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Vince Gilligan, of Breaking Bad fame, is from Richmond thanks to a magazine

Posted at 11:38 AM, Jul 16, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-18 23:22:28-04

RICHMOND, Va. — Vince Gilligan, of Breaking Bad fame, is from Richmond thanks to the back page in a magazine (though he spent much of his childhood in Farmville).

On a recent podcast episode, the creator of the popular show chronicled his roots here back to 1957, when his grandfather, who was making car parts at a GM plant at the time, had a hankering to be his own boss. Incidentally, his grandfather was named Vincent, and Vince is actually named George Vincent Gilligan Jr., he said on the podcast.

The elder Vincent saw an advertisement in the back of a book dealer magazine for a used bookstore and he moved to Richmond, sight unseen.

Turns out he was wonderful at being his own boss, until he died in the late 80s. Gilligan shared a little tidbit about how his grandfather, who relocated from Syracuse, placed a Confederate flag in the window to downplay their Northern heritage. Gilligan said it didn’t stay up long.

The shop is none other than the still-in-business Richmond Book Shop, at 808 W. Broad Street.

Give the rest of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast interview with Vince a listen, and the parts about Richmond start about the 20-minute mark.