CA CA - Richard Boldon, 39, LA County, 19 Aug 1971

[Kat]

The Doe Network:
Case File 3818DMCA

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3818dmca.html

Richard Boldon
Missing since August 19, 1971 from Los Angeles County, California
Classification: Missing


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Vital Statistics

•Date Of Birth: February 28, 1932
•Age at Time of Disappearance: 39 years old
•Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'10"; 145 lbs.
•Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; brown eyes.
•Dentals: Not available


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Circumstances of Disappearance
Richard was last seen on August 19, 1971.


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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
562-465-7816

Agency Case Number: 710153109

Source Information:
CA DOJ

http://dojapp.doj.ca.gov/missing/detail.asp?FCN=2329315831659
Classified as a Voluntary Missing Adult

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/boldon_richard.html

I don't find Richard listed in NamUs at this time.

I don't find archived articles about Richard either.

Richard has been missing 39 years today. Come home soon.

 

[Sleuthster]

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/13975

 

[Gardener1850]

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/13975

Circumstances: The missing person left his residence on at 0130 hours on August 19, 1971 and planned on going to some bars located on Santa Monica Boulevard. He was supposed to meet a friend at 2000 hours on the same day, but never showed up. Foul play is susected.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Name: Richard Boldon
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: August 19, 1971
Location Last Seen: West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California

Physical Description
Date of Birth: February 28, 1932
Age: 39 yrs old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 145 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Appendectomy scar

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Blue tie dye tank top, white bell bottom pant with grey stripes, and deck shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Wire framed prescription glasses

Circumstances of Disappearance
He went missing from West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California. He left his residence on at 1:30 am on August 19, 1971 and planned on going to some bars located on Santa Monica Boulevard. He was supposed to meet a friend at 8:00 pm on the same day, but never showed up. He was reported missing on August 21, 1971. Foul play is suspected.

Identifiers
Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Tamar Abraham
Agency Phone Number: 323-890-5500
Agency E-Mail: TLAbraha@lasd.org
Agency Case Number: 071-05131-0972-400

Unidentified Person Exclusions per NamUs
UP10941 09/18/1973 Caroline VA
UP9383 03/04/1975 Albemarle VA
UP6700 07/01/1975 Amherst VA
UP6702 07/01/1979 Augusta VA
UP9509 02/23/1983 Virginia Beach VA
UP6643 04/11/1987 Caroline VA
UP6513 01/01/1990 Brunswick VA
UP6474 05/12/1990 Prince William VA
UP6530 05/18/1990 Chesterfield VA
UP2230 08/19/1991 Richmond VA
UP8418 02/24/1992 Henrico VA
UP6304 08/01/1993 Clarke VA
UP6762 10/08/1995 Richmond VA
UP6303 01/26/1997 Warren VA
UP6305 07/30/2002 Prince William VA
UP6637 10/07/2006 Fairfax VA
UP6278 07/05/2007 Botetourt VA
UP2672 04/05/2008 Prince Edward VA
UP14518 04/03/2010 Shenandoah VA
UP7605 07/21/2010 Mecklenburg VA
UP11248 08/20/2012 Alexandria VA
UP10908 08/29/2012 Fairfax VA
UP12854 05/23/2014 Cuyahoga OH
UP14360 08/14/2015 Bland VA

• NamUs MP13975
• The Doe Network 3818DMCA
• The Charley Project
• California Missing Person Directory
• California DOJ

 

[MadMcGoo]

Refreshing the thread...

 

[alb1on]

One of the more interesting cases to dig into......

On Ancestry there is a post (from a Kay Huse Sisson) attached to a family tree for Richard Fredrick Boldon (b 28/2/1932, so definitely correct) and headed 'Liberace'. It reads, in part;

"Richard Boldon, son of Joe and Amy Boldon, lived with Liberace for years and he worked at one of the movie theaters in Hollywood. Richard and Liberace actually came to Uncle Joe's and Aunt Amy's and he gave Aunt Amy one of his candelabras which I saw on her piano. He also sent Aunt Amy the cutest little schnauzer dog who was named Roger."

Richard Fredrick Bolden (who was born in Wisconsin) married Arlon Kay Toraason in 1953, but she died (of natural causes, having suffered ill health for some time) in 1956. As far as I can trace he never remarried. It is entirely possible that he would have met Liberace as he worked in television, as confirmed by the obituary of his wife in 1956 (see attached pic). I have looked for further confirmation of his relationship with Liberace but have failed to find it. Liberace was, of course, notoriously protective of his private life.

I am not sure what to make of this. I am not suggesting either that any Liberace connection is related to his disappearance or even that any relationship was still ongoing in 1971 ....... but it is suggestive of other lines of enquiry.

 

[MadMcGoo]

One of the more interesting cases to dig into......

On Ancestry there is a post (from a Kay Huse Sisson) attached to a family tree for Richard Fredrick Boldon (b 28/2/1932, so definitely correct) and headed 'Liberace'. It reads, in part;

"Richard Boldon, son of Joe and Amy Boldon, lived with Liberace for years and he worked at one of the movie theaters in Hollywood. Richard and Liberace actually came to Uncle Joe's and Aunt Amy's and he gave Aunt Amy one of his candelabras which I saw on her piano. He also sent Aunt Amy the cutest little schnauzer dog who was named Roger."

Richard Fredrick Bolden (who was born in Wisconsin) married Arlon Kay Toraason in 1953, but she died (of natural causes, having suffered ill health for some time) in 1956. As far as I can trace he never remarried. It is entirely possible that he would have met Liberace as he worked in television, as confirmed by the obituary of his wife in 1956 (see attached pic). I have looked for further confirmation of his relationship with Liberace but have failed to find it. Liberace was, of course, notoriously protective of his private life.

I am not sure what to make of this. I am not suggesting either that any Liberace connection is related to his disappearance or even that any relationship was still ongoing in 1971 ....... but it is suggestive of other lines of enquiry.

Oh wow! This is really fascinating! Good research indeed. ETA: Might this be information investigators would be interested in? Or may already be privy to?

 

[alb1on]

I think that this information is only interesting unless some link can be shown that Richard Boldon was with Liberace up to the date of his disappearance. It seems to me that the first issue is being able to confirm and expand on the Liberace story. One small piece of additional information is that the person who posted the message is the daughter of Richard's cousin Constance Boldon. This, at least, gives some assurance that it is a real family story.

 

[MadMcGoo]

I think that this information is only interesting unless some link can be shown that Richard Boldon was with Liberace up to the date of his disappearance. It seems to me that the first issue is being able to confirm and expand on the Liberace story. One small piece of additional information is that the person who posted the message is the daughter of Richard's cousin Constance Boldon. This, at least, gives some assurance that it is a real family story.

I still can’t find the post and I’ve been all over the handful of trees available for him. This is why I’m not a genealogist. lol.

It is interesting to me that they all have his date of death listed as January 1978. I get that January is just a place holder for the year (most likely), but by all accounts we’ve seen, he went missing in 1971. Maybe that’s when they had him declared? Even then, seems a little odd to me.

How in the world one would go about proving a connection between anyone and Liberace is beyond me. Especially a missing person from the 70s. FWIW, my interest in Richard lies in an UID I’ve thought he could be.... “Disco Dan”.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Richard was also a Navy Veteran and attended Wisconsin State College, according to this short engagement announcement.

28 Oct 1953, 3 - Chippewa Herald-Telegram at Newspapers.com

I apologize that I can’t post screenshots, I’m working on it. But here’s a direct quote...

17 May 1965, 3 - Chippewa Herald-Telegram at Newspapers.com

ARRIVES HOME
Richard Bolden arrived Saturday by jet at Eau Claire from Puerto Rico to spend a few weeks visiting his folks, the Joe Boldon’s. He is the manager of the Caribbean Representative of the Robert Simpson Hits of Broadway”. He has spent the winter in the theatre work at Ceruba (a small island) and Puerto Rico and the Bermuda Islands. When he leaves here he will return to Bermuda to continue his theatre work.

Re: Robert Simpson...this refers to Richard as his stage manager.

19 Sep 1969, 39 - The Shreveport Journal at Newspapers.com

 

[MadMcGoo]

This would seemingly account for him through the end of May 1971, at least....

STAGE REVIEW
“Walt Whitman” in Church
There is a duplicity the “Effontery of Walt Whitman,” as conceived and adapted by Sumner Kernan and directed by Richard Boldon at the Presbyterian Church of West Hollywood. <snip>

28 May 1971, 72 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com

 

[MadMcGoo]

I finally found the “Liberace” post. If it were a snake it would have bit me.

 

[alb1on]

My apologies. I do not usually link to Ancestry pages as many do not have a sub, but I should have specified that the post was attached to the Hause tree for those who do. On the subject of the 1978 death date I would not worry. At Find a Grave there is a picture of a headstone for Richard (it is also linked from Ancestry) which has his birth year of 1932 but has no year for his death, confirming that the family do not have this information. The 1978 date is 7 years after he went missing which is a normal period for obtaining a death declaration so I would assume this is what happened.

I agree about the difficulty of firming up the Liberace connection. If he played in this milieu there may be other material out there even if it does not directly connect to Liberace. The clippings about his career are a good start, providing contacts and locations. Let's hope we can follow a trail.

 

[vermontaigne]

My apologies. I do not usually link to Ancestry pages as many do not have a sub, but I should have specified that the post was attached to the Hause tree for those who do. On the subject of the 1978 death date I would not worry. At Find a Grave there is a picture of a headstone for Richard (it is also linked from Ancestry) which has his birth year of 1932 but has no year for his death, confirming that the family do not have this information. The 1978 date is 7 years after he went missing which is a normal period for obtaining a death declaration so I would assume this is what happened.

I agree about the difficulty of firming up the Liberace connection. If he played in this milieu there may be other material out there even if it does not directly connect to Liberace. The clippings about his career are a good start, providing contacts and locations. Let's hope we can follow a trail.

Well, of course, the other Liberace connection is that Liberace is from West Allis, Wisconsin, a western suburb of Milwaukee and the home of the Wisconsin State Fair Grounds. The connection is probably something to do with that. What I find more baffling is why almost all those exclusions are from VA. What has people comparing with UIDs in Virginia, when he went missing in LA?

 

[MadMcGoo]

Well, of course, the other Liberace connection is that Liberace is from West Allis, Wisconsin, a western suburb of Milwaukee and the home of the Wisconsin State Fair Grounds. The connection is probably something to do with that. What I find more baffling is why almost all those exclusions are from VA. What has people comparing with UIDs in Virginia, when he went missing in LA?

Yes, Richard and Liberace are both, at least, connected to Wisconsin and the theatre scene.

There were surprisingly quite a few articles that mentioned Richard and his work. Only in passing really; a sentence or two. He seemed to be a ‘behind the scenes’ kinda guy and never really on stage. He directed and wrote several of his own pieces though. He also traveled a lot with different productions. Seems like his “base” was Wisconsin and/or Chicago, although he was going to and from NYC, LA, Puerto Rico, etc. So, I definitely see how he’d have crossed paths with Liberace.

A year or so ago Virginia began running all of their unidentified decedents against just about any missing person listed in NamUs who remotely fit the description of each UID. So, on most all missing people in NamUs, you’ll see a long list of exclusions from Virginia. It’s something I think every state should do, although I know the likelihood of that happening. I do wonder how many successful matches they made doing that.

 

[vermontaigne]

Yes, Richard and Liberace are both, at least, connected to Wisconsin and the theatre scene.

There were surprisingly quite a few articles that mentioned Richard and his work. Only in passing really; a sentence or two. He seemed to be a ‘behind the scenes’ kinda guy and never really on stage. He directed and wrote several of his own pieces though. He also traveled a lot with different productions. Seems like his “base” was Wisconsin and/or Chicago, although he was going to and from NYC, LA, Puerto Rico, etc. So, I definitely see how he’d have crossed paths with Liberace.

A year or so ago Virginia began running all of their unidentified decedents against just about any missing person listed in NamUs who remotely fit the description of each UID. So, on most all missing people in NamUs, you’ll see a long list of exclusions from Virginia. It’s something I think every state should do, although I know the likelihood of that happening. I do wonder how many successful matches they made doing that.

Completely agree. I think that federal monies ought to be made available for DNA analyses of all UIDs (and obviously for NamUs, where the guidelines for data entry need to be made broader and more explicit). Reporting of missing persons needs to be incentivized, too. There is an information ecology. It's overgrown, and it's too much to ask the DNA Doe Project to address it. People like Carl K. should be paid well to do what they do, whacking away at that overgrowth.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Refreshing Richard’s thread…

 

[MadMcGoo]

Richard has not been forgotten…