L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano " It's hard to believe that this all started when I was about 14 or 15 years old at a school recital where I sang 'White Christmas' a cappella. It was my very first performance in front of an audience, and who would have ever dreamed that it would lead to this moment." Frankie Valli struggled to contain his emotions as he s t o o d b e f o r e t h e n e w l y unveiled star, proudly bear- ing his name and that of his iconic band, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. This star, representing the pinna- cle of an artist's career, pays homage to the four Italian- A m e r i c a n y o u t h s w h o became a global sensation. Positioned as star number 2 7 8 0 o n H o l l y w o o d ' s renowned Walk of Fame, it immortalizes their remark- able legacy. "I'm thrilled to be here today. This is truly a highlight of my life." O n M a y 3 , o n h i s 9 0 t h birthday, the ceremony hon- oring Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons was held at 6 1 5 0 H o l l y w o o d B l v d . Frankie Valli accepted the star on behalf of Bob Gaudio, who could not attend, and the late Tommy DeVito and N i c k M a s s i . ( T h e g r o u p ' s lineup included Valli as the lead singer, Bob Gaudio on keyboards and tenor vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead gui- tar and baritone vocals, and Nick Massi on bass guitar and bass vocals.) T h e c e l e b r a t i o n w a s kicked off by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and organized by the CEO of Full Stop Entertainment, Irving Azoff. "Frankie Valli is truly a man for all seasons," said Azoff. "If you grew up any- where in the tri-state New Y o r k a r e a , b u t e s p e c i a l l y N e w J e r s e y , L o n g B e a c h , Long Island, or Brooklyn, The Four Seasons were your version of The Beatles. We're here today to honor someone who put the phrase 'Blue Eyed Soul' into the pop ver- nacular—a true living legend and a birthday boy. From N e w a r k , N e w J e r s e y , h i s hometown where he has a street named after him, to Hollywood Boulevard where he's being honored today with this star on the Walk of Fame. He's a national trea- sure who can still hit all the high notes." Born Francis Castelluccio, Valli was raised in a public housing project in Newark, New Jersey, with his father, Anthony Castelluccio, a bar- ber and display designer for Lionel model trains, and his m o t h e r , M a r y R i n a l d i , a homemaker and beer com- p a n y e m p l o y e e . H e w a s inspired to pursue a singing career at age seven after his m o t h e r t o o k h i m t o s e e Frank Sinatra at the Para- mount Theater in New York City. One of his early favorite singers was "Texas" Jean Valli, from whom he took his stage name. He worked as a barber like his father until he could support himself with music. He signed his first record contract at 19, intro- d u c e d t o s o n g w r i t e r B o b G a u d i o b y h i s f r i e n d a n d future actor Joe Pesci. T h e F o u r S e a s o n s w a s formed in 1960. Since 1970, t h e y h a v e b e e n k n o w n a s Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. Initially, the group was called The Four Lovers, but after failing an audition t o p e r f o r m a t a c o c k t a i l lounge in a Union, New Jer- sey bowling alley, they decid- ed the lounge's name would make a classy name for a singing group: The Four Sea- s o n s . F o r t w o y e a r s , T h e F o u r S e a s o n s s a n g b a c k - g r o u n d f o r p r o d u c e r B o b C r e w e ' s o t h e r a c t s w h i l e developing their style. Final- ly, in 1962, Gaudio came up with a song that showcased V a l l i ' s r e m a r k a b l e r a n g e from baritone to falsetto. W h e n t h e t h e n - u n k n o w n group performed Sherry on A m e r i c a n B a n d s t a n d i n 1962, The Four Seasons sud- denly became the nation's hottest band, and after nine years as a recording artist, Valli became an "overnight" s e n s a t i o n w i t h a N o . 1 record. "My partner Bob Gaudio a n d I h a d a v i s i o n o f t h e f u t u r e , o f w h a t w e c o u l d achieve and how we could become businessmen while still being performers. That's why we established a pub- lishing company, a record company, and surrounded ourselves with great writers," said Valli in front of his fam- ily and industry peers who gathered in Hollywood to c e l e b r a t e h i s i n c r e d i b l e career with The Four Sea- sons and his solo success, which spawned countless hits with unforgettable songs l i k e S h e r r y , W a l k L i k e A Man, Big Girls Don't Cry, Rag Doll, December '63 - Oh What A Night, Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, and, of course, Grease. F r a n k i e V a l l i a n d T h e Four Seasons have sold over 175 million records world- wide. Their songs have been featured in iconic movies such as The Deer Hunter, Dirty Dancing, Mrs. Doubt- fire, Conspiracy Theory, and The Wanderers. Over 200 artists have covered Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, from Nancy Wilson's jazz treatment to Lauryn Hill's hip-hop makeover. In 2015, B i g G i r l s D o n ' t C r y w a s inducted into the Grammy H a l l o f F a m e . T h a t s a m e year, Dan Rather profiled Valli for his series The Big Interview. Frankie also has some acting experience, hav- ing appeared in Rob Reiner's romantic comedy And So It Goes, starring Michael Dou- g l a s a n d D i a n e K e a t o n , released on July 18, 2014. Frankie recently appeared in the past season of Hawaii 5- 0 and participated in the AMC series The Making of the Mob. In 2014, Frankie Valli's life story was featured in the film adaptation of Jersey Boys, directed by Academy A w a r d - w i n n i n g d i r e c t o r Clint Eastwood. "Jersey Boys w a s c e r t a i n l y o n e o f t h e hardest things I've ever done i n m y l i f e , " s a i d V a l l i o n stage. "It took 10 years to find someone who might be interested in even consider- ing doing a play. We received some offers for made-for-TV movies, but none of them met our standards. However, shortly after that, we part- nered with a company called Dodgers, and they brought t h e w h o l e p r o j e c t t o fruition." The Jersey Boys jugger- naut has now been seen by o v e r 1 8 m i l l i o n p e o p l e w o r l d w i d e , w o n 4 T o n y A w a r d s , i n c l u d i n g B e s t Musical (2006), and is cur- rently playing in New York, Las Vegas, London, cities across the U.S. on a national tour, and the Netherlands, and will soon open in Korea. It is the 15th longest-running show in Broadway history, having given over 3,250 per- formances, recently surpass- i n g F i d d l e r o n t h e R o o f , Hello Dolly!,The Producers, Hairspray, My Fair Lady, and Oklahoma. Frankie Valli gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame SILVIA NITTOLI Frankie Valli on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and, right, with two of his children, Emilio and Brando (Photos: Silvia Nittoli) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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