GALVESTON’S RENAISSANCE MAN

Jim Nonus is at it again

By Forest Riggs

With many top name connections in both New York and Los Angeles, Nonus is forever and a day working on some new project or flying out to get input and support from his myriad of successful friends and associates. His latest work, Lafitte the Musical, promises to capture and present his life long passion for acting, creating music, theatrics and, most of all, his well-known passion for anything related to infamous pirate Jean Lafitte.

Nonus was born in Galveston to a family with a rich history and storied past beginning in Portugal. Nonus family records can be traced back to 16th Century France with a strong mix of maternal Portuguese. Great grandfather Emmanuel Joaquin Nonus arrived in New Orleans (1872) with his soon-to-be bride, Angelica Lorenza Dias Pinto, from Portugal. Moving on to Galveston Island, the couple wed and records indicate they had 15 children. Six of the children died in infancy.

Johnny Jack Nonus

One of the surviving children, and Nonus’s great-uncle, Johnny Jack Nonus (1890-1970), was quite a colorful character in Galveston history, and was often referred to as the “Beau Brummel of Galveston” and “King of the Rum Runners”. Along with his one-armed partner George Musey, Nonus led the “Downtown Gang” in the early 1920s and 30s. Around 1914 and for unknown reasons, probably involvement in legal issues, Johnny Jack changed his last name to Nounes.

‘Lafitte the Musical’ 

At last, Lafitte the Musical is finished and in the final stages of preparation for a fall 2025 premiere. After years of work and input on the musical, Nonus is ready to share his version, musically, of three years in the life of the pirate Lafitte, starting with Lafitte’s return to an unwelcoming New Orleans after the Battle of New Orleans.

Saddened that he is no longer honored or respected in New Orleans and the melancholy of losing his wife, the pirate sets sail for Galveston Island (1817), a new and growing settlement on the Gulf of Mexico. He is haunted by the earlier loss of his wife. Nonus’s beautiful song, “Lonely and Lost” reveals the depth of the pain inside the notorious pirate.

Another emotional song castigates Lafitte, in essence, for his participation in the slave trade. Ever the robber of other ships in the Gulf of Mexico, Lafitte would confiscate all items of value on board conquered ships and then sell the spoils to merchants in New Orleans. “There’s Gonna Come a Black, Black Day” is the song that Nonus labored over to fully express the horror of the slave trade. In it, a blacksmith and free man of color in New Orleans forces his anti-slavery message onto Lafitte.

“This was a very difficult song to write and to address the issue of slavery,” Nonus said. “I liken it to ‘Old Man River’ with its evocative and powerful message.”

Also at this time the Hurricane of 1818 blows ashore in Galveston and sinks four ships up river, possibly containing French treasure. Lafitte builds his famous Maison Rouge house and surrounding compound only to be run off the island by the U.S. Navy (1820). In a rage of defiance, Lafitte torches his compound that consisted of 1100 persons, loads his ships and vows to never return to Galveston. All of this is captured and portrayed through song and dialogue in the musical.

The books

Nonus has written books and published two. His Men in the Chorus (2020) is a New York-based chronicle of life as related by a former Montrose inhabitant, complete with characters and memories that rival The Boys in the Band. His second published book is Tina Lake Is Alive and Well in the Vieux Carre (2020), a play format exposing the treacherous adventures of a young drag performer, based on the true recollections of deceased performer Mr. Tiffany Jones, aka “The Texas Tornado”. Both books were published by Austin McCauley, London, under the pen name Julian Novak.

Lastly in the works is a brilliant children’s book titled Little Jimmy and the Pirates. This tale started when Nonus was only four years old and experienced a very real dream/past life connection, of being kidnapped, and placed in a tow sack only to be held on a pirate ship. This will be a trilogy as Little Jimmy grows older in each installment and eventually finds himself cabin boy to Jean Lafitte.

Galveston is known for its lore of pirates and Jean Lafitte. The island still has many great treasures and one of them, certainly, is Jim Nonus!

Forest Riggs lives in Galveston. His book, ‘Galveston Memories and Related Stories’ is available at Amazon.com, OutSkirtsPress.com and ForestRiggs.com.

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