies.

What you say is probably true of most. I believe I could expect the same if I sat down with a certain jacket maker. I know this was once true of a certain magazine editor and myself. Circumstance and choices create conflict between people who might well be friends.
Hey Steve,

What you say is probably true of most. I believe I could expect the same if I sat down with a certain jacket maker. I know this was once true of a certain magazine editor and myself. Circumstance and choices create conflict between people who might well be friends.

Yes, very true. Man, if you and I could only tell WHAT we know of certain events!! But, it will go to the grave with me, along with Marc, Michaelson and Mike our admin here. Not everything should be told in the saga of vendors and Indy 4! But a short list knows the details. And those guys ain't gonna talk. Class acts. Fedora

Talk? What about?

Regards! Michaelson

I agree that Gary is a very nice man. My very first indy hat was from him. It is a nice hat but I've since grown out of it. Needs a little work, it's over 13 years old. But I do wish he was a little more honest about his work. Being young at the time I believed he made the hats for temple of doom, when I asked him about it he tap-danced around the subject. Oh well. Fine hat.

sithspawn wrote:

eazybox wrote:

sithspawn wrote: I bought one of his Indy hats at that time and he told me the same thing. His list of films does read like a resume, and I read it as him taking credit for those film hats.

I hope you got a good hat and that you didn't buy it based on the false claims. At that time I had already bought a couple of HJ's from Lee Keppler, but White was so adament that Herbert Johnson was not the original maker that I had to contact Lee and also Richard Swales of HJ to sort things out.

Jack

I didn't buy any of what he said. I already had a HJ from Lee Keppler. Just wanted something I could wear all the time. My HJ was for special occassions. I NO LONGER have the Gary White hat or the HJ for that matter. Sold over the years to buy other things. I now have the AB.

All's well that ends well; as a result of that interlude, I ended up getting a terrific HJ from Swales that I still treasure. Much later, the Magnoli HJ and CS AB I got from Fedora finally ended my quest for Indy hats, for which I'm very grateful.

Jack

But there was a backlog on HJ orders during this period. I think Swales must have been sending out any brown hat as an Indy fedora at this time, if you consider the various crown heights.

In that case, I feel extremely lucky with mine!

Fedora wrote:

Gary had just gotten in a short crowned HJ, to reblock it, shortly after he had mailed out my hat. Fedora

That could very well have been my hat, if the year was 1993; it had a shorter crown than my other HJ's and the way Lee had bashed it Raiders style, it looked cartoonishly tapered to me, which was the reason I wanted the reblock.

White kept saying "That's a 6 inch crown, sir!" when referring to the original hats used in Raiders, which he claimed had been made by some mysterious guy in Hollywood who had died. Perhaps he was thinking of Eddie Baron, who claimed to have made a hat for TOD.

I agree that we should take the high road and forgive transgressions, as in the case of Eddie Baron's successor, who probably did lose the greatest opportunity of his life when he saw the CS contract slip through his fingers; still, sometimes it's hard to recognize the little flower of truth among the forest of tall tales. That can be a serious handicap when someone's trying to separate you from your hard-earned money.

But the truth has a way of coming out in the end anyway, so why not just begin with it. That 's one reason why this site is such a valuable resource.

Jack

So I am extremely late to this topic, but I live in Buffalo and am going to be taking order of a Gary White "Indie" some time this week and wondered if anyone had any pictures of one of these hats. Thanks

Extremely late??!!!!!

By only 8 years!

No, there have been no sightings of any Gary White hats for many MANY years here, so you'll have to give us a report if/when you order one.

Good luck

Regards! Michaelson