L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r R e a d e r s , looking back, the I t a l i a n C o n n e c - tion notes that it was in December (1915) that one world renown singer-entertainer entered this world, and it was on December 2 5 , 1 9 9 5 t h a t a n o t h e r w o r l d renown singer-entertainer made his exit. Since December is a month when presents play an impor- tant role in our lives I want to pause and remember two Italian -Americans who shared their g i f t s o f t a l e n t f o r o v e r f i f t y years and brought much "joy to the world." *** Frank Sinatra, a December birthday boy, arrived in Hobo- ken, New Jersey on December 12th, 1915. He was the son of a prizefighter turned fire captain father who said "singing is for sissies," and a dynamic mother (Dolly) who was active in dis- trict politics. After high school he worked for a time as a copy boy on the Hudson Observer, then organized a singing group, T h e H o b o k e n F o u r . H e w o n f i r s t p r i z e o n M a j o r B o w e s Amateur Hour, singing Night a n d D a y , a n d w a s s e n t o n a B o w e s t o u r . R a d i o j o b s f o l - lowed, and one night while he was acting as singing emcee at a s m a l l c l u b , H a r r y J a m e s caught him and signed him to sing with his band at $75 week- ly. During an engagement in Los Angeles, Tommy Dorsey saw him and offered him $150. He accepted, and sang with the Pied Pipers and later as soloist. In 1942, he struck out on his o w n , a n d b e g a n a t t r a c t i n g national attention. He had his own radio show, and by 1943 w a s f e a t u r e d o n Y o u r H i t Parade. When teen-agers began to scream and swoon, he was b o o k e d i n t o t h e P a r a m o u n t Theatre at $7500 a week, and when a girl who had stood in line for seven hours and who had sat through several shows, f a i n t e d f r o m h u n g e r , t h e "swooning" fainting fad began. He was mobbed by the atten- tion-hungry wartime teenagers ( S i n a t r a h i m s e l f w a s 4 - F b e c a u s e o f a p u n c t u r e d e a r drum). Songs Night and Day, Y o u ' d b e S o N i c e t o C o m e Home To, No Love No Noth- i n g , f i l l e d a n e e d . H e s a n g s l o w l y i n t h o s e d a y s w i t h a heavy rhythm, and then took special care with lyrics. "Even when his voice was not up to form, the increasing brilliance of sheer style carried him and held listeners rapt." His latter day albums, A Swingin' Affair, C o m e F l y W i t h M e , T h i s I s Sinatra, sold worldwide in the multi-millions. Frank Sinatra's displeasure with his distorted press cover- age was often justified. Come- dian Alan King, in his book N a m e D r o p p i n g r e m e m b e r s , "There was a heavyweight fight in Stockholm, and he was fly- ing over there with some pals, a n d h e w a n t e d m e t o c o m e along. I said, "Frank, I can't, I gotta open in London the next day." " A b o u t a w e e k l a t e r , I picked up the London papers, and there was a picture of Sina- tra and Co. at the fight. The caption under the picture read: ' F r a n k a n d h i s M a f i a b o d y - guards.' I got hysterical. There was Martin Gabel (four foot eight, with bad feet and chronic arthritis), Harry Muffson, the owner of the Eden Roc Hotel in M i a m i ( r e c o v e r i n g f r o m h i s t h i r d a n g i n a a t t a c k ) , P r i n c e Mike Romanoff (who was even smaller and sicker than Martin Gabel), and the venerable Joe E. Louis, who'd just had half his stomach removed. Frank, sur- rounded by old men. Look at this Mafia, protection he had." Sinatra spoke, via his songs, directly to the hearts of people b u t n e v e r w a s i t m o r e p r o - nounced than in 1969 when he sang a song called My Way. That went right to the hearts of people because this was a guy off the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey who made it big. The American Dream. When Sinatra sang My Way it spoke to the hearts of people because they knew he wasn't kidding. Frank Sinatra, during his career, won an Oscar and several Grammy awards and was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983. President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985. He left us in 1998. *** Dino Martin's sad passing on Christmas Day 1995 was made s a d d e r b y t h e i r o n y t h a t h i s mother Angela had died of bone cancer on Christmas morning 1967. Born Dino Paul Crocetti on June 7, 1917, in Steubenville, Ohio, Martin, who spoke only Italian until the age of 5, was ridiculed at school for his bro- ken English. The son of immi- grants Angela and Gaetano Cro- cetti, a barber, Dino dropped out of school at 16, had a few amateur fights as Kid Crochet a n d b e c a m e a c r o u p i e r i n a backroom club called the Rex. He began singing around the Midwest, and by the early '40s he was a regular at New York City nightspots. Untrained but gifted, Dino Martini, as he was known, imi- tated the easy, jazzy Bing Cros- by. The 10 year installation of Martin and Lewis at the pinna- cle of showbiz began as an acci- dent. In 1946, when a performer who was ill canceled at theTony 500 club in Atlantic City, the p a i r ( w h o w e r e p e r f o r m i n g there separately) took the stage together, and their riotous hour made them sensations nearly overnight. T h e p a i r m a d e t h e i r f i r s t film, My Friend Irma, in 1949 f o r p r o d u c e r H a l W i l l i s . Through 15 more comedies, the money rolled in. "Can you pay two men $9 million to say, 'Did you take a bath this morning?' Why? Is one missing?' ," he once wondered.  Dino rarely performed after 1976, but enjoyed a daily cycle of golf at the Riviera Country Club in Palisaded, California, a daily drink and a Western on T.V. A series of personal losses pierced his devil-may-care shell in 1987. His son Dino Jr. age 35, died when his F-4C Phanton jet crashed into a mountainside on a training mission. It took r e s c u e w o r k e r s f i v e d a y s t o reach the site and confirm the death. He began having dinner at a favorite Beverly Hills Italian restaurant, La Famiglia, almost every night. When the place closed Martin simply switched destinations, to Da Vinci, arriv- ing punctually at 7:30. His order never varied: a Scotch on the rocks, followed by spaghetti with fresh tomato and basil and c r e a m y t i r a m i s u f o r d e s s e r t , then home to watch westerns on T.V. Dino's routine lasted until his Christmas Day passing at age 78. *** Remember Der Readers, in 2019 celebrate the happiness that good friends are giving and make every day a Holiday to celebrate just living!

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