An Interview with local actress Tammy Blanchard

After the presents have been opened on Christmas Day, itâ€s always fun to go out and catch a movie. Thatâ€s what Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp and Stephen Sondheim fans will be doing when the movie musical INTO THE WOODS opens nationwide on Dec. 25^th.

Meryl Streep stars as the Wicked Witch and a troupe of wickedly talented stars including Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick, Christine Baranski and Bayonneâ€s Tammy Blanchard join her for a romp in the woods. “Be careful what you wish for” is the filmâ€s tagline because although itâ€s about Grimm Fairy Tales, this is no kiddie movie. Sondheim and co-writer James Lapine have taken several fairy tale characters on loopy adventures where very adult things happen, and not every journey ends happily ever after.

Disneyâ€s INTO THE WOODS is the filmed version of the Tony Award winning musical which debuted on Broadway in 1987 starring Bernadette Peters as the wicked witch, and directed by Hal Prince. It has been performed throughout the world, has had several revivals here and in London, and has taken almost 30 years to go from stage to screen.

During her career, Bayonneâ€s Tammy Blanchard earned Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of Judy Garland in LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND; ME AND MY SHADOWS; and two Tony Award nominations for supporting roles in HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS…(with “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe) and GYPSY starring Bernadette Peters.

A single-mom, Blanchard keeps a busy schedule while balancing a full-time career. River View Observer caught up with her right after INTO THE WOODS premiered at the Ziegfeld on Dec. 8^th to find out what it was like to work on a Disney film with superstar Meryl Streep and director Rob Marshall, (who directed the film version of the Broadway musical CHICAGO).

RVO: Tammy, can you talk a bit about your character in the film?

TB: I play one of the wicked step-sisters being pressured to marry a prince. We have a lot of money, but weâ€re losing the money and desperate. Our wicked step-mother – played by Christine Baranski – will do anything to get us married.  We had a lot of fun working together. Christine is amazing.

RVO: What was it like working with Christine Baranski?

TB: She was flying back and forth from filming THE GOOD WIFE (CBS-TV). She loves acting, and talking about it. Iâ€m so laid back, but a lot of other actors are so into their roles and they talk a lot about it. Although I like preserving, I like seeing other actors be that way. Thatâ€s why I love acting. Itâ€s a bunch of geeks and dorks who get together and make something beautiful happen. And the set is like a church. I love it. Itâ€s a saving grace for me.

RVO: What was it like at the Dec. 8^th movie premiere at the Ziegfeld, seeing yourself on that huge screen?

TB: It was fun. It was cool seeing myself be so mean and rotten. I was impressed with my snottiness. (she laughs)

RVO: Can you share an anecdote about working with Meryl Streep?

TB: Before filming, the entire cast went out to dinner and Iâ€m sitting at the table with all the leads including Meryl Streep. Iâ€m pretty shy and donâ€t say much. Then Meryl asks me where Iâ€m from. When she talks, everyone stops. I tell her I was born and raised in Bayonne. She said her father was from Newark. I had no idea that sheâ€s a Jersey girl, too. And to reach out to me in that moment, that was so generous. But thatâ€s what Jersey girls do.

RVO:  Did you have any scenes with Meryl Streep?

TB: We had a scene in the woods where Meryl as the Wicked Witch is about to throw the blind girl to the giant. When we started shooting it, she kept throwing me. Rob had to go over and tell her that it was the blind girl who was to be thrown. Thatâ€s how it was rehearsed. But I loved getting thrown by Meryl Streep. She wanted to connect with me and she did.  (Tammy laughs) It seems she still has that Jersey girl way about her. Sheâ€s happy and free-spirited. And as an actress, sheâ€s blessed with this gift for knowing humanity. Sheâ€s beyond great. She has a sense of truth in her. Meryl does so many charitable things for so many people. I just love her so much.

RVO: Did you do any scenes with Johnny Depp?

TB: He came to the recording studio and we met. Rob Marshall, the director, walked him into each booth to say hello. He seemed shy, sweet and timid. He smiled at me at one point, but for the most part he was hidden away from everyone.

RVO:  Youâ€ve worked with Sondheim before when you did GYPSY on Broadway with Bernadette Peters. Whatâ€s he like?

TB: Anna Kendrick and I were waiting in a rehearsal room when he came in to use the piano. He changed some notes on a piece of paper for a new song (that was eventually cut), thanked us and left. We witnessed Stephen Sondheim writing music. Afterwards, I cried. It felt like such a magical moment and then for him to thank us for allowing him to use the piano. On set and in rehearsals, heâ€s a quiet man. Sort of like Santa Clause: he smiles and laughs; he seems sweet and cuddly; and youâ€re terrified of him.

 RVO Do you think the film is okay for kids to see?

TB: It demolishes your thoughts about fairy tales. Itâ€s a dark take. Childrenâ€s minds are very precious. I think in order to make that decision, you have to know your child. If your child doesnâ€t believe in fairy tales and princesses then you can take them. If your child loves princesses and fairy tales, I wouldnâ€t take them if theyâ€re younger than 10.

RVO:  What do you think of Rob Marshallâ€s direction?

TB:  Itâ€s different from the Broadway show; Rob put a modern day twist on it. He cast all of these people from different parts of the world and he has us sing all types of music. Meryl Streep raps in it. Itâ€s mind-blowing, dark, funny, sarcastic, and itâ€s different from what we grew up knowing about fairy tales. Princes arenâ€t always what you thought they were.

If you go:

Opens nationwide on Dec. 25th

Into the Woods, the movie

Check local movie listings

www.disney.com/IntotheWoods‎

www.movietickets.com

The post Bayonne’s Tammy Blanchard in her first Disney film: INTO THE WOODS first appeared on River View Observer.

A foodie with a gutsy attitude, Chef Rob Burmeister of Staten Island won the competition on a recent episode of CUTTHROAT KITCHEN on the Food Network when he made New England clam chowder with whipped cream and cognac. Not many chefs could stand up to the challenge, but Chef Robâ€s signature cooking style – “international fusion with a hint of American comfort” suggests his versatility as a chef and now with a taste of stardom on his lips, Chef Rob hungers for his own reality TV food show.

No side dish, Chef Rob has been featured on CHOPPED, RESTAURANT STAKEOUT, THE NEXT PORK PERSONALITY with GUY FIERI, and STATEN ISLAND CAKES. He also does the Tuesday night podcast CHEWING THE FAT WITH BIG AND BEEFY with co-host Clemenza Caserta, Jr. who was featured on Season 10 of HELLâ€S KITCHEN with Chef Gordon Ramsey. (Tuesday nights on Blogtalkradio.com/thewackonetwork, 7-9 pm.)

Chef Rob is also executive chef for Harvest Café in Staten Island, a training facility/restaurant for adults with mental disabilities to learn restaurant skills to obtain work in the community.

Letâ€s meet Chef Rob and ask him the Ten Ingredients to his success.

RVO: Chef Rob, where you were born & raised and who introduced you to cooking?

RB: I was born and raised in State Island, and I learned to cook sitting in front of the TV watching Channel 13 Chefs Martin Yan, Jeff Smith who is “The Frugal Gourmet,” and Julia Child. I remember my first dish, it was a recipe called Harvest Stew. Everyone loved it. My second big thing, someone gave me the Betty Crocker cookbook and I made Egg Drop soup with snow peas. Thatâ€s when I really got hooked. After high school, I wanted to go to culinary school, but I couldnâ€t pay for it myself, so I got a job washing dishes and being a prep cook at the Lake Café in Staten Island. It was a beautiful place. I started at 18 and grew up there. I wound up being a line cook, sous chef, and later the executive chef.

RVO: Can you describe your signature style?

RB: My personal style is international fusion with a hint of American comfort. Iâ€ve been doing it for years, like Mac & Cheese Eggrolls; Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Eggrolls. Different Calzones. I had a gourmet deli BURMEISTERâ€S CHOW in Staten Island for four years and weâ€d make gourmet take out. I used to deep fry Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches.

 RVO: What was it like being on CUTTHROAT KITCHEN?

RB: I was originally cast for a show on ABC, THE TASTE. Last year, my friend came in second place. She said you gotta try out for this. She mentioned my name to the directors so when the casting came up this year they called me and I went in for the audition, I had to cook something, and they told me Iâ€m on the show. They picked 60 people to fly out to California. An hour later I got a call and they told me I got cut because theyâ€re not going with 60 contestants. But the casting director said they were casting CUTTHROAT KITCHEN and flew me out to California. I filmed the end of October and they just aired it in February. The show is like an obstacle course – there are auctions and you can switch things around with your opponents. There are four chefs and three rounds and when we had to make New England clam chowder, I didnâ€t have water to steam the clams and all I had was whipped cream and cognac, so I steamed them with cognac which made a boozy clam broth and used a little whipped cream. I won after the third round when we had to make Chicken Fried Steak.

RVO: How did you get on THE NEXT PORK PERSONALITY?  

RB: THE NEXT PORK PERSONALITY was being held at the Food Networkâ€s food festival in Manhattan, so I sent in a tape of some of my appearances. They called me and said youâ€re in. Guy Fieri was the host. It was a big thing. I got there and I was up against two ladies from California. I came in second. Before I met Guy Fieri, I always loved his TV show DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES, and I hoped he was not full of himself and standoffish. After the first two minutes I met him, we were like brothers. We were out the night before the show until 5:30 in the morning.

RVO; Have reality TV shows helped your career?

RB: Yes, definitely. Itâ€s hard to get a job if you donâ€t have a diploma. If youâ€re going to get a loan to open a restaurant, theyâ€re looking for a diploma. I never had one, but being on TV they donâ€t care if I have a diploma.

RVO:  Would you do HELLâ€S KITCHEN?

RB:  I put in my application six or seven years back, but now they donâ€t want me because I have too much experience. Now I have different ideas for my own show. I put up videos on YouTube. Iâ€d love my own road show, like DINERS, DRIVE–INS AND DIVES. Thatâ€s what I want, a nice cool road show where Iâ€m hanging out with other cooks. I love being before the camera.

RVO: Whatâ€s your podcast CHEWING THE FAT WITH BIG AND BEEFY with Clemenza Caserta from HELLâ€S KITCHEN all about? 

RB: Clem and I were freshmen at St. Peterâ€s high school on Staten Island. I saw him on HELLâ€S KITCHEN and my jaw dropped; so I reached out to him. I was doing a little thing SLINGING THE HASH, a YouTube show I was trying to start. Weâ€d cook together. Clemenza reached out to the Wacko Network for advice and they said, why donâ€t you be on our network? We started CHEWING THE FAT WITH BIG AND BEEFY – Iâ€m ‘Big†and Clem is ‘Beefy† We talk about what we ate, food trends all over the world, one week we talked about our top five snack cakes. From the first show, weâ€ve had 1,000-1,500 listeners. We get calls from Australia, U.K. Canada, Texas, Virginia.

RVO: What is the work youâ€re doing at Harvest Cafe?

RB:  Itâ€s a non-profit restaurant where high-functioning adults are trained to wash dishes, do maintenance, prep food, cook food, wait tables and take drink orders. We teach them skills they need to work at neighboring restaurants. Iâ€m the executive chef and lead culinary trainer.

RVO: What is your favorite seasoning to cook with?

RB: I always have to have bacon fat. Bacon fat is universal. Iâ€ll add it if Iâ€m searing a piece of fish and I use it in my barbecue sauces, soups, and instead of butter or olive oil. Now Iâ€m making bacon soap and bacon candles.

RVO: At the end of the day, what is the food that you order at the diner?

RB: If I go to a diner, I have to get a side of corned beef hash with syrup and ketchup. Iâ€m always getting breakfast, a hungry man platter that comes with eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, toast and pancakes, with a chocolate milk, a root beer and a coffee. I never order Eggs Benedict because I know what a pain it is.

For more info on Chef Rob Burmeister, go to www.chefsroll.com/chefrob.

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The post TEN INGREDIENTS: Chef Rob Burmeister Fans the Flames of Reality TV first appeared on River View Observer.

On the HBO award-winning TV series THE SOPRANOS (1999-2007), it was easy to like Vincent Curatola character Johnny Sack Sacramoni, a mobster who worshipped his heavyset wife. Sure, Curatola’s character was a cold-blooded killer, and he was scary to watch, but there was always a touch of humor, especially when he had to endure wisecracks about his wife’s weight. Curatola was so convincing that when Johnny Sack winced at a fat joke, the viewers did, too.

 A Jersey guy, Curatola grew up in Englewood, a residential community just north of the George Washington Bridge. According to his website, VincentCuratola.com  he always had the acting bug, and his wife, Maureen, encouraged him to take classes soon after Curatola brought Johnny Sack to life.

In the seven years since the show ended, Curatola has made a few movies, appeared on several TV shows, and taught acting in New York. He recently taped five episodes as an exasperated judge on the CBS hit show THE GOOD WIFE starring Julianna Margolis. Has it been difficult for Curatola to reinvent himself after eight years in a hit series? Do all roles pale in comparison to Johnny Sack?

On a recent afternoon, Mr. Curatola took time from his busy schedule to speak to River View Observer about what itâ€s like to continue his career after THE SOPRANOS.

RVO: Mr. Curatola, can you tell us a little about your background; where you grew up?

VC: I was born and raised in Englewood and I had a unique paper route on the block I lived on. My customers were Tony Bennett, Jerry Vale, Wilson Pickett, Lesley Gore, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sarah Vaughn. I used to deliver The Record. My father had a masonry business, and I started one on my own in the mid-1970s, but I had fantasies (about acting). So I went to study with Michael Moriarty.

 RVO: Did you do much acting before being cast in THE SOPRANOS?

VC: Michael got me on LAW & ORDER, and I wrote a one-act play about a funeral guy called DEARLY BELOVED. I also did the show EXILED.

 RVO: How did you get the part of Johnny Sack; was there a lot of competition?

VC: I happened to be filming in Staten Island, and my agent called and said, there this thing THE SOPRANOS. I told her I don want to go to the audition. I thought it was going to be SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER meets The Bronx. She called for the third time and said, there going to cast this character; you need to go in. I went home to New Jersey, changed, and went to 72^nd Street in Manhattan for the audition. I got out of the cab and thought, let me smoke a cigarette. a gorgeous spring day, I’m late already, let me smoke another cigarette. I got upstairs 35 minutes late, and there’s a woman sitting at a big desk in the middle of the room. Sorry, you’re late, she says; I’m leaving. She looks up at me and changes her mind. She says do you have the pages they faxed you? Come over, sit down, and lets read the scene.  I read it once, and she said, do you want to do it again? I said no. She said, I want you to meet somebody on Monday That Monday I’m in this big ante room, and there were 40-45 guys in for callbacks, I hear them, and everyone is screaming the part. I said I know what I’m going to do. So I go in, meet David Chase (the producer) and when I started the scene, I started to whisper. I whispered the whole scene. I could see they were scared stiff. The next morning, they wanted me to do one episode. I ended up doing 33 episodes and I was in it from the beginning right through to the end.

 RVO:  THE SOPRANOS was amazing, like Shakespeare. What was it like being in a hit series?

VC: Every time FedEx delivered a script, you were like a viewer. The writing was so incredible that they would take twists and turns. In many interviews over the years, the interviewer would describe it as a mob show, and I would say, I’m not on a mob show. I always bristled at that. weird. When people meet me, they say you don’t sound like a mobster. Johnny was an executive, he wasn’t the guy on the corner with the pinky ring.

 RVO: So many people were devastated over the death of James Gandolfini; can you share what it was like working with him?

VC: Jimmy and I, we’ve been through a lot. One year, he lost his father, and I lost mine. We’ve been through more funerals, more christenings. We met before THE SOPRANOS. We used to hang out at Mary Lou’s in Manhattan. This is a guy who gave us a piece of his production company, and along with that came a beautiful check. On December 1st of last year, we had a street in Park Ridge where he grew up renamed James Gandolfini Way.

 RVO: What acting lessons did you learn working with him?

VC: Don’t think; just open your mouth and talk. Don’t stop to check yourself out, don’t think.

RVO: Is it true you watched the last episode together?

VC: Yes. It was a Saturday night in 2007, we were brought to Foxwoods in Connecticut  me, Jimmy, Lorraine (Bracco), Tony Sirico, Steve Schirripa, Steve Van Zandt, and then the next morning they had a plane take us out to The Hard Rock in Florida, to watch the final episode with 16,000 people. They gave us a private room to watch it in. Nobody knew what the final episode was going to be. When it was over, I thought is David Chase kidding? Now we gotta go out to these 16,000 people and they did not look happy. What Jim did he found a guy in Switzerland who makes handmade watches, and he gave each one of us a watch — you could buy a Cadillac with this watch. It says on the back: THE SOPRANOS, R.I.P., love J.G. He was incredibly generous and self-effacing. Whenever we’d see in the script that a guy was going to die that week, we would take that guy out for dinner. We couldn’t tell anybody“ we couldn’t leak something so if anybody asked, we’d say it was his birthday.

 RVO: Since THE SOPRANOS ended, you’ve been on LAW & ORDER, SVU, and LAW & ORDER Criminal Intent; MONK, and PERSON OF INTEREST. Were you offered other roles?

VC: I’m a little picky. Once you’ve been on THE SOPRANOS, it’s like what do you do now? You drove a Rolls, now you’re going to drive a Chevy? I did two movies, KILLING THEM SOFTLY with Brad Pitt and NICKY DEUCE which was written by Steve Schirripa. We shot it in Montreal with Jimmy, Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico, and Rita Moreno.

 RVO: Can you describe your part on the good wife?

VC: I play a judge.  a complete 180 from Johnny Sack. I love working with Julianna. She played a girlfriend of Christopher’s on THE SOPRANOS. She’s a wonderful actress; I play the judge who gets exasperated easily. I love to play that.

RVO: Anything planned for the future?

VC: A few months ago, I picked up the guitar again. I have three great teachers. About ten years ago, I went to the China Club with my wife Maureen, and who’s playing but CHICAGO. I ran out to my car and took out a CD of their greatest hits. When their act was done, I went backstage and they said, you want us to sign your stuff? Only if you sign ours. We had dinner once at The Plaza  it was somebody’s birthday“ and one of the band members starts to hum and I start to sing. They said, you sing? So, for about 7 years i’d be their surprise guest singer. We played the PNC Arts Center, Jones Beach. They would say to the audience, we have a friend and he told us he has to come out and sing a song.

 To learn more about Vincent Curatola, visit his website:

www.vincentcuratola.com.

 Photo of Mr. Curatola as John Sacramoni- and with James Gandolfini -HBO Publicity Photo from the hit series THE SOPRANOS

 

The post Worth Repeating Article…LIFE AFTER SOPRANOS Actor Vincent Curatola Picks up where Johnny Sack Left Off first appeared on River View Observer.

New York, NY, January 30, 2013

“We hear Rock Hudsonâ€s Cannoli is delicious!” – Entertainment Weekly.

“While Halloween might come only once a year, thereâ€s never a bad time for The Dead Celebrity Cookbook.” – bonappetit.com

Says DeCaro, “I miss those days when celebrities still had mystery about them, and a glimpse inside their radar ranges seemed, for any fan, like a window into the world of glamour and excitement, which is why I put together this book.” This book delivers recipes that the stars are dying for you to make.

Following on the success of The Dead Celebrity Cookbook, Frank recently released Christmas In Tinseltown: Celebrity Recipes and Hollywood Memories from Six Feet Under the Mistletoe. Packed with holiday favorites from some of the greatest stars of all time and written in his infamous style of humor and sarcasm, both books give readers a unique and fun opportunity to make new traditions in the kitchen.
For more information, please go to: www.deadcelebritycookbook.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Best known for his years as the flamboyant movie critic on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Frank DeCaro is heard each weekday morning on his live national call-in program The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. A writer and performer, DeCaro pens the “Icons” column for CBS Watch magazine. The author of the pioneering memoir A Boy Named Phyllis, DeCaro previously wrote the “Style Over Substance” column for The New York Times. Visit the author at frankdecaro.com and on Facebook, and follow him at twitter.com/frankdecaroshow.
Available at fine bookstores, online outlets or directly from the publisher, contact:  (800) 441-5569 or www.hcibooks.com.
THE DEAD CELEBRITY COOKBOOK: A Resurrection of Recipes from More Than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen Frank Decaro HCI Books ISBN: 978-9-7573-1596-1– $19.95
###
SAMPLE RECIPE FROM THE DEAD CELEBRITY COOKBOOK Peter Falk 1927-2011
He was one of the great ones–appearing in films as disparate as The Princess Bride and Wings of Desire in the same year, 1987. But no matter what Peter Falk did (and he did a lot), he will always be remembered as the police detective in the rumpled raincoat on the mystery series Columbo. The character, one he played for more than thirty years beginning in 1971, is one of TVâ€s most indelible portraits. Among Falkâ€s most beloved films were the cult hit The In-Laws, the one-two Neil Simon punch of Murder by Death and The Cheap Detective, and six pictures with his buddy, the director/actor John Cassavetes, including the 1974 classic A Woman Under the Influence. The Emmy- and Oscar-nominated actor published his memoir Just One More Thing in 2006, and it wasnâ€t a moment too soon. Falk was diagnosed with dementia two years later. Just one more thing: His pork chops are as toothsome as he was.
Peter Falkâ€s Pork Chops 6 pork chops 1 medium onion, finely chopped ¼ cup olive oil ¼ cup white vinegar Salt and pepper, to taste 1 teaspoon thyme 1 cup water ½ cup liquid from jarred vinegar peppers 1 cup (or more) vinegar peppers 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Preheat oven to 350°. Brown pork chops in olive oil in a heavy frying pan and remove to a casserole. Cook onions until translucent in same oil and add to casserole. Deglaze pan by adding white vinegar and stirring up all brown bits. Add to casserole along with all remaining ingredients except vinegar peppers. Bake for 1½ hours. Add vinegar peppers and cook 15 minutes more. Remove pork chops and peppers to a warm serving plate. Add 2 teaspoons corn starch to pan drippings to make gravy. Pour over pork chops and peppers and serve.

Cutting Room Floor (sidebar):
You wouldnâ€t know it to look at him, but Idris Elba, the hulking British actor best known as Stringer Bell on HBOâ€s The Wire, has said that his edgy detective character on Luther owes a debt to Falk. Luther, a childhood fan of Columbo and creator Neil Cross, explains that both the classic American mystery show and the smoking hot BBC crime series are “howcatchems” not whodunits, and no one did that better than Lt. Frank Columbo.

The post The Dead Celebrity Cookbook – Bringing Oscar Favorites To Your Very Own Party first appeared on River View Observer.

 Popular Film Actor takes Center Stage in his One-Man Show, A Bronx Tale on Saturday, September 29th at The Harbor Lights Theater Company in Staten Island

Our River View Observer Interview with this Oscar Nominated Actor

 

By Sally Deering

Fans of ABC-TVs Modern Family know Chazz Palminteri as Jayâ€s metrosexual friend and the celebrated actor plays the recurring role with a comedic flair that keeps the audience guessing “Is he or isnâ€t he?”  Film-goers loved his portrayal of Customs Agent Dave Kujan in The Usual Suspects and his comedic turn as “Cheech” in Woody Allenâ€s film Bullets over Broadway that won him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. It doesnâ€t matter if heâ€s playing comedy or drama Palminteri always gives a stand-out performance because heâ€s a risk-taker.

 On Sat, Sept. 29, Palminteri is at it again – performing live without a net – when he takes center stage at The Harbor Lights Theater Company in Staten Island to portray 18 characters – including two women – in his semi-autobiographical one-man-play A Bronx Tale. Itâ€s a one-night stand, so to speak, and Palminteri canâ€t wait to perform in front of a live audience. 

 It was during his salad days as a struggling New York actor that Palminteri wrote A Bronx Tale to give himself a great role that would get him noticed – and it did. When Robert DeNiro saw him perform his show Off-Broadway, DeNiro decided he wanted to direct the film and with the proviso that Palminteri play one of the leads and write the screenplay, Palminteri and DeNiro sealed the deal with a handshake.Palminteri began acting in plays at the Manhattan Theater Club in New York and his support for live theater has only grown through the years. Heâ€s passionate about performing A Bronx Tale at the Harbor Lights Theater Company tomorrow night because itâ€s important to support the arts, he says. And itâ€s a win-win for Chazzâ€s fans that get to see the talented actor perform live in a play thatâ€s extremely personal to him.

 A Bronx Tale tells the story of Calogero, a kid growing up in the Bronx during the 1960s and the two influential men in his life, his father Lorenzo and a local mobster Sonny. Feeling morally conflicted  Calogero tries his best to live up to their expectations. According to Wikipedia, Roger Ebert gave A Bronx Tale four stars and called it “a very funny movie sometimes, and very touching at other times. It is filled with life and colorful characters and great lines of dialogue…. Whatâ€s important about the film is that it’s about values.”

Chazz Palminteri took time out of his busy schedule to speak with Riverview Observer about A Bronx Tale, working with Robert DeNiro, the debut of his new talk show on Sirius XM Radio and other projects that inspire him.

 RVO:  Mr. Palminteri, is it okay if I call you Chazz?

CP:  Yes, of course.

 RVO:  Your first name is Calogero, how did that evolve into Chazz?

CP:  Calogero is Charles in Italian. They started calling me Chazz when I was a kid.

 RVO: How did your acting career get started?

CP:  My first acting job was on stage at the Manhattan Theater Club. My first movie was with Sylvester Stallone. A Bronx Tale was my second movie.

 RVO: What inspired you to write A Bronx Tale and since itâ€s partially-autobiographical, how long did it take to accomplish something so personal?

CP: It took me a year to write it and rehearse it. I did it for my theater company. I would do it Monday nights. The reason I wrote it, I wanted to break into films. I was doing episodic TV like Hill Street Blues, but it was hard to get a great part. I decided Iâ€ll write something great that will show me off.

 RVO: A Bronx Tale is a one-man show and you play how many characters? Women too?

CP: I play 18 characters including two women. The way I do it is very smooth, I donâ€t have props, no costumes, itâ€s a very linear story. Itâ€s fun when youâ€re doing it. Youâ€re in the zone. You gotta love it to do it. If you donâ€t love it, itâ€s too hard.

 RVO: According to Wikipedia, you wouldnâ€t sell the film rights unless you could play Sonny and write the screenplay. Why was that so important?

CP: At that time, I needed a break and I needed to play a great part. I decided Iâ€m not selling unless I play Sonny and write the screenplay. I had an offer for a million dollars and I said no (because they wouldnâ€t agree to the terms).  I walked away from one million dollars. Then a week later Robert DeNiro saw it and agreed to everything with a handshake.

RVO: Everybody loves Robert DeNiro. Can you describe your working relationship on the film?

CP: It was a very collaborative relationship. He wanted me on set all the time whether I was in the scene or not. He directed it and made the final decisions, but he made me feel very part of it.  (To most film directors) writers are out, they donâ€t want to look at them. They want to take full credit for everything, but DeNiro is so secure in his art, he just wants to hear good ideas from everybody.  In film, the director has the final word; in TV, itâ€s the Executive Producer; and for plays, the writer has the final word.

RVO: This past Wednesday, you were on the hit TV show Modern Family. Is that a recurring role?

CP: That was my fourth time on it. Itâ€s a great show. I play Jayâ€s friend. Heâ€s like a guyâ€s guy, always talking about clothes, and heâ€ll make a remark if another guyâ€s handsome. So thereâ€s always a question, is he gay or is he metrosexual. Itâ€s a great running gag. Great writing.

 RVO: What other projects are you working on these days? 

CP: Beginning Oct. 3^rd on Wednesday nights from 6-to-7 p.m. Iâ€m doing my talk show Ask Chazz on Sirius XM 104 where you can ask me anything you want, any advice you need on how to be an actor. I wanted to give people really good advice from a real professional. People can ask me questions about the business, sports or just life.  I also have my website www.askchazz.com where you can email me any questions you like about the entertainment business.

 RVO:  Youâ€re also a restaurateur?

CP: I have a new restaurant Chazz located in the Harbor East in Baltimore where we make one-of-a-kind, “Bronx –style” pizzas baked in a coal-fired oven. My pizza was voted one of the top three pizzas in the U.S. by Esquire magazine. And Iâ€m going to open a new restaurant in Manhattan.

 

RVO:  And youâ€ve written a new play?

CP: Itâ€s called Human; Iâ€m still working on it.

 

RVO:  What made you choose a new venue like The Harbor Lights Theater Company for A Bronx Tale?

CP: Iâ€m a big believer in theater and thatâ€s why I want to put The Harbor Lights Theater Company on the map. As a country, we need to support the arts.

 

IF YOU GO:

Sat, Sept 29^that 8 p.m.

A Bronx Tale

At The Harbor Lights Theater Company

The Music Hall at Snug Harbor CC & BG

1000 Richmond Terrace

Staten Island

TIX:  $49, $69, and $129*

(*includes VIP Reception after the show with Chazz Palminteri)

Box office: (866) 811-4111

Online: www.theharborlightstheatercompany.org

Large Photo of Chazz Palminteri source  http://wallpapers.brothersoft.com/chazz-palminteri-61063.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post The Play’s the Thing for Chazz Palminteri first appeared on River View Observer.

By Sally Deering

Take a drive with Peter Perrotta and heâ€ll sing in the car. Visit his New York office on the 50^th floor overlooking Manhattan and heâ€ll burst into song working at his computer. Perrotta sings like some people talk – itâ€s a reflex, he just  canâ€t help himself – the guyâ€s a natural.

And heâ€s great at it, too. On a CD he recently recorded, Perrotta sings tunes from the Great American Songbook and his voice has soul, passion and ranges a couple of octaves. He can sound like his heroes Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, yet  his sound is pure Perrotta, big, robust and full of life.

Perrotta acts, too, and fans of “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” on A&E know him as ‘Tony Roman†– Simmons†buddy and investment banker. And thereâ€s good reason for that,too. For more than 30 years, Perrotta has carved out a successful career as a management consultant. Heâ€s a little bit show biz and a little bit Wall Street.

These days, Perrotta, a resident of Old Bridge, New Jersey, balances both careers as a single dad – his wife passed away earlier this year. He recently joined Beau Dietl & Associates in New York as a partner, creating a corporate
consultant division for financial institutions called Beau Dietl Consulting Services and, from his guest appearances on “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” Perrotta now fields offers for film and TV gigs. He also plans to release a new song –
and at the age of 57 — banks on his dream of a successful singing career.

 Riverview Observer met up with Perrotta when he was in Jersey City a couple weeks ago for the Golden Door
International Film Festival to see his friend Paul Sorvino, receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.  Perrotta took a moment from his busy careers to talk about what heâ€s doing these days, a few weeks before filming begins for Season 7 of “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” and his new venture partnering with Beau Dietl, and of course, his singing career.

RO: Are you a Jersey guy?

PP: Iâ€m a Brooklyn guy born in Park Slope. I wouldnâ€t trade my Brooklyn upbringing for all the money in the world.
I never really had a formal education. I had to drop out of college to support a family at a young age. I was 23.

RO: When did you know you could sing?

PP: Iâ€ve been singing since I was seven years-old. All I ever wanted to do was sing and act. Itâ€s a God-given talent; I
never took a lesson. My Uncle Richard Pascone aka Ricky Lynn was a cabaret singer at the Copacabana, and as a kid I used to watch him rehearse. As a matter of fact, in high school I was discovered by Anna Strasberg (wife of Lee
Strasberg) in “Camelot.” I played Sir Lancelot. I studied at the Actorâ€s Studio following in the footsteps of Al Pacino and Ben Gazzara. I could do it all sing, dance, act. I did 150 weddings a year. They named me ‘The King of the
Screamers.†If a band double-booked, they would call me in because the bride would be screaming ‘Whereâ€s my bandleader?†Iâ€d ask, ‘Whatâ€s your wedding song?” I can do Elvis, Tom Jones, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis. In 30 seconds the bride was cooled out.

RO: How did your singing career begin?

PP: Peter Buonconsiglio, who was Frank Sinatraâ€s lead violinist heard me sing at an affair and was
floored. He immediately started to book me on gigs and I was booked at Sybilâ€s. Every celeb in the world like Liza Minnelli, John Travolta, Sly Stallone and even “Chicken King” Frank Perdue came to see me sing.

 RO: Did you ever meet Tony Bennett?

PP: I know Tony for a long time. I sang with Tony Bennett at the Bob Hope Theater. I have a sketch of Tony Bennett
sketching me from 1989. I pitched A&E with an idea for a TV show called ‘Carrying the Torch.” the search for the next great American crooner — the guy who sings in saloons, basements, driving a truck – and it would culminate with
a concert with Tony Bennett and a recording contract. The decision was Danny Bennettâ€s, Tonyâ€s son.  No one ever got
back to me.

RO: Why did you go into the corporate scene?

PP: In 1982, I was the “Fireman of Wall Street.” Whenever there was a major problem, someone was out of balance I would come in and fix it. I was a fixer. I went into the temporary employee business and I sang for all the big top Wall
Street executives. By singing and knowing all these guys, it was natural for me to go into this business. You take a gamble to be a famous singer. There are a million great singers. In order to be making the kind of money I was making, I would have to be a Tony Bennett or Frank Sinatra. So, I had to decide, ‘Do I take $200,000 guaranteed with a future?†I became an unbelievable success as a Wall Street executive, gave up my singing and acting career and never looked back. But I always regret it. I think I was cut from the same cloth as Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones.

RO: How did you land a recurring role on “Gene Simmons Family Jewels?”

PP: Leslie Greif, an executive producer of ‘Gene Simmons Family Jewels†is a childhood friend of mine and invited me to be on the show for Geneâ€s 55^th birthday episode. Gene started talking about an investment he wanted to make and I fought him tooth and nail and he thought the chemistry was right and we became friends. Thatâ€s the essence of me and him for seven years. Iâ€m his sidekick.

 RO: Can you describe the work you do for Beau Dietl & Associates?

PP: I joined Beau Dietl & Associates this year. Weâ€re a niche consulting provider and we provide professional consultant support for all sorts of things. There are two parts of the business. On Beau Dietlâ€s side he does private investigating work. On the Beau Dietl consulting side, we place people in IT, finance, anti-money laundering, compliance and vertical strategic sourcing and we do that for many large clients. We go into a bank and show them where all their vulnerability is and we fix it. (www.investigations.com)

 

RO: And you havenâ€t given up your dream of a singing/acting career?

PP: Itâ€s not over yet. Once I get this business where I want it to be – I just I started this year with Beau – I want
to do what I do. Maybe singing, maybe acting, Iâ€m going to record ‘All at Once itâ€s Spring†written by Neville Grusd. Iâ€m not ruling out a show biz career. People are coming at me like you canâ€t believe. Iâ€m a little long in the tooth,
but I think I would be unfulfilled in life if I didnâ€t show what I can do.

 Catch Peter Perrotta on “Gene Simmons Family Jewels”

A&E, Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

For more info: www.aetv.com

The post Peter Perrotta: The Singing Wall Street Consultant first appeared on River View Observer.

 

 Film Producer PJ Leonard Rolls out Red Carpet for Little Curly Top at NYC Premier of “The Fallen Faithful”

 By Sally Deering

 Film producer PJ Leonard grew up in Jersey City at a time when mothers taught sons to do the right thing with a smack in the back of the head. He’s one of those tough-talking types with the heart of a marshmallow, like when Bogart says bye-bye to Bergman in “Casablanca.”  Bogey, too, had to do the right thing and maybe his mama cracked him good because he ended up sacrificing his only crack at freedom for the woman he loved.

 “The Fallen Faithful” is Leonard’s second crack at filmmaking as Executive Producer doing what producers do best – making a movie from script-reading to film screening. As Executive Producer of Other Side of the River Productions Leonard raises money, puts creative teams together, hires actors, negotiates contracts and scouts locations – the bim, bam, boom of movie-making. It’s also his job to get his new film seen, which is exactly what Leonard put in place for Monday, October 25th at the Director’s Guild Theater in New York City where “The Fallen Faithful” makes it’s NYC premiere. It promises to be a glitzy night with the film’s stars Sonny Marinelli and Obba Babatunde attending and one special name on the guest list that isn’t in the credits. 

 Meghan “Maggie” Elizabeth Russo, a curly-topped two year-old from Staten Island was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that forms in the eye. Currently in treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, little Meghan has a tough road ahead as she prepares for a bone-marrow transplant and a series of chemo. Her dad, Mike is a NYC Firefighter and mom, Mary Beth, left her full-time job to care for Maggie, her older brother Michael and baby sister Mary Kate. Keeping the family healthy and happy are Mike and Mary Beth’s number one priority, and according to Leonard, “they look like the happiest people in the world, always doing things together,” but they can use a helping hand paying for necessities like Pampers and babysitters. That’s where Leonard plays a part.

 

 A friend of the family through his niece Jacqueline Lux, Leonard feels for the Russo family. Jacqueline has lived with Cystic Fibrosis most of her life and Leonard knows firsthand what his brother had to go through doing right by his little girl. That’s why, at “The Fallen Faithful” premier Leonard will donate the screening’s net proceeds ($75 ticket price) to help the family pay those much-needed expenses as they do right by little Meghan.

 “What people don’t realize is there are other expenses they have to worry about like childcare,” Leonard says. “Medical insurance doesn’t cover that. They have two other children so obviously it’s hard. Their clock ticks a lot quicker.”

 The Russos, especially Meghan, will be guests of honor at “The Fallen Faithful” screening on the 25th and Leonard members of the cast who live in L.A. will also be attending the premier.

“It’s going to be a red carpet event,” Leonard says.

 Making a Film that Questions Destiny vs. Free Will

“The Fallen Faithful” follows the journey of Moran Douglas (Sonny Marinelli) a ruthless killer churning with inner turmoil as the confusion of his early childhood begin bubbling to the surface. Orphaned as a boy, Moran turned to surrogate fathers for guidance, a power-hungry psychopath Asa (Mark Margolis) and the priest Father Emanual (Obba Babatunde.) Riddled with conflict, Moran questions whether his life was molded by decisions that were made for him or by him. Was Moran destined to be a murderer because that was his fate or did he choose to be a killer of his own free will?

 Sonny Marinelli, who plays Moran has appeared in the films “Noel” and “Dot.Kill” and several TV shows, He says his role in “The Fallen Faithful” connected on a personal level – he lost his mother when he was 9 – and like most people, has gone a few rounds with some personal demons. Formerly a longshoreman, Marinelli took night classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and his passion turned to acting. He was originally cast in a different role in “The Fallen Faithful,” but a couple days before shooting started in Tampa the lead actor dropped out and Marinelli landed the role.

“I understood the character’s story,” Marinelli says. “It wasn’t a huge stretch. The father is beating up his mom, and he kills his father and soon after his mom accidentally gets killed in the crossfire of shootout. He’s raised by two guys – a priest and a psychopath – and he chooses a life of violence. As the movie opens, I’m filled with guilt and shame over the life I’ve led and try to cross over the spiritual side.”

 Playing Father Emanual, Obba Babatunde has more than 100 film and TV credits listed on his IMDB.com page. On Broadway, he starred in the original “Dreamgirls”  and earned amn Emmy nomination for his role in HBO’s “Miss Evers’ Boys.” He starred with Halle Berry in “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,” and appeared in the films, “That Thing You Do” and “Philadelphia.” Babatunde’s TV appearances include roles in “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Criminal Minds,” “Boston Legal” and “Cold Case.”

 Veteran character actor Mark Margolis rounds out the cast as the power-hungry psychopath (Asa) and his previous roles include Al Moody in “Californication,” Tip on “Breaking Bad,” and the films “Gone Baby Gone,” “The Wrestler” and “Defiance.”

 Elizabeth Regen penned the script to “The Fallen Faithful;” Csaba Bereczky directed and Executive Producer Leonard watched over every minute detail that comes with making a good independent film on a million-dollar budget. He landed a deal with Stuart Hall of Media 8 Entertainment to distribute the film and after the NYC premiere Leonard and Media 8 take “The Fallen Faithful” to the American Film Market in Los Angeles to get the movie to the next level. 

 Producing Movies from a Jersey Perspective

A relatively new player on the movie-making field, Leonard formed Other Side of the River Productions in 2006 with his first film, “Immaculate Misconception” that cost $175,000 to make and according to Leonard “looks like a million bucks.”

 “Right now, the production team that produced ‘Monster,’ they have it now,” Leonard says. “I was offered deals previously, but I didn’t want to give it to just anybody, so I flew to Los Angeles, met with Stewart Hall of Media 8 Entertainment,  and they’re going to rep both ‘The Immaculate Misconception’ and ‘The Fallen Faithful.’ They’re a major company. I’m not a small game no more.”

 “The Fallen Faithful” was made for $1 million, a small budget compared to blockbusters in the double-digit range. Leonard doesn’t expect to see it in movie theaters, he says. The budget’s too small for the big screen, but Leonard is convinced the film will do well in distribution and venues like cable-TV and Netflix.

 “It’s not like the old days,” Leonard says. “Unless you’re doing $24 million out of the gate, it’s not going to benefit people to get it into the movie theater.”

 Although his work takes him to Los Angeles and other film locations, Leonard prefers to stay on the East Coast and make Jersey City his home.

 “I’ll never be West Coast,” Leonard says. “My persona never fits out there. They look at me like I’m crazy. I’m not a phony. I speak my mind.”

 Leonard, who once considered becoming an actor, doesn’t try to be something he’s not. He doesn’t write, direct or act, and he sees himself as the person who puts all the pieces of the puzzle together and, he says, he gets great satisfaction completing the puzzle.

 Leonard is already putting the puzzle pieces together for his next film, “Three-Way Split,” written by Glenn Taranto who worked on several projects with Academy Award winning writer Paul Haggis (“Million Dollar Baby.”) Scheduled to shoot in Mississippi in 2011, Leonard is thrilled to have Taranto on the project and is already looking to sign an A-List cast on the caliber of Kathy Bates, Ed Harris and William H. Macy.

 “I’m not Spielberg,” Leonard says, “but I love the camaraderie of the people and the satisfaction of seeing something you created up on the screen.”

.For more information on “The Fallen Faithful” contact:

Other Side of the River Productions

551-655-3371

Email: PJ9462@aol.com

 If you’d like to help Meghan and her family,

go to www.maggiesfund.net

The post Jersey City Film Producer PJ Leonard Lends a Helping Hand With The Premiere of Falling Faithful first appeared on River View Observer.

By Sally Deering

Photo sent  by Enzo Palumbo

      First, an explanation of the “meow meow.” It’s like “etcetera, etcetera,” mixed with “yada yada” with a hint of “Oh yeah? What’s it to ya?” It’s also the nickname of Enzo Palumbo, a handsome, funny, “tell it like it is” insurance adjustor from Bayonne who spent 75 days as a contestant on CBS’s “Big Brother” this summer.  Let’s let Palumbo describe the “meow-meow.”

“Meow-meow” it stems from back in the day,” Palumbo says. “Years ago, I was with my friend and we were with two girls. One sits in the front seat with me and before I put my radio on, she farts in my car and tries to blame me. I ask her, what are you doing?  She says, ‘whatever, meow, meow. That was the end of it. Meow meow.  I’m a straight up cool cat.”

 

Little life-lessons like those charmed 10 million TV viewers who tuned in each week to watch Enzo, Lane, Hayden, Britney, Rachel and seven other “Big Brother” contestants room together in a snazzy Hollywood pad complete with outdoor Jacuzzi and 24/7camera surveillance. Palumbo lasted 75 days living in the ‘goldfish bowl’ with viewers watching his antics and the Jersey way he did things, like creating an alliance called “The Brigade” and nick-naming his alliance teammates the “Beast,” “Animal,” “Brains” and himself the “meow-meow.”

Enzo’s boisterous and playful personality, handsome good looks and Jersey edge intrigued viewers and his fellow players, but underneath his Jersey boy persona, Palumbo proved to be a sharp gamer, outlasting nine other contestants and maneuvering himself into the No. 3 position at the show’s finale. Enzo didn’t win the $500,000 1st Place cash prize awarded to Hayden or the $50,000 2nd  Place award Lane received, but Enzo played a great game and now that the show has ended, he’s hoping to parlay his “15 minutes of fame” into a show biz career in “La-La Land.”

Immediately after the show’s finale, CBS and the Big Brother production company treated Enzo and his cast mates to a ballyhoo weekend at Bally’s Hotel in Las Vegas, to allow the gang to party after three months of soul-baring and game-playing. Enzo reunited with his wife and daughter Gia, taped interviews and met with former “Big Brother” cast members from the 11 previous seasons.  During his weekend stay, fans recognized Enzo as a celebrity, asking him to sign autographs and pose for pictures. Hollywood agents slipped him their business cards and one filmmaker wants to cast him in a movie. And Enzo is loving every minute of his newfound celebrity.

   Viva Las Vegas

 “I’m a star in Vegas,” Enzo says from his Bally’s suite. “Grandmothers, young women, middle-aged women all want to hug me. Even men hug me. The fans are unbelievable. My head is so big right now I can’t even fit out the door.” 

Enzo’s Las Vegas fans also used their chance encounters with the Reality TV star to learn about his time on the “Big Brother” homestead and the strategic moves that kept him in the game and on prime-time TV for 2-1/2 months. As soon as the show began, Enzo initiated the idea for an alliance between the men, who met in the shadows to plan strategies-well, more like secret meetings in the sauna.

“Before I came in I wanted to get three or four people into the thing and with my personality, I knew three or four people would like it and I would use that to make some type of mafia,” Enzo says. “I called it the Brigade.  They could do the dirty work for me and if I ever got on the block, I had my alliance. We would have meetings late night when everybody was sleeping.  Sometimes we went to the Story room, the H.O.H. room. Sometimes even the pool or sauna. We’d go over things real quick. I had a blast and it got me to the finale. It was the best alliance ever in Big Brother history.”

So did Enzo trust the Brigade alliance or did he think they would turn on him at any given moment?

“In that house, it’s hard to put a hundred percent trust in anybody,” Enzo says. “I felt like we were definitely loyal. Lane worried me the most because of his side alliance with Britney. That was our plan from the beginning to break off and make side alliances with other people so they never knew we were an alliance together. I was never a target the whole season. I was playing the whole house, manipulating everybody. It was just amazing.”

On “Big Brother” Enzo played dumb at times, like when Britney tried to teach him how to speak properly and during a shopping trip, when she explained how to read food labels. There are plenty of excerpts on YouTube to see these hilarious exchanges, Enzo’s “Meow Mix” commercial and videos uploaded by several “Big Brother” fans including a digital animation called “The Formation of the BB Brigade,” where Enzo is depicted as a fat gray tabby cat wearing a fedora and black sunglasses named “meow-meow.”

“Back where I’m from, you have nicknames,” Enzo says. “There’s me, the ‘Meow Meow.’ I can be sneaky but I play it nice and cool and calm.”

When it got down to the final three, Enzo says he knew Lane and Hayden weren’t going to take him to the final two because they knew the seven teammates in the Jury House liked Enzo more and would name him the winner. 

“Most of them pretty much liked me and Lane and Hayden knew it,” Enzo says.  “It would have been tough for Lane or Hayden to beat me.”

In the finale, Enzo was voted out and Hayden named the winner with Lane in second place. But no hard feelings, Enzo says, crying over spilled milk is just a lot of “meow meow.” Enzo marked his territory on Season 12 of “Big Brother,” and along with a big sense of humor, he brought a little Jersey to the show.

“No matter what, I had tons of fans and I loved it,” Enzo says. “That was a big part of this. I didn’t care about the money. I wanted the title. I wanted to be the champ, I wanted to show that I was the “meow-meow” and for me, that will always be my legacy.”

Going Back to His Hometown Fans

Reality TV fame and the celebrity that it brings can either fade when contestants return to their “normal” lives or jump-start careers into new directions, like the case of Buddy Valastro of Hoboken, the “Cake Boss,” who after several Food Channel cooking contests, landed his own reality TV show on TLC. Just like his game plan forming the alliance on “Big Brother” Enzo’s devised a game plan for his future, too.

“I’m going to try to do everything and anything, maybe get an agent, some groupies or stalkers, whatever comes my way,” Enzo says. “I heard Howard Stern’s people might want me on his show. I had a couple of agents give me their cards. One guy is filming a movie in December and has a good part for me playing some type of Jersey kid. I’m open to everything and anything, big roles, small roles. I know it will be hard, but I’d like to take a crack at it.”

Enzo’s hometown fans in Bayonne have been watching every episode and rooting for him. Hot and Toasty Bagels in Bayonne named a couple of sandwiches after him and his cousins Giacomo DeRosa and Leonardo DeRosa, owners of Paesano’s Pizzeria in Downtown Bayonne named “The Meow Meow Pizza” after him. It’s piled high with sausage, mushrooms, onions, sautéed garlic and drizzled with olive oil. They also created “The Brigade,” a dish that consists of broccoli rabe and shrimp sautéed in garlic and olive oil over pasta.  Both dishes have a lot of flavor and stand out on the plate – just like Enzo.

“This is the real me, the real ‘meow meow,'” Enzo says. “I’m charismatic. I’m creative. I love to make people laugh.  I like to bust chops.”

The post Big Brother’s Enzo Palumbo -Bayonne to Hollywood with the Meow-Meow! first appeared on River View Observer.