List of Sicilian Americans
Encyclopedia
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Sicilian American or must have references showing they are Sicilian American and are notable.
Winner of 39 PGA Tour
events, Sarazen was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. He invented the modern sand wedge
in 1930. He hit "The shot heard 'round the world" in the 1935 Masters. It was a final round 225-yard 4-wood on the par-5 15th hole that went in, giving him a very rare double eagle 2 on the hole. It led to him later winning the tournament in a playoff. For many years after his retirement, he was a familiar figure as an honorary starter at the Masters.
:Category:American mobsters of Sicilian descent
Artists, writers, and musicians
- Anthony Lewis Vitale (actor)Anthony Lewis Vitale (actor)Anthony Lewis Vitale is an Italian/Irish American film and television actor.-External links:...
is an Italian American film actor born 11/30/1965 Some of his films include: Decisions, How to make love to a woman, The little Mailman, The Butcher, Charlie Valentine. Most notably he was "The Welder" for JJ Abrams Star Trek XI
- Henry ArmettaHenry ArmettaHenry Armetta was an Italian movie character actor who appeared in at least 150 films, starting in silents as early as 1915 to a movie released in 1946, after his death.-Biography:...
, (PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, July 4, 1888 – San Diego, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Octo ber 21, 1945) was a movie character actor who appeared in at least 150 films, starting in silents as early as 1915 to a movie released in 1946, after his death. In 1938 he played in "Everybody Sing" with Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Allan Jones, and Fanny BriceFanny BriceFanny Brice was a popular and influential American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances and is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show...
. In 1941, he was hilarious as the father of an Italian family shopping for beds in "The Big Store" with the Marx BrothersMarx BrothersThe Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
and Tony MartinTony Martin (entertainer)Tony Martin is an American actor and singer.-Career:Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1913 as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. He received a saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at the age of ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an...
. He appeared in at least 24 films in 1934 alone, sometimes uncredited.
- Romina ArenaRomina ArenaRomina Arena is an Italian-American Popera / Operatic pop /Pop Classical Crossover singer songwriter. She was born May 12, 1980 and grew up in Palermo Sicily and now lives in Los Angeles California...
, PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, May 12, 1980 is an Operatic popOperatic popOperatic pop, pop opera or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic style, or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The term popera and adjectives poperatic and popical are used by some media editors and music reviewers...
/ PopPop musicPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
Classical Crossover singer and now lives in Los Angeles California.
- Armand AssanteArmand Assante-Personal life:Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York, the son of Katherine , a music teacher and poet, and Armand Anthony Assante, Sr., a painter and artist. His father was Italian and his mother was Irish, and was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family...
was born on October 4, 1949 in New York City, New York to an SicilianItalian peopleThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
father and an IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
mother. Assante is an accomplished character actorCharacter actorA character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
, with his big break coming in 1974 in "The Lords of Flatbush". His sometimes sinister look has made him a popular choice for movies and TV.
- Joseph BarberaJoseph BarberaJoseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
, born Joseph Roland Barbera (March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006), is an animatorAnimatorAn animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, cartoon artist, storyboardStoryboardStoryboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
artist, directorTelevision directorA television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, producerTelevision producerThe primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and co-founder, together with William HannaWilliam HannaWilliam Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
of Hanna-BarberaHanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
(now known as Cartoon Network StudiosCartoon Network StudiosCartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio. A subsidiary of the Turner Broadcasting System , Cartoon Network Studios focuses on producing and developing animated programs only for and related to Cartoon Network...
). The studio produced well-known cartoons such as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The FlintstonesThe FlintstonesThe Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, The JetsonsThe JetsonsThe Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
, and Scooby-DooScooby-DooScooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
.
- Chazz PalminteriChazz PalminteriCalogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri is an American actor and writer, best known for his performances in The Usual Suspects, A Bronx Tale, and his Academy Award nominated role for Best Supporting Actor in Bullets Over Broadway....
(born May 15, 1952) is an American actor and writerWriterA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, best known for his performances in The Usual SuspectsThe Usual SuspectsThe Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey and Pete Postlethwaite....
, A Bronx TaleA Bronx TaleA Bronx Tale is a 1993 American crime drama film set in The Bronx during the turbulent era of the 1960s. It was the directorial debut of Robert De Niro, and follows a young Italian-American teenager as his path in life is guided by two father figures, played by De Niro and Chazz Palminteri...
, Mulholland FallsMulholland FallsMulholland Falls is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori and written by Pete Dexter. The drama features Andrew McCarthy, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Melanie Griffith, Treat Williams, and John Malkovich.Nolte plays the...
and his Academy Award nominated role for Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
in Bullets Over BroadwayBullets Over BroadwayBullets Over Broadway is a 1994 crime-comedy film written by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath and directed by Woody Allen. It stars an ensemble cast including John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Chazz Palminteri, and Jennifer Tilly....
.
- Sonny BonoSonny BonoSalvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono was an American recording artist, record producer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades.-Early life:...
, born Salvatore Phillip Bono (February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, singer, actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
whose career spanned over three decades.
- Argentina BrunettiArgentina Brunetti-Biography:Brunetti was born Argentina Ferrau in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She began her show business career at the age of three with a walk on role in the opera, Cavalleria Rusticana and followed Mimi Aguglia, her famous mother's footsteps in the theater performing supporting roles on stages...
, (August 31, 1907 — December 20, 2005) was an actress and writerWriterA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. She followed Mimi AgugliaMimi AgugliaMimi Aguglia was an Italian actress. She was born on stage in Catania, Sicily while her mother, Giuseppina Aguglia, was playing Desdemona in William Shakespeare's Othello....
, her famous mother's footsteps in the theater. She began her movie debut in the Frank CapraFrank CapraFrank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
classic It's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
(19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
), as Mrs. Martini. Throughout her varied career she has also written and performed in daily radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
shows, became a member of the 'Hollywood Foreign Press AssociationHollywood Foreign Press AssociationThe Hollywood Foreign Press Association is an organization composed of working journalists who cover the United States film industry for a variety of outlets, including newspapers and magazines in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Today, the 90 members of the HFPA represent at least 55...
', writing numerous articles on Hollywood personalities, authored books, written music and acted in over 57 television programs and 68 movies in which she mainly played multi-ethnic roles. She hosted a weekly weblog on the Internet, called Argentina Brunetti's Hollywood Stories, which her son plans to continue running, and has written a biographical novel called In Sicilian Company.
- Steve BuscemiSteve BuscemiSteven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...
, (born December 13, 1957 in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York) is an actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
- Frank CapraFrank CapraFrank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
, (May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film directorFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and a major creative force behind a number of highly popular films. Born Francesco Rosario Capra in BisacquinoBisacquinoBisacquino is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. It is located 82 kmfrom Agrigento and currently has approximately 5,215 inhabitants. The small town rises on an inner hill zone and is 663 metres above sea-level...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Capra moved with his family to America in 1903, settling in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
- Richard S. CastellanoRichard S. CastellanoRichard Salvatore Castellano was an American actor who is best remembered for his Oscar nominated role in Lovers and Other Strangers and his subsequent role as Peter Clemenza in The Godfather.-Biography:...
, (September 4, 1933 – December 10, 1988). The actor became famous as Pete ClemenzaPete ClemenzaPeter Clemenza is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and two of the three films based on it. He is played by Academy Award-nominee Richard Castellano in Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of the novel, and by Bruno Kirby in The Godfather Part II.-The...
in The GodfatherThe GodfatherThe Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
.
- Gary ChesterGary ChesterGary Chester was one of the 20th century's busiest studio drummers. Gary is counted as one of the greats when it comes to studio session musicians. His work appears on thousands of tracks, including hundreds of hit records from the '50s, '60s and '70s...
(October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) (born Cesario Gurciullo in Saracusa, Italy) was one of the twentieth century's busiest studio drummers. Gary is counted as one of the greats when it comes to studio session drummers. His work appears on thousands of tracks, including hundreds of hit records from the '50s, '60s and '70s. He claimed to have logged some 15,000 studio sessions over three decades. He is on the short list of 20th Century Drummers' Hall of Fame.
- Iron Eyes CodyIron Eyes CodyIron Eyes Cody was an American actor. He frequently portrayed American Indians in Hollywood films. In 1995, Cody was honored by the American Indian community for his work publicizing the plight of Native Americans, including his acting in films...
, (April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
born in Kaplan, LouisianaKaplan, LouisianaKaplan is a small city in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,177 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. He was born Espera DeCorti, the son of Sicilian immigrants Francesca Salpietra and Antonio DeCorti. He was not born a Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, but he claimed to be part CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and part CreeCreeThe Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
. Cody and his wife Bertha Parker adopted children that were Native American. Cody began his acting career at the age of 12 and continued to work until the time of his death. In 1996, the New Orleans Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Times-PicayuneThe Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.-History:Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins Kendall, the paper's initial price was one picayune—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ .Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the...
exposed his true heritage, but Cody denied it.
- Dan CorteseDan CorteseDaniel James "Dan" Cortese ; born September 14, 1967) is an American actor, director and spokesperson. He is known for his roles as Perry Rollins on Veronica's Closet and as Vic Meladeo on What I Like About You.-Early life:...
, (born September 14, 1967 near Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
) is an actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. Born in the PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
suburb of Sewickley, PennsylvaniaSewickley, PennsylvaniaSewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 at the 2010 census...
, Cortese first came to prominence as host of MTV SportsMTV SportsMTV Sports is a show that ran on MTV from 1992 to 1997. Dan Cortese hosts this Emmy-winning reality sports show featuring radical sports from around the country. It was later hosted by athlete/model Gabrielle Reece from 1993 to 1995....
from 1992 to 1993. He has had starring roles in the 1993 remake of Route 66, Traps, Melrose Place, The Single GuyThe Single GuyThe Single Guy is an American television sitcom that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 1995 to April 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot, and followed several of his close friends The series also starred Joey Slotnick as Eliot's best...
, Veronica's ClosetVeronica's ClosetVeronica's Closet is a sitcom which aired on NBC from September 25, 1997, to June 27, 2000.The show starred Kirstie Alley as Veronica “Ronnie” Chase, the head of her own lingerie company.- Season one :...
, and Ball & ChainBall & ChainBall & Chain is a 2004 romantic comedy written by Thomas Mortimer. It was directed by Shiraz Jafri and produced by A. V. T. Shankardass. It stars Sunil Malhotra, Lisa Ray, Kal Penn, Purva Bedi and Asrani. It was filmed on location in Austin, Texas...
.
- Alan DaleAlan DaleAlan Hugh Dale is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale developed a love of theatre and also became a rugby player. After retiring from the sport he took on a number of professions to support his family, before deciding to become a professional actor at the age of 27. With work limited in New...
, (July 9, 1926 – April 20, 2002) was a singer of traditional popularTraditional pop musicTraditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
and rock'n'roll music. He was born Aldo Sigismondi in the BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
borough of New York, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His father, Aristide Sigismondi, immigrated to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Abruzzi, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1904 at the age of 21, and became a comedianComedyComedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
in Italian languageItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
theater, with a radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
program of his own. His mother, Agata "Kate" Sigismondi, was born in Messina, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, and was 15 years younger than Aristide.
- Arturo Di ModicaArturo Di ModicaArturo Di Modica is an Italian-American artist, born in Vittoria, Sicily, best known for his sculpture Charging Bull , which he installed without permission in front of the New York Stock Exchange in December 1989. The work cost US$360,000 of the artist's own money...
is a New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
artist, born in SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, best known for his sculpture Charging BullCharging BullCharging Bull, which is sometimes referred to as the Wall Street Bull or the Bowling Green Bull, is a bronze sculpture by Arturo Di Modica that stands in Bowling Green Park near Wall Street in Manhattan, New York City...
(also known as the "Wall Street Bull"), which he installed without permission in front of the New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
in December 1989. The piece is now on loan to the New York City Department of Parks and RecreationNew York City Department of Parks and RecreationThe City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's...
who has placed it in nearby Bowling GreenBowling Green (New York City)Bowling Green is a small public park in Lower Manhattan at the foot of Broadway next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam. Built in 1733, originally including a bowling green, it is the oldest public park in New York City and is surrounded by its original 18th century fence. At...
park. Di Modica now lives in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
- Vincent D'OnofrioVincent D'OnofrioVincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
(born Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio on June 30, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York) actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and producerTelevision producerThe primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, best known as Detective Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
. D'Onofrio's parents Gennaro (Gene) D’Onofrio and Phyllis D‘Onofrio, are both of SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
descent.
- Ben GazzaraBen Gazzara-Early life:Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer and carpenter. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E. 29th Street and participated in the drama program at...
, (born Biagio Anthony Gazzara on August 28, 1930, in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
), is an actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
in televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and motion pictures. Born to SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
immigrants, Antonio Gazzara and Angela Consumano, Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East SideLower East Side, ManhattanThe Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. He found relief from his bleak surroundings in joining a theater company at a very young age. Years later, he said that the discovery of his love for acting saved him from the crime that was all around him during his teenage years.
- Lino GragliaLino GragliaLino A. Graglia , Italian American, is the Dalton Cross Professor of Law at the University of Texas specializing in antitrust litigation. He earned a BA from the City College of New York in 1952, and an LLB from Columbia University in 1954, before working in the Eisenhower administration's United...
is the Dalton Cross Professor of Law at the University of TexasUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
specializing in antitrustAntitrustThe United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
litigation. He obtained a BABachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the City College of New YorkCity College of New YorkThe City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1952, and an LLB from Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1954. He worked in the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
during the administration of President Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. Graglia is an outspoken CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
conservativeConservatismConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
of SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
background. He is a well known critic of affirmative actionAffirmative actionAffirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
and racial quotasRacial quotasRacial quotas in employment and education are numerical requirements for hiring, promoting, admitting and/or graduating members of a particular racial group. Racial quotas are often established as means of diminishing racial discrimination, addressing under-representation and evident racism against...
.
- Ariana GrandeAriana GrandeAriana Joan Grande is an American actress and singer. She currently plays the role of Cat Valentine in the American sitcom Victorious.-Early life:Grande was born and raised in Boca Raton, Florida...
born June 26, 1993, is an American actress and singer. She currently plays the role of Cat Valentine on Victorious.She is of Italian descent, half Sicilian, half Abruzzese. Her older brother is actor-producer Frankie Grande. She studies voice with Eric Vetro. As a child, Grande began performing at Boca Raton’s former Little Palm Theatre for Young People. A few years later, she started to perform in Fort Lauderdale Children's Theater (FLCT).
- Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
, (born Frank Paul LoVecchio on March 30, 1913; died February 6, 2007 was an influential AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer. Frankie's parents emigrated from MonrealeMonrealeMonreale is a town and comune in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy, on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called "La Conca d'oro" , famed for its orange, olive and almond trees, the produce of which is exported in large quantities...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
to Chicago's "Little Italy". At 17 he sang before a crowd of 5,000 at The Merry Garden Ballroom to such enthusiastic applause that he ended up performing five encores on his first night. But success as a singer was another 17 years away. Frankie Laine's 70-plus year career spanned most of the 20th century and continued into the 21st. Laine was a key figure in the golden age of popular musicPopular musicPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, and remains, quite possibly the greatest singer of all time. On June 12, 1996, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th Annual Songwriters’ Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the New York Sheraton.
- Cyndi LauperCyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, (born June 22, 1953), Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper, better known as Cyndi Lauper, is a singer whose melodic voice and wild costumes have come to epitomize the 1980s, the decade in which she first came to fame. She was born in QueensQueensQueens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Swiss GermanSwiss GermanSwiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...
-AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Fred Lauper and SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Italian-American Catrine Dominique.
- Patti LuPonePatti LuPonePatti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
, (born April 21, 1949 in Northport, New YorkNorthport, New YorkNorthport is a village in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village population was 7,606. Students attend the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District....
) is an American singer and actress of SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
descent. She is a graduate of Northport High SchoolNorthport High SchoolNorthport High School is a four-year secondary school in Northport, New York that serves as the high school for the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District which is composed of Northport, Eatons Neck, Asharoken and much of East Northport, all located in the Town of Huntington...
. An important player in contemporary American musical theater, she has performed on BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in works by Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
, Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
and others. She won a Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Evita in 1980.
- Matteo Marchisano-AdamoMatteo Marchisano-AdamoMatteo Marchisano-Adamo is an American sound designer, film editor and composer. He was born in Flint, Michigan.-Biography:...
, born February 19, 1973, in Flint, MI is a filmmaker and composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
whose mother's family comes from EriceEriceErice is a historic town and comune in the province of Trapani in Sicily, Italy.Erice is located on top of Mount Erice, at around 750m above sea level, overlooking the city of Trapani, the low western coast towards Marsala, the dramatic Punta del Saraceno and Capo san Vito to the north-east, and...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
- Joe MantegnaJoe MantegnaJoseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. is an American actor, producer, writer,director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , and Up Close & Personal...
, (Born Joseph Anthony Mantegna Jr., November 13, 1947 in Chicago, Il.)is an Actor, Writer and Director whose Family comes from Calascibetta, Sicily.
- Leo MartelloLeo MartelloLeo Martello was an author, lecturer, gay civil rights activist, and an early voice in the American Neopagan movement. He drew heavily on his Sicilian heritage, teaching the Strega Tradition which was named after the Italian word for Witch....
, (1931–2000) was an author, lecturer, gay civil rights activist, and an early voice in the American NeopaganNeopaganismNeopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
movement. He drew heavily on his SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
heritage, teaching the Strega Tradition which was named after the Italian word for Witch. As a founder of the Witches Anti-Defamation League (later the Alternative Religions Education Network) he was known for his lively and sometimes confrontational style. For example, in his books he tried to popularize the "Witches' Curse" which was "I wish you on yourself". He was profiled in Margot AdlerMargot AdlerMargot Adler is an author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess and radio journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio .- Early life :Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Adler grew up mostly in New York City...
's Drawing Down the Moon.
- Natalie MerchantNatalie MerchantNatalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
, (born October 26, 1963 in JamestownJamestown, New YorkJamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) is a versatile musicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Merchant co-founded and fronted the successful band 10,000 Maniacs10,000 Maniacs10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
in 1981, but left the band in 1993 for a solo career. Her father's original Italian name was Mercante but was americanized into Merchant. Her mother's side is Irish.
- Sal MineoSal MineoSalvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. , was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause...
, born Salvatore Mineo, Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and theater director, famous for his Academy AwardAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-nominated performance opposite James DeanJames DeanJames Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
in the film Rebel Without a CauseRebel Without a CauseRebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
. Mineo, born in The BronxThe BronxThe Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York City as the son of a SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
coffin maker, was enrolled by his mother in dancing and acting school at an early age.
- Nick OliveriNick OliveriNick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and is a vocalist...
(born October 21, 1971 in Palm DesertPalm Desert, CaliforniaPalm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) is a musician. He plays bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, acoustic guitarSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, and is a vocalist. His main music project is Mondo GeneratorMondo GeneratorMondo Generator is an American metal/punk hybrid band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri. The name of the band originated when Brant Bjork spray-painted the words on the side of Oliveri's Sunn amplifier. Mondo means "world" in Italian...
, which he has fronted since 1997. He is most widely known for his work with Queens of the Stone AgeQueens of the Stone AgeQueens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
. His far Sicilian origins are visible in the typical surname.
- Al PacinoAl PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
, born Alfredo James Pacino (born April 25, 1940 in The BronxThe BronxThe Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, USA) is an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. Pacino is the son of Salvatore Pacino (who was born in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) and Rose Gerardi (the daughter of an ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-born father and a New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-born mother of ItalianItalian peopleThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
descent). His parents divorced while Pacino was still a child. His grandparents originate from CorleoneCorleoneCorleone is a small town and comune of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy....
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
- Louis PrimaLouis PrimaLouis Prima was a Sicilian American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then successively leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the...
was born into a musical family of SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
/ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
descent in New OrleansNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. He studied violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
for several years as a child. His older brother Leon PrimaLeon PrimaLeon Prima was an American jazz trumpeter.Prima was the older brother of the singer Louis Prima, and began on piano before picking up trumpet. He played early in his life with Leon Roppolo, Ray Bauduc, Jack Teagarden, and Peck Kelley...
was a well regarded local bandleader. Prima was proud of his heritage, and made a point of letting the audience know at every performance that he was Italian-American and from New Orleans. His singing and playing showed that he absorbed many of the same influences as his fellow Crescent City musician, Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, particularly in his hoarse voice and scat singingScat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
.
- Mario PuzoMario PuzoMario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
, (October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author known for his fictional books about the MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. Puzo was born into a family of SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
immigrants living in the "Hell's KitchenHell's Kitchen, ManhattanHell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
" neighborhood of New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Many of his books draw heavily on this Sicilian heritage.
- Matthew Randazzo VMatthew Randazzo VMatthew Randazzo V is an American true crime writer and historian originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, who currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Randazzo is of Sicilian-American, Isleño, and Cajun descent...
, (March 13, 1984 in New Orleans) is an American true crime writer and historian known for his work on the American Mafia.
- Leah ReminiLeah ReminiLeah Marie Remini is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens and as Stacey Carosi on the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell...
, (born June 15, 1970 in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) is an actress. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the sitcom The King of QueensThe King of QueensThe King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
. Her father George Remini, owner of an asbestos company, originates from SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. Her mother Vicki Marshall, a high school principal, is Jewish.
- Giovanni RibisiGiovanni RibisiGiovanni Ribisi is an American actor. His film credits include Gone in 60 Seconds, Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, The Mod Squad, The Gift, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Lost in Translation and more recently, Public Enemies and Avatar...
, born Giovanni Antonino Ribisi (born December 17, 1974 in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) is an actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. His father, Albert Anthony Ribisi, is a musician. Ribisi's paternal grandfather was the son of farmers from Sicily, how the typical surname can suggest.
- Pete RugoloPete RugoloPietro "Pete" Rugolo was an Italian-born jazz composer and arranger.-Life and career:Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily, Italy. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Santa Rosa, California...
, (born December 25, 1915) is a Sicilian-born composer and arranger. He was born in Patti, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, but his parents emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Santa RosaSanta Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He started his musical career playing the baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, like his father, but he quickly branched out into other instruments, notably the French horn and the piano. He is most famous for his writing for the Stan KentonStan KentonStanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
Orchestra, although he led a long and successful career as a composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and arrangerArrangerIn investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
based in Los Angeles for many years. He has written for the Four FreshmenThe Four FreshmenThe Four Freshmen is a multiple Grammy-nominated American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmony jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires , The Pied Pipers , and The Mel-Tones , founded in the barbershop tradition...
(for whom he was musical director) and many others.
- Martin ScorseseMartin ScorseseMartin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, (born November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York, USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) is a multi-OscarAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominated film directorFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. Martin Scorsese came from a working class Italian-American family, hailing from the Sicilian town of Polizzi GenerosaPolizzi GenerosaPolizzi Generosa is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo on the island of Sicily, southern Italy...
; his father Luciano Charles Scorsese (1912–1993) was a pants presser in New York's garment district. He struggled to earn enough money to attend university, but has shown enormous gratitude to his parents for helping him realize his dreams. His parents were the subject of Scorsese's documentary ItalianamericanItalianamericanItalianamerican is a 1974 documentary directed by Martin Scorsese. Martin Scorsese's parents, Catherine and Charles Scorsese, feature in this homemade documentary acting as themselves. The Scorseses talk about their experiences as Italian immigrants in New York among other things, while having...
and made numerous cameo appearances in his films before their deaths. For years, his mother worked as the official caterer for all of Scorsese's films and his father helped in the wardrobe department.
- Gia ScalaGia ScalaGia Scala was an English actress and model of Italian and Irish descent.-Early life:She was born Giovanna Scoglio in Liverpool, England, to an Sicilian father, Pietro Scoglio, and an Irish mother, Eileen Sullivan...
, born Giovanna Scoglio in Liverpool, England, to an aristocratic SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
father, Pietro Scoglio, and an IrishIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
mother, Eileen Sullivan. Raised from infancy in SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, she moved to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at age fourteen where she studied and worked in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She studied acting and in 1954 was signed to a contract by Universal StudiosUniversal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
in Hollywood. She received wide recognition for her performance of "Anna" in the 1961 film, The Guns of NavaroneThe Guns of Navarone (film)The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American Action/Adventure war film based on the 1957 novel of the same name about the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II by Scottish thriller writer Alistair MacLean. It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Anthony Quayle and Stanley...
. She ended her life with a drug overdose in 1972. Gia Scala is interred in the Holy Cross CemeteryHoly Cross Cemetery, Culver CityHoly Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
in Culver City, CaliforniaCulver City, CaliforniaCulver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
.
- Anthony ScarpaAnthony ScarpaAntonia Scarpa is a filmmaker and musician born and raised in New York City. Her family emigrated to Brooklyn from the small Sicilian town of Polizzi Generosa, the same town from which Martin Scorsese’s family came. Scarpa founded the alternative rock / performance art / circus act “Naked Sun”...
, musician
- Vincent SchiavelliVincent SchiavelliVincent Andrew Schiavelli was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television often described as "the man with the sad eyes." He was notable for his numerous and often critically acclaimed cameo appearances.-Early life:Schiavelli was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a...
, (November 10, 1948 – December 26, 2005) is a noted character actor known for his work in film and on televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He was born into a Sicilian/Italian-American family in Brooklyn, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He studied acting through the Theater Program at New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and began working on the stage in the 1960s. Having a respected Sicilian chef for a grandfather rubbed off on Vincent Schiavelli, as he is also the author of a number of cookbooks and food articles for magazines and newspapers. He received a James Beard FoundationJames Beard FoundationThe James Beard Foundation is a New York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and...
Journalism Award in 2001 and has been nominated on a number of other occasions. He succumbed to lung cancerLung cancerLung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at age 57, passing away at his home in Polizzi GenerosaPolizzi GenerosaPolizzi Generosa is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo on the island of Sicily, southern Italy...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the town in Sicily where his grandfather emigrated from and which he wrote about in his 2002 book, Many Beautiful Things: Stories and Recipes from Polizzi Generosa (ISBN 0-7432-1528-1).
- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, born Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer who is considered one of the finest vocalists of all time, renowned for his impeccable phrasing and timing. Many critics place him alongside Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, and The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
as the most important popular music figures of the 20th century. [] Sinatra launched a second career as a dramatic filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and became admired for a screen persona distinctly tougher than his smooth singing style. Sinatra also had a larger-than-life presence in the public eye, and as "The Chairman of the Board" became an American iconIconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
, known for his brash, sometimes swaggering attitude, as embodied by his signature songSignature songA signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
"My WayMy Way (song)"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
". He was born in Hoboken, New JerseyHoboken, New JerseyHoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
as the only child of a quiet SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
fireman father, Anthony Martin Sinatra (1894–1969). Anthony had emigrated to the United States in 1895. His mother, Natalie Della Gavarante (1896–1977), was a talented, tempestuous LigurianLigurianLigurian may mean:* Ligurian, pertaining to modern Liguria* Ligurian, pertaining to the ancient Ligures* Ligurian , a modern language spoken in parts of Italy, France, Monaco and Argentina...
, who worked as a part-time abortionist. She was known was "Dolly", and emigrated in 1897.
- Tony SiricoTony SiricoGenaro Anthony "Tony" Sirico, Jr. is an American character actor who is most famous for his role as Paulie Gualtieri in the television series The Sopranos.- Background and career :Sirico was born in Midwood, Brooklyn...
, (born July 29, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an actor who is most famous for his role as Paulie Walnuts on the HBO TVTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
. Prior to becoming an actor, Sirico spent some time in jail for holding up a number of night clubs in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While in prison, he became interested in acting from watching a theater group that came to perform. When he got out of jail, Sirico played gangsters in a number of films.
- Sylvester StalloneSylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, born Sylvester Enzio Stallone (July 6, 1946 in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) is an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, directorFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, producerFilm producerA film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and screenwriterScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He is often referred to by his nicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
, "Sly". He achieved his greatest successes in a number of action filmAction filmAction film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
s, notably the RockyRocky (film series)Rocky is a boxing saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the character Rocky Balboa. The films are, by order of release date: Rocky , Rocky II , Rocky III , Rocky IV , Rocky V and Rocky Balboa...
and Rambo series. He was born to Frank Stallone Sr. (a beautician who was an immigrant from Castellammare del GolfoCastellammare del GolfoCastellammare del Golfo is a town and comune in the Trapani Province of Sicily. The name is roughly translated "Sea- Fortress of the Gulf", deriving from the medieval fortress in the harbor...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
) and Jacqueline "Jackie" Labofish, an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
astrologer of 1/4 RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jewish descent.
- Tommy TallaricoTommy TallaricoTommy Tallarico is an American video game music composer and musician. He is best known as the co-creator of the concert series Video Games Live...
, born Thomas V. Tallarico (born February 18, 1968) is an accomplished AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game music composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
- Johnny ThundersJohnny ThundersJohnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. , was an American protopunk guitarist, singer and songwriter.He came to prominence in the early '70s as a member of the New York Dolls...
, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), was a rock and rollRock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and singer, first with the New York DollsNew York DollsThe New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
, the proto-punk glamGlam rockGlam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
rockers of the early '70s1970sFile:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. During the late '70s, he was a familiar figure on the New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
punk scene, both with The HeartbreakersThe HeartbreakersJohnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, also known as The Heartbreakers, were an American rock & roll band formed in New York in May 1975. The band was part of the first wave of punk rock.-History:...
and as a solo artist. His guitar work was highly influential in punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
music.
- Aida TurturroAida TurturroAida Turturro is an American actress probably best known for playing Janice Soprano, sister of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, on the HBO TV series The Sopranos .-Personal life:...
, (born September 25, 1962) is an actress who is most well-known for playing Janice SopranoJanice SopranoJanice Soprano Baccalieri, played by Aida Turturro, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is Tony Soprano's elder sister. A young Janice has appeared in flashbacks, played by Madeline Blue and Juliet Fox.-Biography:...
, sister of New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
mob boss, Tony SopranoTony SopranoAnthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
, on the HBO, TVTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, a role which netted her an Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination.
- John TurturroJohn TurturroJohn Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
, (born February 28, 1957) is an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He has appeared in over sixty movies, and is well known for his ability to effortlessly change both his demeanour and physique. Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to a SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
family. He completed his MFAMaster of Fine ArtsA Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
at the YaleYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
School of DramaDramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. He worked as an extraExtra (actor)A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
in Raging Bull (19801980 in film- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
).
- Steven TylerSteven TylerSteven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
, born Steven Victor Tallarico (March 26, 1948), frontman for legendary rock band AerosmithAerosmithAerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
.
- Frank VincentFrank VincentFrank Vincent is an American actor, musician, author and entrepreneur. He is a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull , Goodfellas and Casino . He often plays a gangster and works both in features and...
, (born Frank Vincent Gattuso on August 4, 1939) is an Italian-American actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was born in North Adams, MassachusettsNorth Adams, MassachusettsNorth Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census, making it the least populous city in the state...
, but was raised in Jersey City, New JerseyJersey City, New JerseyJersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. His father was also called Frank. His mother was Mary (nee Ricci). Frank has two brothers: Nick and Jimmy. Frank's father was one of six children, all born in the USA to Sicilian immigrants: Niccolo Gattuso and Francesca di Peri. He was spotted by Martin ScorseseMartin ScorseseMartin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
in a low-budget gangster movie called Death Collector. Scorsese was impressed and hired Vincent to star in Raging Bull. Joe PesciJoe PesciJoseph Frank "Joe" Pesci is an American actor, comedian, and musician.He is known for playing a variety of different roles, from violent mobsters to comedic leads to quirky sidekicks...
co-starred with Vincent in The Death Collector and the two were re-united in several other movies; another familiar co-star of Vincent is Robert De NiroRobert De NiroRobert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
.
- Emanuele ViscusoEmanuele ViscusoEmanuele Viscuso, is a sculptor, a musician, a designer and a cultural promoter. His most famous piece is the 45-foot-large sculpture "Wave-bridge on the imaginary" located at the Milan Malpensa international airport. On 2006 Viscuso created in Miami the Sicilian Film Festival, a showcase of...
, (born December 24, 1952 in PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
), is the creator of the Sicilian Film FestivalSicilian film festivalThe Sicilian Film Festival is a showcase of Sicilian directors and movies created in Miami in 2006 by Emanuele Viscuso. This American display of the Sicilian cinematography underlines the Sicilian cinema, literature and also its links with the international Cinema.The SFF is the first organization...
, a showcase of Sicilian directors and movies founded in Miami in 2006. He also founded FIMO (International Organ Music Festival) in Castelbuono, Sicily in 2008. Viscuso lives in Miami, in Milano and in CastelbuonoCastelbuonoCastelbuono is a town and comune in the province of Palermo, Sicily . It is especially famous for the castle which its name derives, and around which the city grew up in the 14th century.-History:...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. Besides his work as president of this festival, Viscuso is a musician, a sculptor, a writer and a designer. His most famous piece is the 45-foot-large sculpture "Wave-bridge on the imaginary" at the Milan Malpensa international airport. His design is mostly expressed with his world famous trompe l'oeil wall paper collection. Emanuele Viscuso has taken part to the Esperia* STS-120/10A Mission, launched on October 23, 2007 from the NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, in Florida as delegate in Florida of Accademia Italiana della Cucina, a Cultural Institution of the Italian Republic. The City of Miami Beach, where he resides since November 2000, recognized his cultural involvement in the community with the "Key to the City" on October 17, 2007.
- Tony VitaleTony VitaleTony Vitale is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his critically acclaimed film Kiss Me, Guido.- Biography :...
, born "Anthony Neal Vitale" born May 24, 1964 in The Bronx, New York, is an American film writer, director, producer. His films, Kiss Me Guido, Very Mean Men, and One Last Ride have included many characters of Sicilian descent. Vitale is the son of Anthony Ralph Vitale and Mildred (Carmela) Italiano, daughter of immigrants from AgrigentoAgrigentoAgrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
- Guy Williams, (January 14, 1924 – May 7, 1989), born Armando Joseph Catalano in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
immigrants. He was an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor who played swashbucklingSwashbucklerSwashbuckler or swasher is a term that emerged in the 16th century and has been used for rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen ever since. A possible explanation for this term is that it derives from a fighting style using a side-sword with a buckler in the off-hand, which was applied with much...
action heroes in the 1950s and 1960s. An accomplished fencerFencingFencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, his most famous role was ZorroZorroZorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
in two Walt DisneyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
movies and television series of that name (1957–1959) and also in Lost in SpaceLost in SpaceLost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
, as the father of the Robinson family.. Nearly a half-century later, Zorro is still being aired all over South AmericaSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, from ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
to VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, in some places twice daily. Zorro continues to be the most popular U.S. series ever to have appeared on South American television.
- Frances Winwar (1900–1985), Popular biographer of the 1930s to the 1960s (the first best-selling Italian American woman biographer). She was born Francesca Vinciguerra in Sicily and brought to the United States in 1907. Her husbands were Communist progandist and writer Victor J. Jerome, educator Bernard Grabanier, mystery novelist Richard Wilson Webb, creator of 1930s and '40s fictional detective Peter Duluth, and Dr. Francis D. Lazenby, classics scholar and librarian at the University of Notre Dame.
- Frank ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, born Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was a composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, singer and satirist. In his 33-year musical career, Zappa proved to be one of the most prolific musicians ever, releasing over 60 albums during his life. His father, Francis Zappa was born in AlcamoAlcamoAlcamo is the fourth largest city in the province of Trapani, in north-western Sicily, southern Italy.-History:Alcamo was founded in 828 by the Muslim commander al-Kamuk , though other sources date its origin to c. 972...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. His mother Rose Marie Colimore was of half ItalianItalian peopleThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, 1/4 SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and 1/4 FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
descent.
- Philip ZimbardoPhilip ZimbardoPhilip George Zimbardo is an American psychologist and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is president of the Heroic Imagination Project...
, (born March 23, 1933) is an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychologistPsychologyPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, best-known for his Stanford prison experimentStanford prison experimentThe Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted from August 14th-20th, 1971, by a team of researchers led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University...
and bestselling introductions to psychology. Zimbardo was born to SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
parents, George Zimbardo and Margaret Bisicchia and grew up in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, in the South Bronx.
- Jon Bon JoviJon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
, born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr., in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, ... his father was born in Sciacca, near Agrigento in Sicily.
- Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of actress and singer Judy Garland and Garland's second husband, film director Vincente MinnelliVincente MinnelliVincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director, famous for directing such classic movie musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. In addition to having directed some of the most famous and well-remembered musicals of his time, Minnelli made...
who was the son of a Sicilian Immigrant. - Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
(born Dino Paul Crocetti June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, film actor and comedian, who was partly of Sicilian descent.
- Tony DanzaTony DanzaTony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
(born April 21, 1951) is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss? Danza was born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Anne Cammisa (1925–1993) and Matty Iadanza (1920–1983). Anne was born in Campobello di Mazara (Trapani) Sicily and immigrated to the United States with five brothers and sisters in 1929. Danza is a full blooded Sicilian American.
Athletes
- Charles AtlasCharles AtlasCharles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano , was the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program that was best known for a landmark advertising campaign featuring Atlas's name and likeness; it has been described as one of the longest-lasting and most memorable ad campaigns of all...
, (1892–1972), born Angelo Siciliano in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, he moved to BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at a young age. Initially a small, weak child, Siciliano worked hard to tone his muscles, using a variety of weights. Contemplating the strength of a tiger in a zoo, he conceived the idea of working muscle against muscle, rather than working out with weights. Using this system, later dubbed Dynamic tensionDynamic tension"Dynamic Tension" is the name Charles Atlas gave to the system of exercises that he first popularized in the 1920s.Dynamic Tension is a self-resistance exercise method which pits muscle against muscle. The practitioner tenses the muscles of given body part and then moves the body part against the...
, he acquired a physique that earned him the nickname "Charles Atlas", after the mythical AtlasAtlas (mythology)In Greek mythology, Atlas was the primordial Titan who supported the heavens. Although associated with various places, he became commonly identified with the Atlas Mountains in north-west Africa...
, the TitanTitan (mythology)In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age....
who held up the heavens. He later filed for and received trademark status for the name. He soon took the role of strongmanStrongman (strength athlete)In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or circus performers of similar ilk who displayed feats of strength such as the bent press , supporting large amounts of...
in the Coney IslandConey IslandConey Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
Circus SideSide ShowSide Show is a musical about Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins who make a change from being a circus act to becoming famous stage performers in the 1930s. The show was written by Bill Russell and Henry Krieger . The show starred Alice Ripley as Violet and Emily Skinner as Daisy...
. His company, Charles Atlas, Ltd. (1929-and continuing today) markets a fitness program for the "97-pound weakling", a registered trademark.
- Dom DiMaggioDom DiMaggioDominic Paul DiMaggio , nicknamed "The Little Professor", was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox...
, born Dominic Paul DiMaggio (born February 12, 1917 in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
) is a former center fielderCenter fielderA center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
in Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played his entire career for the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(1940–42, 1946–53). His small stature (standing five feet nine inches) and eyeglasses earned him the nickname "The Little Professor". He is the brother of outfielders Joe DiMaggioJoe DiMaggioJoseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
and Vince DiMaggioVince DiMaggioVincent Paul "Vince" DiMaggio was a Major League Baseball center fielder. During a 10-year baseball career, he played for the Boston Bees , Cincinnati Reds , Pittsburgh Pirates , Philadelphia Phillies , and New York Giants...
. DiMaggio was a teammate and close friend of Ted Williams, Bobby DoerrBobby DoerrRobert Pershing Doerr is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and coach. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox . He led American League second basemen in double plays five times, tying a league record, in putouts and fielding percentage four times each, and...
, and Johnny PeskyJohnny PeskyJohn Michael Pesky , nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was a Major League Baseball shortstop, third baseman, and manager. During a 10-year career, he played in 1942 and from 1946-1954 for three different teams. He missed all of the 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons while serving in World War...
. Their friendship was chronicled in David HalberstamDavid HalberstamDavid Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
's book The Teammates. Dom DiMaggio was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of FameBoston Red Sox Hall of FameThe Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame was instituted in 1995 to recognize the careers of former Boston Red Sox baseball players. A 15-member selection committee of Red Sox broadcasters and executives, past and present media personnel, and representatives from The Sports Museum of New England and the...
in 1995.
- James MaritatoJames MaritatoJames Maritato is an American professional wrestler, of Italian origin, currently working on the independent circuit. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the ring names Little Guido Maritato and Nunzio.-Starting out:While...
(born March 12, 1972)[1] is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring names Little Guido and Nunzio. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment and Extreme Championship Wrestling. Maritato was born in his native Sicily.
- Joe DiMaggioJoe DiMaggioJoseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
, born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr. (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an Italian AmericanItalian AmericanAn Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
center fielderCenter fielderA center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
in Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played his entire career (1936–1951) for the New York YankeesNew York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. The eighth of nine children, DiMaggio was born in a two-room house in Martinez, CaliforniaMartinez, CaliforniaMartinez is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,824 at the 2010 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings...
to SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
immigrants; delivered by a midwife. His mother, Rosalia, named him "Giuseppe" for his father; "Paolo" was in honor of Saint PaulPaul of TarsusPaul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, Giuseppe's favorite saint. The family moved to San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
when Joe was one year old.
- Vince DiMaggioVince DiMaggioVincent Paul "Vince" DiMaggio was a Major League Baseball center fielder. During a 10-year baseball career, he played for the Boston Bees , Cincinnati Reds , Pittsburgh Pirates , Philadelphia Phillies , and New York Giants...
, Vincent Paul DiMaggio (September 6, 1912 – October 3, 1986) was a Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
center fielderCenter fielderA center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
and right-handed batter who played in the National LeagueNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
for the Boston BeesAtlanta BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
(1937–38), Cincinnati RedsCincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
(1939–40), Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
(1940–46) and New York GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
(1946). The older brother of JoeJoe DiMaggioJoseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
and DomDom DiMaggioDominic Paul DiMaggio , nicknamed "The Little Professor", was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox...
, DiMaggio was born in Martinez, CaliforniaMartinez, CaliforniaMartinez is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,824 at the 2010 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings...
.
- Johnny DundeeJohnny DundeeJohnny Dundee was a featherweight and junior lightweight boxer who fought from 1910 until 1932. Dundee was born Giuseppe Curreri in Sciacca, Sicily, but was raised in the United States....
, (b. November 22, 1893, d. April 22, 1965) was a featherweightFeatherweightFeatherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
and junior lightweight boxerBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who fought from 1910 until 1932. Dundee was born Giuseppe Carrora in SciaccaSciaccaSciacca , also Schiacca, is a town and comune in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, but was raised in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Although today he is almost completely forgotten, Dundee was highly regarded by many old time boxing experts. Ring Magazine founder and editor, Nat FleischerNat FleischerNathaniel Stanley Fleischer was a noted American boxing writer and collector. Fleischer inaugurated in 1922, encouraged by Tex Rickard, the Ring Magazine publication...
, rated Dundee in the top five of his list of greatest featherweights of all time.
- Robert James "Gino" Marella (June 4, 1937 - October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla MonsoonGorilla MonsoonRobert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker...
, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker. Marella is also a member of the Ithica College Athletic Hall of Fame and placed second in the 1959 NCAA National Wrestling championship tournament.
- Paul MalignaggiPaul MalignaggiPaul "Paulie" Malignaggi is an Italian-American professional boxer. He is the former IBF junior welterweight champion, and former WBO NABO light welterweight champion.-Light Welterweight:...
, (b. November 23, 1980) is a professional junior welterweight boxerBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and a former IBFInternational Boxing FederationThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
Junior Welterweight Champion most notable for defeating Lovemore N'douLovemore N'douLovemore N'dou is an Australian based South African boxer.He was the IBF world light welterweight champion, until he lost the title to Paul Malignaggi.-Fight career:...
twice, as well as losing in bouts with Miguel CottoMiguel CottoMiguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer and the reigning WBA light middleweight champion. He is the younger brother of contender Jose Miguel Cotto and cousin of Abner Cotto...
and Ricky HattonRicky HattonRichard John Hatton MBE, more commonly known as Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton, , is a former British professional boxer, and currently a promoter....
.
- Mike PiazzaMike PiazzaMichael Joseph "Mike" Piazza ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics....
, born Michael Joseph Piazza (September 4, 1968 in NorristownNorristown, PennsylvaniaNorristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of the city limits of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. The population was 34,324 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA) is a U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player. He is generally recognized as the top-hitting catcherCatcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
of all time. He is a ten time All-StarAll-star gameAn all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league, except in the circumstances of professional sports systems in which a democratic voting system is used...
. On May 5, 2004, Piazza surpassed Carlton FiskCarlton FiskCarlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...
for most home runHome runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s by a catcher with the 352nd of his career. Mike grew up for the first few years of his life in a small house in Phoenixville, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The house was barely big enough to have Mike's entire family inside. His family consisted of his two parents, Vince and Veronica Piazza, and his brothers Vince Jr., Danny, Tony and Tommy.
- Gene SarazenGene SarazenGene Sarazen was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s. He is one of five golfers to win all the current major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam:U.S...
, (also known as Gene Saraceni) (February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) is one of the few golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
ers to win all the major championshipsMen's major golf championshipsThe men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf...
in his career, including- 1922 U.S. OpenU.S. Open (golf)The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
- 1922 PGA ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipThe PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
- 1923 PGA ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipThe PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
- 1932 U.S. OpenU.S. Open (golf)The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
- 1932 British OpenThe Open ChampionshipThe Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
- 1933 PGA ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipThe PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
- 1935 The Masters
- 1922 U.S. Open
Winner of 39 PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
events, Sarazen was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. He invented the modern sand wedge
Sand wedge
An open faced club, sand wedge, or sand iron, is a wedge primarily designed for use out of sand bunkers. It has the widest sole of any wedge, which provides the greatest amount of bounce, allowing the club head to glide through sand and avoid digging in.-History:Gene Sarazen began to win...
in 1930. He hit "The shot heard 'round the world" in the 1935 Masters. It was a final round 225-yard 4-wood on the par-5 15th hole that went in, giving him a very rare double eagle 2 on the hole. It led to him later winning the tournament in a playoff. For many years after his retirement, he was a familiar figure as an honorary starter at the Masters.
Jazz artists
- Sharkey BonanoSharkey BonanoJoseph "Sharkey" Bonano was a jazz trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist....
(April 9, 1904 – March 27, 1972) was born with the name Joseph Gustaf Bonano in the Milenburg neighborhood of New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, by the shores of Lake PontchartrainLake PontchartrainLake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
. He sometimes billed himself as Sharkey Banana or Sharkey Bananas.
- Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, born Armando Anthony Corea (June 12, 1941).
- Eddie CostaEddie CostaEddie Costa, , was an American jazz pianist and vibraphonist born in Atlas, Pennsylvania near Mount Carmel, PA in Northumberland County....
(1930–1962) is a jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
based in PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
- Steve GaddSteve GaddSteve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
, (April 9, 1945, Rochester, New YorkRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
)
- Jimmy GiuffreJimmy GiuffreJames Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.-Biography:Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry,...
, born James Peter Giuffre (Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, 1921).
- Scott La Faro, born Rocco Scott LaFaro (April 3, 1936, Newark, New JerseyNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
– July 6, 1961, Flint, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
). Not of Sicilian descent, family originated from Calabria.
- Papa Jack LainePapa Jack LaineGeorge Vital "Papa Jack" Laine was a pioneering band leader in New Orleans in the years from the Spanish-American War to World War I....
, born George Vital Laine aka Papa Jack (September 21, 1873 – June 1, 1966).
- Eddie LangEddie LangEddie Lang was an American jazz guitarist, regarded as the Father of Jazz Guitar. He played a Gibson L-4 and L-5 guitar, providing great influence for many guitarists, including Django Reinhardt.-Biography:...
, (October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933), born Salvatore Massaro, the son of an Italian-American instrument maker in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
- Nick LaRoccaNick LaRoccaDominic James "Nick" LaRocca , was an early jazz cornetist and trumpeter and the leader of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. He is the composer of one of the most recorded jazz classics of all-time, "Tiger Rag"...
, born Dominic James La Rocca (New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, April 11, 1889 – New Orleans, February 22, 1961).
- Joe LovanoJoe LovanoJoseph Salvatore "Joe" Lovano is a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world's premiere tenor saxophone players, earning a Grammy award and several nods on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls...
, born Joseph Salvatore Lovano (December 29, 1952 in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
).
- Chuck MangioneChuck MangioneCharles Frank "Chuck" Mangione is an American flugelhorn player and composer who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-pop single, "Feels So Good." Mangione has released more than thirty albums since 1960.-Early life and career:...
, born November 29, 1940. Also brother Gaspare "Gap", a musician and Uncle Gerlando "Jerre", an Author.
- Wingy ManoneWingy ManoneWingy Manone was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, singer, and bandleader. His major recordings included "Tar Paper Stomp", "Nickel in the Slot", "Downright Disgusted Blues", "There'll Come a Time ", and "Tailgate Ramble".- Biography :Manone was born Joseph Matthews Mannone in New Orleans,...
, born Joseph Matthews Mannone (sic), (February 13, 1900, New Orleans – July 9, 1982.
- Charlie MarianoCharlie MarianoCarmine Ugo Mariano was an American jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Cologne, Germany.-Biography:Mariano was the son of Italian immigrants....
(b.1923)
- Joe MarsalaJoe MarsalaJoe Marsala was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist and songwriter, born and based in Chicago. He was active during the big band era. Marsala is notable as one of the early employers of drummer Buddy Rich. Among his other musicians included pianist Joe Bushkin and guitarist Jack Lemaire, Carmen...
(1907–1978)
- Pat MartinoPat MartinoPat Martino is an Italian-American jazz guitarist and composer within the post bop, fusion, mainstream jazz, soul jazz and hard bop idioms.-Biography:...
, born Pat Azzara (August 25, 1944) in South Philadelphia.
- Joe MorelloJoe MorelloJoseph Albert Morello was a jazz drummer best known for his 12½-year stint with The Dave Brubeck Quartet. He was frequently noted for playing in the unusual time signatures employed by that group in such pieces as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo à la Turk"...
, born July 17, 1929 in Springfield, MassachusettsSpringfield, MassachusettsSpringfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
.
- Joe PassJoe PassJoe Pass was an Italian-American jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century...
, born Joseph Anthony Passalaqua, January 13, 1929, New Brunswick, New JerseyNew Brunswick, New JerseyNew Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
– May 23, 1994, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
- John PatitucciJohn PatitucciJohn Patitucci is an American Grammy-winning jazz double bass and jazz fusion electric bass player.-Biography:Patitucci is of Italian descent and was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he began playing the electric bass at age ten, composing and performing at age 12, as well as the acoustic bass at...
, born 1959 in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
- Art PepperArt PepperArt Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
, (1925–82) (Sicilian mother)
- Louis PrimaLouis PrimaLouis Prima was a Sicilian American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then successively leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the...
(December 7, 1910- August 24, 1978). Prima was born into a musical family of SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
descent in New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. Prima was proud of his heritage, and made a point of letting the audience know at every performance that he was Italian-American and from New Orleans.
- Leon RoppoloLeon RoppoloLeon Roppolo was a prominent early jazz clarinetist, best known for his playing with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Roppolo also played saxophone and guitar. Roppolo married Mabel Alice Branchard on 17 May 1920 in New Orleans...
, (March 16, 1902 – October 5, 1943). Leon Joseph Roppolo (nicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d "Rap") was born in Lutcher, LouisianaLutcher, LouisianaLutcher is a town in St. James Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the East Bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 3,735 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lutcher is located at ....
, upriver from New Orleans.
- Frank RosolinoFrank RosolinoFrank Rosolino was an American jazz trombonist.- Biography :Born in Detroit, Michigan, Frank Rosolino studied the guitar with his father from the age of 9. He took up the trombone at age 14 while he was enrolled at Miller High School where he played with Milt Jackson in the school's stage band and...
, (August 20, 1926, Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
– November 26, 1978, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
).
- Tony ScottTony Scott (musician)Tony Scott was a jazz clarinetist known for an interest in folk music around the world...
, (b.1921)
- Joe Venuti, born Giuseppe Venuti, (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978). Venuti was born aboard a ship as his parents emigrated from SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
- George WallingtonGeorge WallingtonGeorge Wallington was a highly regarded American bop pianist and composer....
, born Giacinto Figlia, October 27, 1923, PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
– Cape Coral, Miami, February 15, 1993).
Politicians
- Vincent R. ImpellitteriVincent R. ImpellitteriVincent Richard Impellitteri was an American politician, who served as the 101st Mayor of New York City.-Biography:He was born in Isnello, Sicily, and moved with his family to the United States as an infant in 1901...
, (February 4, 1900 – January 29, 1987) was appointed Acting Mayor of New York CityMayor of New York CityThe Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
upon the resignation of then Mayor William O'DwyerWilliam O'DwyerWilliam O'Dwyer was the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950.-Biography:O'Dwyer was born in County Mayo, Ireland and migrated to the United States in 1910, after abandoning studies for the priesthood...
, on September 1, 1950. He served from 1950 to 1953. Impellitteri moved with his family to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
as an infant in 1901. Trivia: Impellitteri believed his name to be too difficult to spell by most people. When running for mayor he tried to persuade a judgeJudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
to allow voters to simply write "Impy" on their ballots. The judge refused the request. - Antonin ScaliaAntonin ScaliaAntonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, (b. 1936), Supreme Court Justice
- The families of 6 members of the United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
emigrated from Sicily:- Daniel FrisaDaniel FrisaDaniel "Dan" Frisa was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1997. Frisa is a Republican.Born in Queens, New York, Frisa attended East Meadow, New York public schools and graduated from St. John's University. He became an Eagle Scout at age thirteen...
was a member of the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1995 to 1997. - Nick LampsonNick LampsonNicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....
His family emigrated from the region of SalemiSalemiSalemi is a town and comune in South-Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani. It is located in the Belice Valley.-History:...
, TrapaniTrapaniTrapani is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands.-History:...
. - Frank LoBiondoFrank LoBiondoFrank A. LoBiondo is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is at the southern end of New Jersey, and by far the biggest Congressional District in the state...
His family emigrated from the region of Belmonte MezzagnoBelmonte MezzagnoBelmonte Mezzagno is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 8 km south of Palermo.Belmonte Mezzagno is famous for its olive oil and goat's milk cheese....
, PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. - Donald A. ManzulloDonald A. ManzulloDonald A. Manzullo is the U.S. Representative for . Since January 2011, he has served as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. He is a member of the Republican Party and was first elected in 1992....
City not known. - Frank PalloneFrank PalloneFrank Pallone, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously represented the 3rd district from 1988 to 1993.-Early life, education, and early political career:...
City not known. - Vito FossellaVito FossellaVito John Fossella, Jr. is a U.S. Republican politician from the state of New York who formerly represented the state's 13th Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms, from 1997 to 2009 serving as the lone Republican from New York City. Fossella, a Staten Island...
Representative from New York
- Daniel Frisa
Others
- Airi Magdalene Zombie (born 1991), Florida-born up-and-coming makeup artist specializing in special effects, prosthetic makeupProsthetic makeupProsthetic makeup is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects...
and the visual artsVisual artsThe visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
. Fangoria Magazine interview Professional youtube channel.
- Anthony T. RossiAnthony T. RossiAnthony Talamo Rossi was an Italian immigrant who founded Tropicana Products, a producer of orange juice founded in 1947 in Bradenton, Florida in the United States which grew from 50 employees to over 8,000 in 2004, expanding into multiple product lines and became one of the world's largest...
, (1900–1993), was born as Antonio Talamo Rossi in Messina, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. He had the equivalent of a high school education. He emigrated to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when he was 21 years old and educated himself to the point that he became an expert mathematician and mechanical engineer. He founded Tropicana ProductsTropicana ProductsTropicana Products is an American based company, and was founded in 1947 by Anthony T. Rossi in Bradenton, Florida, U.S.A. Since 1998, it has been owned by PepsiCo, Inc. Tropicana's headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois.-Anthony T. Rossi:...
, a producer of orange juiceOrange juiceOrange juice is a popular beverage made from oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate...
founded in 1947 in Bradenton, FloridaBradenton, FloridaBradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's 2007 population to be 53,471. Bradenton is the largest Principal City of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2007 estimated population of 682,833...
in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which grew from 50 employees to over 8,000 in 2004, expanding into multiple product lines and became one of the world's largest producers and marketers of citrusCitrusCitrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
juice.
- Antonin ScaliaAntonin ScaliaAntonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, (born March 11, 1936) (sometimes known by the nickname "Nino") has been a U.S. Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
Associate Justice since 1986. He is widely considered the leading originalist voice on the Court and one of the most outspoken defenders of textualismTextualismTextualism is a formalist theory of statutory interpretation, holding that a statute's ordinary meaning should govern its interpretation, as opposed to inquiries into non-textual sources such as the intention of the legislature in passing the law, the problem it was intended to remedy, or...
. Antonin Scalia was born in Trenton, New JerseyTrenton, New JerseyTrenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
to his mother, Catherine, and his father, S. Eugene. His mother was born in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; his father, a professor of romance languages, emigrated from SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
at age 15. When Scalia was five years old, his family moved to QueensQueensQueens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, during which time his father worked at Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn CollegeBrooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
.
- Ferdinand PecoraFerdinand PecoraFerdinand Pecora was an American lawyer and judge who became famous in the 1930s as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during its investigation of Wall Street banking and stock brokerage practices.-Early career:Ferdinand Pecora was born in Nicosia, Sicily,...
, (January 6, 1882 – December 7, 1971). Ferdinand Pecora was born in NicosiaNicosiaNicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, the son of Louis Pecora and Rosa Messina who emigrated to the United States and New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with his parents. He earned a law degreeLaw degreeA Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
from the New York Law SchoolNew York Law SchoolNew York Law School is a private law school in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. The school is located within four blocks of all major courts in Manhattan. In 2011, New York Law School...
and eventually worked as an assistant district attorneyDistrict attorneyIn many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
. He led Senate hearings into the causes of the Wall Street Crash of 1929Wall Street Crash of 1929The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
that launched a major reform of the American financial system. Pecora personally undertook many of the interrogations during the hearings, including high profile Wall StreetWall StreetWall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
personalities such as Richard WhitneyRichard Whitney (financier)Richard Whitney was an American financier, president of the New York Stock Exchange from 1930 to 1935, and a convicted embezzler.-Biography:He was born on August 1, 1888 in Boston, Massachusetts to George Whitney, Sr....
, president of the New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
and investment bankers Thomas W. LamontThomas W. LamontThomas William Lamont, Jr. was an American banker.- Biography :Lamont was born in Claverack, New York. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1888 and earned his degree from Harvard University in 1892. He became a generous benefactor of the school once he had amassed a fortune, notably...
, Otto H. KahnOtto Hermann KahnOtto Hermann Kahn was an investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts.-Life and career:He was born on February 21, 1867, and raised in the city of Mannheim, Germany, to Jewish parents...
, Albert H. WigginAlbert H. Wigginthumb|Wiggin, circa 1913Albert Henry Wiggin was an American banker.Born in the town of Medfield, Massachusetts, Albert Wiggin was the son of a Unitarian minister and a cousin of Arthur Francis Holme Wiggin CMG. At age seventeen, he went to work for a Boston bank and in 1892 he married Jessie...
, and Charles E. MitchellCharles E. MitchellCharles Edwin Mitchell was an American banker whose incautious securities policies facilitated the speculation which led to the Crash of 1929...
. Pecora's high-profile work led to the hearings being called the Pecora CommissionPecora CommissionThe Pecora Investigation was an inquiry begun on March 4, 1932 by the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency to investigate the causes of the Wall Street Crash of 1929...
and it put him on the June 12, 1933 cover of Time magazine.
- Frank LentiniFrank LentiniFrancesco Lentini was born at Rosolini, near Syracuse, Sicily into a family of twelve children.He was born with three legs, two sets of genitals and one rudimentary foot growing from the knee of his third leg...
, born Francesco A. Lentini (1889–1966) was born in Siracusa, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
into a large family. He was born with three longer legs, two sets of genitals and one rudimentary foot on his third leg. His primary legs also grew into different lengths. At the age of nine, Lentini moved to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and entered the sideshow business.
- Jack ValentiJack ValentiJack Joseph Valenti was a long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America. During his 38-year tenure in the MPAA, he created the MPAA film rating system, and he was generally regarded as one of the most influential pro-copyright lobbyists in the world...
, (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007), was "special assistant" to Lyndon Johnson's White House. In 1966, he resigned and became the president of the Motion Picture Association of AmericaMotion Picture Association of AmericaThe Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
. During his tenure there, he was generally regarded as one of the most influential pro-copyrightCopyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
lobbyists in the world. His salary in 2004 was reported to be $1.35 million, which made him the seventh-highest paid Washington trade group chief, according to the National JournalNational JournalNational Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
.
- Joe Plumeri, President and CEO of Willis Group HoldingsWillis Group HoldingsWillis Group Holdings is a global insurance broker headquartered in the Willis Building, London, United Kingdom. It has more than 400 offices in 120 countries, and approximately 17,000 employees...
, and owner of the Trenton ThunderTrenton ThunderThe Trenton Thunder are an American Minor League Baseball team and are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder play in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League, and are the two-time defending league champions...
.
- John FerruggioJohn FerruggioJohn Joseph Ferruggio was an American in-flight director who led the evacuation of Pan Am Flight 93, which was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. There were no fatalities among the plane's 153 passengers and crew due to Ferruggio's actions...
(1925–2010) – Led the evacuation of Pan Am Flight 93, which was hijacked in 1970
- Lucky LucianoLucky LucianoCharlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
, considered to be the father of the American Mafia.
- Rachael RayRachael RayRachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
, a popular talk show hostRachael Ray (TV series)Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....
and TV chef who has had several shows on the Food NetworkFood NetworkFood Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
and in syndication.
- Sam MaceoSam MaceoSalvatore Maceo, also known as Sam Maceo, was a businessman, community leader, and organized crime boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States. Because of his efforts, Galveston Island became a nationally known resort town during the early and mid 20th century, a period known as Galveston's Open...
(1894–1951) and Rosario MaceoRosario MaceoRosario Maceo , also known as Papa Rose or Rose Maceo, was a Sicilian immigrant and organized crime boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States. Because of his efforts and those of his brother Sam, Galveston Island became a nationally known resort town during the early and mid 20th century,...
(1887–1954) were organized crimeOrganized crimeOrganized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
bosses in Galveston, TexasGalveston, TexasGalveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
. They are credited with having made the island city a nationally known resortResortA resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
town from ProhibitionProhibition in the United StatesProhibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
through the end of World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
during the city's "open era."
- Elena Fox, cake decorator at Charm City Cakes
See also
:Category:American people of Sicilian descent:Category:American mobsters of Sicilian descent