A good story, Larry, and indeed also sad.
I recall a time when some friends and I dropped into a bar on Amsterdam Avenue. It was one of those old NYC Irish bars with metal tiled ceiling, fluorescent lights, and a bowl of hard boiled eggs.
We were seated in a booth, but I noticed a rather disheveled man at the bar. He had a book and several issues of down beat under one arm and I noticed that he seemed eager to show these to anyone who cared to look. When I went to the bar, he turned to me, opened the book, and pointed with pride to a dedication and autograph. It was Ross Russell's Bird biography and this was Ross' brother. The magazines contained articles and reviews relating to Ross. It was very sad, I didn't know what to say except that I was familiar with his brother's work, which pleased him. Then I bought him a beer.