CA CA - Ronald Gold, 35, Los Angeles, 14 Nov 1977

Ronald Phillip Gold

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: November 14, 1977 from Los Angeles, California
Classification: Missing
Date Of Birth: April 22, 1942
Age: 35 years old
Height and Weight: 6'1, 170 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Blond hair, hazel eyes. Gold may use the alias Phillip Logan.




Details of Disappearance
Gold was last seen in Los Angeles, California on November 14, 1977. He has never been heard from again. Few details are available in his case.
Investigating Agency

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
323-890-5500

http://charleyproject.org/cases/g/gold_ronald.html

Today, November 14, 2007, marks the thirtieth anniversary of Ronald's disappearance. If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Ronald Phillip Gold, please contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at 323-890-5500 or your local police station.

Bump.

There are records on Ancestry, including family trees, social security records and California death index showing that he was born in New Britain, Connecticut on 25 April 1942 (rather than 22 April). These records give his death as November 1977 but I presume this is an assumption or subsequent declaration of death.

Given the location and name, and a picture which looks like a studio shot, I am wondering if he was a bit part actor. A Ron (or Ronald) Gold had small parts in 5 or 6 films in the mid 70s, including Helter Skelter and Rattlers, but did nothing after 1977 according to imdb. I have not been able to find a picture of Ron Gold the actor for comparison, but it would be very interesting to confirm or deny this match.

A bit more digging has confirmed that the missing man and the actor Ron Gold are one and the same. This is referenced in the acknowledgements at Never a Dull Moment - Glenn Adkins - Google Books, including his disappearance. He is also referenced at All Poets Welcome: The Lower East Side Poetry Scene in the 1960s - Daniel Kane - Google Books as an actor associated with Theater Genesis in the 1960s. This was a Lower Manhattan fringe theatre in New York best known for the first staging of a play by Sam Shepard and may have also had associations, at least in terms of people, with the Warhol circle. So Gold seems to have been an interesting character.

Given his background it seems surprising that there is not more out there about his disappearance. It almost reminds me of a male parallel to the disappearance of Johanna Brighton, another fringe player in California who went missing in the early 80s (CA - CA - Johanna Brighton, 38, Los Angeles, 25 Feb 1981 (websleuths.com).

I wonder if this could be him: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) UP4385

LASD deputies found bones at the above location on 2/23/1980 and later transported them to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner-Coroner. A fire occurred at the location on 10/23/1978 and it appears that the decedent died after the fire. Bones indicate that the decedent was a large adult male - race/ethnicity unable to be determined.

Name: Ronald Phillip Gold
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: November 14, 1977
Location Last Seen: Malibu, Los Angeles County, California

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: April 22, 1942
Age: 35 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 170 - 180 lbs.
Hair Color: Blond/Strawberry
Eye Color: Hazel
Nickname/Alias: Phillip Logan
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Ronald Gold was last seen in Los Angeles County, California on November 14, 1977.Foul play is suspected.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Tamar Abraham
Agency Phone Number: 323-890-5500
Agency E-Mail: tlabraha@lasd.org
Agency Case Number: 077-07454-1034-400

NamUs Case Number: 22224
NCIC Case Number: M-020882407

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
CA DOJ

Admin Notes​

Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 05-18-2022 - By: Htmlcnvtr