The fascinating story of Leo DiCaprio's dad

Leonardo DiCaprio has told hundreds of wild stories on-screen… but as FEMAIL reveals, the most riveting might just be that of his own FATHER – a hippie who hung out with poet Allen Ginsberg and founded a WATER BED business called ‘Foggy Bottom’

• Leonardo DiCaprio took his father and stepmother out to dinner earlier this week
• The 48-year-old is often spotted with dad George who has a fascinating story
• Here, FEMAIL has laid bare his past – from an asbestos installer to onscreen star 

Throughout his decades-long film career, Leonardo DiCaprio has told many a wild tale on the big screen – but as it turns out, one of the most fascinating characters to cross the Oscar-winner’s path can be found right at home. 

For while Leo, 48, has earned much critical acclaim over the years for his depiction of everyone from a real-life Wall Street crook to Shakespeare’s Romeo, there is one very intriguing tale he has yet to tell – that of his own father, George. 

Yesterday, the Titanic actor was seen stepping out for a night on the town in London, where he was joined by his 79-year-old father and his stepmother Peggy. 

It was a very brief glimpse inside Leo’s famously private life – and, as the trio strolled into exclusive venue Chiltern Firehouse together – it offered insight into his very close relationship with his dad, who separated from Leo’s mother shortly after he was born.  

Leonardo DiCaprio was seen taking his father and stepmother out to dinner earlier this week – in what is the latest appearance of the Oscar winner with his family 

Having struggled for money in the early stages of Leo’s childhood, George found work as an installer of asbestos and fireproof roofing before setting out on his own with the launch of a waterbed business called Foggy Bottom. 

George also made a name for himself as one of the leading figures in the underground comic scene as a writer, editor and distributor – before guiding son Leo in the early days of his on-screen career.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, he recently made his own film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1970s-set coming-of-age comedy Licorice Pizza in 2021.

Here, FEMAIL has laid bare the ups and downs of George DiCaprio’s own varied history.

How George drifted apart from Leo’s mother as the pair struggled to make money

George met Leo’s mother Irmelin in 1963 while she was studying to be a legal secretary at City College in New York.

He, on the other hand, was a long-haired beatnik who hung around with the likes of poet Allen Ginsberg and members of rock band The Velvet Underground. 

The couple married several years later and moved to Los Angeles at a time when California was seen as the land of opportunity and sunshine.

But the reality was a little less rosy.

Leo’s parents moved to Los Angeles at a time when California was seen as the land of opportunity and sunshine – but the reality was a little less rosy

George and Irmelin separated but decided to rent adjacent bungalows with a shared garden so they could raise their son together 

Irmelin did, indeed, become a legal secretary but George found work as an installer of asbestos and fireproof roofing.

The creative, who is the grandson of a Neapolitan immigrant street cleaner turned real estate broker, also distributed comics and alternative literature in his spare time.

Yet neither were paid well and they could only afford to rent in one of Hollywood’s poorest districts.

By the time Irmelin was pregnant in 1974, the couple were drifting apart, but they embarked on one last adventure together before the birth of their only child — a trip to Florence.

George (pictured with Leo), the grandson of a Neapolitan immigrant street cleaner turned real estate broker, found work as an installer of asbestos and fireproof roofing

It was there in the Uffizi Gallery that Irmelin stopped to admire a painting by Leonardo da Vinci and, after feeling her baby kicking inside her, settled on a name for him.

Back in Hollywood, George and Irmelin separated, but decided to rent adjacent bungalows with a shared garden so they could raise their son together.

DiCaprio, who spent his summer holidays with his grandparents in Germany after they returned there in 1983, seems to have been left unfazed by his parents’ unusual arrangement, claiming in one magazine interview that it ‘never bothered me.’

The creative became one of the leading figures in the underground comic scene before turning his attention to other forms of media

George dabbled in the world of comics in his spare time – with his early 1970s publishing moniker being ‘Half-A** Press.’

But he quickly built a name for himself in the industry.

He became one of the leading figures in the West Coast in the underground scene of the 1970s and early 1980.

George acted as writer, editor and distributor with stories appearing in publications like Forbidden Planet, Slow Death and Cocaine Comix.

His most recognized work is arguably his two issues of ‘Greaser Comics’ – described as ‘irreverent, deviant, violent and politically incorrect’ by the Underground Comix Collection.

His most recognized work is arguably his two issues of ‘Greaser Comics’ (pictured) – described as ‘irreverent, deviant, violent and politically incorrect’ by the Underground Comix Collection

The first was created alongside adult pulp writer Richard Jaccoma and the second with artist Jim Janes.

Speaking about his father’s love for comics, Leo said he would often get taken to comic stores.

He told USA Weekend in 2010: ‘At a young age, I was exposed to the most hardcore hippie subculture any young man would be subject to with the Fabulous Freak Brothers, Zap and Weirdo comics.’

In his later years, George turned his attention to a different form of media.

And, since 2008, he has worked as an executive producer in the film industry, mainly for documentaries and short films and often alongside his son. 

George guided son Leo as he navigated his way through the world of media 

Leo previously recalled how his father exposed him to counterculture through his work in the arts.

‘The earliest memory I have is me at some hippie concert with my dad and the band hadn’t come on,’ he once told Rolling Stone.

‘There was an audience of hundreds of people chanting for the band, and my dad scooted me on stage — I don’t know how old I was, probably three or so — and I got up there and tap-danced for hundreds of people.’

Leo has also previously credited his dad as being ‘a huge force’ for him both in his personal and professional life

The star has also previously credited his dad as being ‘a huge force’ for him both in his personal and professional life.

He recalled at the SAG Foundation Awards that it was George who introduced him to Robert De Niro’s films and told him ‘this is what great acting looks like.’

Leo also revealed how in the early days of his son’s career he would screen scripts for him to help him decide which ones were worth pursuing.

‘My dad always told me, “Go out there, son, and whatever you do, I don’t care if you’re successful or not, just have an interesting life,” Leo also once told Parade.

He made his film debut in 2021 in a role that had echoes of his own history

George, who married Peggy Ann Farrar in 1995, was offered a cameo in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1970s-set coming-of-age comedy Licorice Pizza which was released in 2021. 

He played a wig shop owner and waterbed salesman who convinced the film’s protagonist (played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Cooper) to start his own waterbed business.

According to the New York Times, Anderson said: ‘I created a picture of a guy who owned a wig shop that sold these waterbeds, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I kept saying, “who do I know who looks like this?”

George featured in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1970s-set coming-of-age comedy Licorice Pizza (pictured) which was released in 2021

George, who married Peggy Ann Farrar in 1995, revealed he used to own a waterbed company called Foggy Bottom

‘And like a bolt of lightning, I remember, “Leo’s dad looks exactly like this” so I tracked him down, asked him if he’d ever be interested in being in a film. He said, “Sure.”‘

And this is when the extent of the similarities were established.

Anderson continued: ‘I explained the scenario to him. He said, “Sounds great. Did Leo tell you that I owned a water bed company? It was called Foggy Bottom.”‘

It was at this point that the director decided George was the right man for the job. 

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