Gavin Rapp is happiest when he’s creating.
The 59-year-old Aspinwall resident works full time as a digital media specialist for FedEx, but his creativity extends outside his professional life with a passion for writing, producing and directing independent films.
“I don’t golf, and it (filmmaking) was one of those things where I like being an underdog and making a tangible product,” Rapp said.
Rapp grew up in the South Hills, enjoying and studying blockbuster films from the likes of renowned directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and William Friedkin.
Raised among a family of musicians, his late mother, Janet Vogel Rapp, gained fame as the sole female soprano singer with The Skyliners, a Pittsburgh-based doo-wop group.
His late father, Kerry, was a police officer who had a volatile relationship with Janet, leading to childhood events that would influence Rapp’s creative pursuits.
The mysteries and tragic events surrounding his mother’s death in 1980 prompted Rapp to write “Since I Don’t Have You,” inspired by his own memories and the group’s 1959 hit song of the same name.
Filming took about 10 months and sold out local screenings in Cleveland and Pittsburgh in 2013.
Rapp was interviewed by TribLive nine years ago as production on “Since I Don’t Have You” wrapped, and cast member Buster Maxwell, who played Skyliners manager Joe Rock, talked about the close-to-home subject matter of the film.
“You’re very sensitive to the fact that, these situations, he’s (Gavin) reliving them in the film. Essentially, he’s doing something very brave because he’s rewriting his life on film and reexamining it, and I think Gavin finally got to the point in his career and his life where he could step back enough and say, ‘I’m ready to tell that story,’ ” Maxwell said.
For Rapp, dealing with his mom’s tragic death led to a 10-year writing, directing and producing journey to see his work to fruition.
“My dad drugged my mom and put her in the car for me to find her when I came home from school. He was at work. He said to everyone it was a suicide. I was 13. So it took a long time to figure things out,” Rapp recalled.
Her death was ruled a suicide.
That film garnered industry awards, including Art House Feature Film of the Year at the 2013 New Hope Film Festival and an Official Selection at the 2014 Buffalo Niagara International Film Festival.
After his mom’s death, Rapp lived with his grandmother and was estranged from his father. He later had to fight his father in court to get a percentage of the song royalties earned by his late mother.
The film caught the attention of another famous Pittsburgher.
Michael Keaton deemed it “a nicely written, heartfelt piece about a little-known Pittsburgh story.”
Rapp appreciated Keaton’s support and endorsement.
“He’s a very nice guy,” Rapp said.
Early inspirations
Rapp sometimes traveled with his mother and got his start behind the camera filming shows with his Kodak Super 8 camera.
He reflected on his first film, “The Shaft,” calling it a terrible short. The film is about a pedophile heading to trial who is trapped in an elevator overnight with four would-be jurors who take out their justice on him.
Rapp said he cobbled it together by recruiting friends to fill roles. His son, Kieran, who was 4 or 5 at the time, even had a role in a flashback scene.
Rapp is president, creative director and CEO of White Collar Pictures, the production company he founded 20 years ago. Many of his films and miniseries are available on Tubi and Amazon Prime.
Rapp’s films include “Selenolatry,” “Since I Don’t Have You,” “The Cello,” “Demon Tongue,” “Gearheads: Win at All Costs,” “The Hollow Man,” “A Black Note,” “Clickity Clack,” “The Lightning Code,” “A Silent Order” and “House of Wolves.”
“House of Wolves” is about a couple’s dream weekend in the great outdoors becoming a bloody nightmare; “The Hollow Man” follows a sinister trail of underworld corruption and crime led by an alcohol-infused tormented detective; “Gearheads” introduces the audience to a teen with a fear of driving overcoming his issues thanks to a mysterious mentor; “Demon Tongue” stars four paranormal research students investigating an abandoned complex reported by locals to be possessed by demonic forces.
His homegrown Pittsburgh roots are a staple in his movies, with shooting locations selected in and around the city.
Rapp scouted locations March 16 in Aspinwall for his latest project, a mafia-themed pilot called “The Pittsburgh Connection,” slated for a monthlong shoot this summer.
One longtime Aspinwall business, Feast Gourmet Market and Eatery along Brilliant Avenue, is on Rapp’s location list.
He hopes to shoot interior scenes there for “The Pittsburgh Connection.” Other Aspinwall locations being scouted are the Aspinwall police station and Larimer Avenue in the East End.
“Feast has a nice period look that would work for the 1980s or ’90s,” Rapp said.
Nancy Mosser Casting is handling the actors for “The Pittsburgh Connection,” and Rapp’s films are paid for with the help of equity investors.
A Catholic, Rapp graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1985 and the University of Pittsburgh in 1992 with a degree in economics.
He returned to Central Catholic to teach a yearlong “Script to Screen” lecture series for students interested in the movie industry.
Rapp writes about universal themes that include the Catholic Church, the mafia, crime, psychological thrillers and suspense.
While Rapp grew up serving as an altar boy, he said, to date, requests to film in Catholic churches or on their grounds have been denied by various dioceses.
So he gets creative with alternate shooting locations — like the time a Greek Orthodox church stood in for a Catholic one.
“I grew up around it, and my some of my uncles are Italian,” Rapp said. “I grew up Catholic and knew some priests that were not good priests and knew some priests that were really good. Looking back on that, it’s ‘as you live, you write.’ ”
Rapp is a member of the Directors Guild of America. His most recent miniseries, “Holy Driver,” is on a production hiatus due to several cast members experiencing health issues or accidents.
The miniseries is about a mob leader who forms a crew to bring priests who have abused children to justice.
Rapp’s son, Kieran, now 25, of Aspinwall shares his love of film production and serves as videographer and editor.
“My dad, he gets an idea and it flows off his fingertips,” said Kieran Rapp, a Saint Vincent College graduate. “I’ve learned everything from him from what he has shown me. We run by the mantra ‘any means necessary,’ and we just keep working on building the resume.”
For the elder Rapp, maintaining a modest attitude in an industry sometimes fraught with ego is essential.
“I was taught that way growing up. Live right, do good and try to help somebody else,” he said.
Beyond the camera
When he’s not in movie-making mode, Gavin Rapp loves to hone his green thumb with his wife, Kristen. They have been married for 31 years and have two sons, Kieran and Jack, 23.
“We’re meticulous with our grounds,” he said.
They enjoy growing an annual garden that includes pollinator flowers.
“She points and I dig,” he joked.
Playing the electric guitar is another self-taught skill and once played in a traveling regional band.
“Now I just play for fun at home,” he said.
Rapp is giving back to Pittsburgh-area college students through Bumblebee Productions, a nonprofit that aims to help college students immerse themselves in a filmmaking environment to gain practical experience.
Rapp established Bumblebee Productions in 2020, and students from Saint Vincent College have benefited.
“They can use that for an internship or to add to their resume,” Gavin Rapp said.