An attraction between two young people, both unaware that the other was equally interested

An attraction between two young people, both unaware that the other was equally interested. In 1983 Steve Buscemi lived in the East Village New York as a fireman, and stand-up comedian in his free time. Jo Andres, a neighbour, worked in the performance-art world.

Steve noticed Jo when he saw her walk home in the evenings and made sure he was there to walk his dog at the same time. As part of his comedy act he had pictures of himself plastered around the area. Jo was aware of these photos and was attracted to the photo of the young man. Once, while walking with a friend they come across a picture and she remarked to her friend, ‘’I’m going to snag that guy.’’

Steve got up to the nerve to approach her and they hit it off right away. Surprisingly, Jo didn’t realise this was the young man from the photos till she visited his apartment and saw a pile of them there.

She helped him by making him recognise his talent and to act further on it. This caused him to leave the FDNY and devote himself to acting full time.

Their love brought them to marriage in 1987 and a son, Lucian, born in 1990. He soon found fame while she continued to pursue her love of art including making short films. When Steve’s work took him away from home they promised each other not to apart for more than three weeks at a time.

‘’Life became unbearable after being apart after three weeks,’’ explained Steve.

It all went bad in 2015 when Jo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Chemotherapy led to a brief remission, but it soon returned and she died in 2019. ‘’She was surrounded by friends and family. She really faced it. I really don't think she was afraid of dying. I think it was just a whole series of ‘Oh, I don't get to do this anymore,’” said Steve.