Tag Archives: Frank Sinatra

Events, Music Views

SINATRA SWINGS AGAIN!   2018 Sinatra Idol Contest, June 14

14 Crooners Compete for Title at Sinatra Park, Hoboken

 By Sally Deering

Sinatra Swings Again
Dan Lauzon, Ontario Candad

For those of you who know Frank Sinatra Drive as the long and winding road on Hoboken’s waterfront, well, kids, its time you knew some Hoboken history. Let’s just say Ol’ Blue Eyes grew up in Hoboken back when almost every corner had a gin joint and if you could carry a tune, some music-lover on a barstool bought you a drink.

Those were the days when Hoboken native son Frankie Sinatra walked the Mile Square City dreaming of someday making it big. And make it he did! Superstar, legend, and boy, what a voice. It’s been said that back in the 1990s, while Sinatra was in Manhattan, he would tell the limo driver to take him to Hoboken where his black limo could be seen cruising up and down the old neighborhoods.

Continue reading SINATRA SWINGS AGAIN!   2018 Sinatra Idol Contest, June 14 →

Dining, Sally Deering

Chef Frank Roda brings Italian Fare with Flair to Maxwell’s Tavern in Hoboken

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TEN INGREDIENTS…with Chef Frank  Roda

Frank Roda Maxwells of Hoboken's Chef
Chef Frank Roda

 By Sally Deering

Maxwells Tavern hoboken  Fame came to Maxwell’s back in the 1980s and it has since become a Hoboken landmark as revered as that other Hoboken celebrity Frank Sinatra. Through the years rock stars and wannabees have set up their amps and drum kits in the small back room reminiscent of the old CBGBs in the East Village. And along with live music, Maxwell’s features a big beautiful bar that dates back to when the place served boilermakers to longshoremen who worked the docks.

Good food has always been a big part of Maxwell’s allure. Whether it’s the Angus beef burgers on the bar menu or the omelets served at brunch, hearty dishes of American fare – nothing fancy – just substantial good food keep Maxwell’s customers nourished and coming back for more.

It’s now 2016 and along with a new year, Maxwell’s Tavern has a new chef (well, he started six months ago). Frank Roda, former owner of Francesca’s in Jersey City, now runs the kitchen at Maxwell’s Tavern where he creates Italian fare with a flair. Continue reading Chef Frank Roda brings Italian Fare with Flair to Maxwell’s Tavern in Hoboken →

Cover Story, Sally Deering

OL’ BLUE EYES IS BACK ! SINATRA: AN AMERICAN ICON Celebrates Sinatra’s Centennial

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Music & Memorabilia at Library for Performing Arts NYC

By Sally Deering

Sinatra Library of Performing Arts NYC Exhibit
Frank Sinatra

Hoboken’s ‘Native Son’ Frank Sinatra grew up in a town quite different from what it is today. There were no Starbucks or even PATH trains when Sinatra was born in 1915. And when he was old enough, the ‘skinny blue-eyed kid’ began singing in his parents’ saloon. That’s where Sinatra learned his trade, crooning to locals at Marty O’Brien’s saloon.

That’s where the Frank Sinatra legend begins at the exhibit SINATRA: AN AMERICAN ICON now on view through September 4th at the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts. Sinatra sang in the studio and performed onstage for more than 50 years, recording hundreds of songs, and performing thousands of shows. Jam packed with memorabilia, music and all things Sinatra, this exhibit is both a loving tribute and a peek into the complicated life journey Sinatra took, from small time Hoboken street kid to saloon singer to concert and film star and in his later years, show biz royalty. Continue reading OL’ BLUE EYES IS BACK ! SINATRA: AN AMERICAN ICON Celebrates Sinatra’s Centennial →

General

Frank Sinatra Birthday Bash at the Hoboken Historical Museum

Sinatra Birthday Bash River View Observer December 11, 2014
don’t miss the very special Frank Sinatra birthday celebration at 7 pm at the Hoboken Historical Museum, and on Sunday, join the Museum  for the last Immigration Experience lecture, on the architecture of Italian-American neighborhoods. Read on for details…

Sinatra’s 99th Birthday Bash This Friday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m., don’t miss  the very special Frank Sinatra 99th Birthday Bash, with a performance by 2007 Sinatra Idol Contest winner, Peter Cafasso (tickets are $20). His performance captures the authentic Hoboken spirit of the “Chairman of the Board.”

 

Hoboken Historical Museum
1301 Hudson St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030

201-656-2240

Page 5 Hudson People

Tweed Suits and Golden Gloves-Former Boxing Champ Al Certo on Choosing the Right Weave

By Sally Deering

Al Certo in his Secaucus Tailor Shop
Al Certo in his Secaucus Tailor Shop with photo of himself and boxing legends

 

How many people can say Frank Sinatra’s mother brought them into the world? Born in Hoboken under the watchful eye of midwife Dolly Sinatra (she was a neighbor), Al Certo was raised in Hoboken where he dreamed of being a dancer but, instead, built two careers as a professional boxer and men’s tailor, Certo weaved back and forth between those two worlds until he eventually hung up his gloves and threw himself into herringbones and tweeds.

al certo and tailor Certo’s Custom Tailors has thrived in Secaucus for more than 50 years. Back in the day Certo’s shop was two floors with eight tailors handling the orders; today, the top floor is now a pizzeria and Harsh Khindri who has been with Certo for 15 years handles most of the work.

 “He’s one of the greatest tailors I ever met,” Certo says. “He has gold in his hands.”

Certo’s tailor shop is filled with sewing machines and along several walls are rows of hangers with yards of fabrics like cashmere, wools and cottons. Above the hangers is a line-up of photographs mostly of famous boxers who Certo knew from his years in the ring. Sometimes they came to Certo’s shop to talk boxing and sometimes they picked out a suit. That’s what boxing legend Muhammad Ali did. Continue reading Tweed Suits and Golden Gloves-Former Boxing Champ Al Certo on Choosing the Right Weave →

Celebrity Interviews, General

The Dead Celebrity Cookbook – Bringing Oscar Favorites To Your Very Own Party

Eat like a celebrity with the Dead Celebrity's CookbookNew York, NY, January 30, 2013 – For anyone who loves Hollywood memorabilia, is an entertainment junkie, and loves to eat and cook – they will treasure Frank DeCaro’s The Dead Celebrity Cookbook: A Resurrection of Recipes from More Than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen (HCI Books). Frank compiled favorite recipes from some of Hollywood’s biggest names; including Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Sonny Bono, Liberace, Michael Jackson, John Denver, Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson, Humphrey Bogart, and Peter Falk, just to name a few.
“Flip on a movie channel and get cooking! Required reading.” – Billy Heller, New York Post.
“We hear Rock Hudson’s Cannoli is delicious!” – Entertainment Weekly.
“In The Dead Celebrity Cookbook, author Frank DeCaro has collected and presented an array of recipes by beloved (and dead) stars….” – people.com
“Celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Andy Warhol may be gone, but their favorite dishes will never be forgotten. Try one tonight!” – oprah.com
“While Halloween might come only once a year, there’s never a bad time for The Dead Celebrity Cookbook.” – bonappetit.com Continue reading The Dead Celebrity Cookbook – Bringing Oscar Favorites To Your Very Own Party →

General, Real Estate for sale

Hey Hudson County -Frank Sinatra’s Big Apple Penthouse for Sale!

A look at Celebrity homes from http://www.toptenrealestatedeals.com

Sinatra’s Big Apple Penthouse!

Who knew – or remembered – that Frank Sinatra owned a stunning New York penthouse that was way ahead of its time? Judging by his other glamorous digs over the years, his only-the-best-will-do taste and flair for the dramatic certainly shows in this co-op where he lived while his short term marriage to Mia Farrow played out.

Frank and pixie-faced Mia met on the set of Sinatra’s film Von Ryan’s Express in 1965. They were married in 1966; lived in this stunning glass-walled penthouse in New York and were divorced by 1968. When Mia’s movie Rosemary’s Baby production time ran over and she refused to quit the film to be in Sinatra’s film The Detective,  The mega-star was very upset  which began the break in their marriage.  Sinatra,  handed Farrow her the divorce papers in front of her cast and crew of Rosemary’s Baby.

If you love to entertain, this is the place for it. The 18’ ceilings with glass walls overlooking the river add drama and setting while you tell your guests that Ol’ Blue Eyes designed the space when it was under construction in 1961, and how his pal Sammy Davis Jr. enjoyed tossing champagne glasses down on FDR Drive from the apartment’s terraces. With a modernization undertaken by the current owner after she bought it in 2008, the 3,200 square foot apartment has 4 bedrooms, 6 baths and an additional 2,000 square feet in two wrap-around terraces overlooking the East River.

Continue reading Hey Hudson County -Frank Sinatra’s Big Apple Penthouse for Sale! →