Papanickolas is the oldest working grip in Hollywood, according to the Motion Picture Grips Union. He s never been sure if he s called Papa because he looks a little like Hemingway or because his last name is a mouthful. Born in Pittsburgh 77 years ago, Papa has had one of those lives that arcs across a good chunk of time and space. He arrived in Hollywood in 1955. His first job was digging holes at Walt Disney Studios.
Grips come in all stripes.
They perform manual labor on a set, banging together walls, pushing cameras, hanging foam boards around lights. More recently, he s been doing television work. A few years back, Papa told everyone he was hanging up his hammers. Then he got a call to grip one last goofy pilot that nobody thought was going to sell. The show ended up running nine years.