Scott Cymber

I think it was junior year of high school, maybe sophomore? Either way, I was old enough to have coopted and drive my family’s 1972 Camaro as my own. Joe and I were assigned to be partners for an English class filmmaking project. We decided to do a remake of The Hustler. Of course, Joe was The Hustler. I was mostly the cameraman and getaway car driver. We filmed the majority of it at Ridge Billiards. Joe, dressed up in his finest, wore a diamond pinky ring (at least in my memory), ran the table, and did lots of trick shots. He also brought along a briefcase, filled with bundles of real money, as a prop. Joe’s competitor wasn’t too happy about losing all that money. Joe had to grab the briefcase, slam it shut, run down the stairs to the back parking lot where his getaway car, waiting with motor running, burned rubber and peeled out onto Ridge Road.

 

Decades later, Joe and I had a chance to reminisce about the making of The Hustler. Remembering an old Super 8 reel sitting in a box of school books, I thought it was possible I might still have the film. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a much less interesting movie I made for a college class on the destruction of the Ellicott Woods at SUNY Buffalo. I never did get a chance to let Joe know that IHS’ Hustler remains lost to posterity. 

 

Joe was perfectly cast. In our version, he combined Fast Eddie’s skills and youthful good looks with the charms, confidence, and flamboyance of Minnesota Fats. Though the film might have been lost, Joe’s portrayal lived on. Rest in peace, Joe, and keep on hustling.