Sonny Boy: A Memoir

Rose Gerard Pacino was Al Pacino’s mother. Rose Pacino loved the movies, and shared this love with her son when he was just a little boy. The movies provided an escape from the stresses of everyday life for Rose. Pacino remembers, “The movies were a place where my mother could hide in the dark and not have to share her Sonny Boy with anyone else” (3).

Pacino credits his mother with keeping him out of trouble, and feels that her parenting saved him from spiraling into instability and drug misuse like many of his friends. He writes, “I believe she saved my life” (28). Pacino describes his mother as a sensitive and emotional person, writing, “She was a Tennessee Williams character, fragile and uncontrollable” (44). His mother was diagnosed with “anxiety neurosis” and continually experienced mental health issues. While his mother coped with her anxiety Pacino dropped out of school to help provide for them both. He was devastated when she died, calling the loss “unfathomable” (61). 

Pacino attributes his mother’s problems to her constant poverty, which deprived her of proper treatment for her condition: “Her tragedy was poverty. She was stuck in the mud of it and couldn’t move […] Therapy, moderation, security—these things could have helped her” (60). To honor her memory and her influence on him, he dedicates his memoir in part to her.

James Gerard was Al Pacino’s maternal grandfather. Gerard was born in Sicily and emigrated to the United States as a child. Pacino portrays his grandfather as a “warm man with a soft heart” (66), recalling his dedication to his family. While Gerard could have entered into the gang underworld as so many did, he always resisted it, and instead continued his family’s tradition of craftsmanship by working as a plasterer. Gerard was the family’s breadwinner. Pacino explains, “His expertise was what kept our family alive” (66). Since his own father was largely absent, Pacino’s grandfather acted as a father figure to him. He writes, “I just never had a father. He was absent. I’m so lucky I had my grandfather” (31). Gerard provided for Pacino and spent his meager earnings on things for him to enjoy, like baseball gloves and ice cream. 

Pacino feels that he has absorbed his grandfather’s perspective on many things, including his love of sports and his penchant for cheering for the underdog. Pacino credits his grandfather with his success in life, writing, “He was a man with a soul. I loved him greatly. I’m still here because of him, and I’ll never forget it” (67).

Charlie Laughton was an acting coach at the Herbert Berghof Studio where Pacino studied as a young aspiring actor. At 17 years old, Pacino first met Laughton at a bar on sixth avenue across from the Herbert Berghof Studio. Pacino recalls, “the moment I set eyes on him, I thought, This guy is my kind of guy […] This guy is my teacher” (48). Pacino portrays Laughton as a loyal friend and talented actor and poet who had “literary brilliance” (48) as well as a kind of “knowledge about the world” (49), which he passed on to Pacino. Having had an absentee father, Pacino also found a father figure in Laughton, who was 10 years older than him. Laughton always encouraged him to develop his acting skills and take his talent seriously, telling him, “‘Al, you’re going to be a big star’” (54).

Laughton continued to be a source of professional support to Pacino even after Pacino enjoyed some success in Hollywood. The two friends took up the responsibility of rewriting the script for The Godfather Part ll together, producing the final draft for the director. Laughton and Pacino enjoyed an enduring friendship until Laughton’s death in 2013. Pacino dedicates his memoir in part to him.

Martin Sheen is an American actor. He was born Martin Estevez in Ohio, where he grew up as the youngest of 10 kids. Pacino met Sheen when the two were both young actors training at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City. Pacino was amazed by Sheen’s talent and considered him “the next James Dean” (54).

Sheen soon became one of Pacino’s closest friends and Pacino emphasizes how supportive they were of each other. The two became roommates and worked together at the Living Theater, where they cleaned the stages and admired the actors’ performances. Sheen found success as a theater actor before Pacino, and tried to help him along, even offering him the part of understudy. Pacino later learned that Sheen had paid him from his own pocket so he would have a job. He writes, “He just wanted me to have the money” (79). Pacino praises Sheen’s loyalty, work ethic, and generosity, writing, “He had tenacity and grit and I could tell he was one of the best people I’d ever know, all grace and humility. I loved him. I still do” (54-55).