‘Kissed by fire’: Local redheads meet ‘Game of Thrones’ author

Redheads don’t always feel comfortable with their hair color. Sometimes it takes maturity to develop appreciation for the thing that sets you apart. It helps to have admirers. Author George R. R. Martin, author of the books upon which the HBO series “Game of Thrones” is based, is one.

Fortunately for Duncan Crary — redhead, public relations guy and founder of the League of Extraordinary Redheads in Troy — the degrees of separation between him and Martin are few. Crary’s friend Anasha Cummings, a Troy City Council member known for his red ringlets and beard, grew up in the same town in New Mexico where Martin lives. Wouldn’t it be great, Crary thought, if Martin, who wrote several redhaired characters into his books, posed for a photo with members of the league? It could be the basis of the league’s 2019 holiday card.

Calls were made. Plans were laid. Martin had business in New York City on Oct. 20, and if Crary could secure a location, he was game.

Crary founded the league in 2013, and as many as 200 redheads gather once or twice a year. Former redheads whose hair has gone white are also welcome. There are no dues. There is usually beer. There’s a website and merchandise — T-shirts, baby onesies, lapel pins — and at the meeting at Ryan’s Wake in October, there were temporary tattoos available to celebrate charter member Anthony Gagliardi’s new permanent ink, the league’s four-color banner. A reporter from The New Yorker was at the bar that night, and a story titled “Night of the Walking Redheads” appeared in the magazine.

Read more: The New Yorker covers redhead event in Troy

“At the first gathering I came to, I had a 20-minute conversation talking with people about sunscreen,” said Patrick Nelson, 30, whose hair and beard are an orangey hue. “It was a serious conversation.”

Asked how he feels about his status as a redhead, Nelson said he’s cool with it.

“I am forced to stand out, redheads can’t be inconspicuous.”

Red hair is a recessive gene, and the trait is rare. Less than 4 percent of the world’s population has it. It’s unusual to see a crowd of redheads. The sight is enough to turn heads.

When Martin agreed to appear in the photograph, Crary pulled together his main reds: Anasha, of course; and Gagliardi, who created a costume for himself and his redhaired nephew, Colin Butler. Colin’s red hair was a shock to his dark-haired mother when he was born. He started going to league gatherings as a preschooler and, now 9, hasn’t missed one.

Related: SEEN: League of Extraordinary Red Heads

Crary also reached out to Margaret Young, Laura McCaffrey, Mary Darcy, and Noelle Reign — who already had costumes and performs in a “Game of Thrones” burlesque show. For additional costume assistance, Crary called on Troy craftsperson Emily Menn. He had a chain mail tunic ready to go, created by Blaise Hartley of Troy. The crew rented a van and headed south to meet official league photographer Neil Grabowsky at Parker New York. Managers at the hotel agreed to host the photo shoot inside Parker’s swanky bar, Knave. It has a medieval vibe, stained glass and numerous red draperies.

Although none in the group were wearing their costumes when the van rolled up — except Crary, who was wearing black tights, black boots and a league T-shirt — Crary said the group immediately attracted attention. The tourists milling around the Parker lobby took out their phones and started filming.

“The atmosphere felt electric,” Crary said.

In Martin’s books and the show, redheads are generally found “in the north,” and beyond a wall — inspired, Martin has said, by Hadrian’s Wall in England, built by the Romans. In Martin’s multivolume epic, redheads are revered and described as having been “kissed by fire.”

The Troy redheads all portrayed characters from north of the wall.

McCaffrey dressed as the feared Red Woman from the show; Young was Ygritte; Rein dressed in her Sansa Stark costume and Mary Darcy (co-founder of the defunct All Over Albany website, who now splits her time between Albany and New York City) was Catelyn Stark. Gagliardi and Cummings both interpreted Tormund Giantsbane; Crary was dressed as Grenn, a watchman from the wall, and Colin Butler, who will watch the show when he is much older, was a young Wildling — the name Martin gave to people from north of the wall.

A video captures Martin, dressed in black pants and suspenders, shirt and cap, greeting the costumed redheads. Crary presents him with an honorary league membership card, which he tucks into his wallet. In the photo, Martin raises a chalice made by Troy artist Brian McCandless. As the group prepares for the photo, Martin can be heard asking if they are all from New York City.

“We’re all upstate,” Crary responds. “We’re north of the wall.”

Reporter Leigh Hornbeck is a proud redhead and member of the League of Extraordinary Redheads. She can be reached at lhornbeck@timesunion.com, by phone at 518-454-5352 and on Twitter @leighhornbeck