Category Archives: Cover Story

TAMMY BLANCHARD “Amish Grace” Actress Follows Her Yellow Brick Road

“Tammy Blanchard’s performance in Amish Grace gets to your heart and evokes emotions that leave you feeling numb from sorrow for the character she portrays. This multi -talented actress is one more role closer to winning an Academy Award . She is well on her way to becoming a certified movie star like Meryl Streep, Helen Mirrin, Charlize Theron, Betty Davis, Greta Garbo and “Hollywood Lady Royalty” we have come to love – She is the one to watch” –The River View Observer

amish-550x400-9tammy21

Amish Grace Sunday Night March 28th-8pm on the Lifetime Channel

By Sally Deering 

 Emmy-award winning actress Tammy Blanchard recalls growing up in the 1980s a shy girl who cherished Judy Garland’s performance in “The Wizard of Oz,” and dreamed of her own stardom in her tiny bedroom.  In the past ten years, Blanchard’s break-out performances as Judy Garland and other complex women have received critical acclaim and respect from her peers. And like Garland, whom Blanchard calls her “angel,” when it comes to playing a role or singing a song, her shyness disappears and she becomes a chameleon blending herself into the part and in the process turning in dynamic, edge-of-your-seat performances that are anything but shy. Continue reading TAMMY BLANCHARD “Amish Grace” Actress Follows Her Yellow Brick Road

The Art of Justice: Howard Pyle’s Legacy Prevails at the Brennan Court House

by Sally Deering

howard-pyle-artistHoward Pyle, the “Father of American Illustration,” was also famous for painting historic murals like “The Landing at Carteret” which hangs in the Essex County Court House in Newark and other works collected by the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the Delaware Art Museum and the Brandywine River Museum. But you don’t have to hop a plane to Frisco or a train to Delaware to see Pyle’s paintings up close. Four murals depicting the history of Hudson County hang in the beautifully restored, Beaux Arts landmark Justice William J. Brennan Court House in Jersey City, where people from all walks of life can view Pyle’s majestic and historic paintings.   Continue reading The Art of Justice: Howard Pyle’s Legacy Prevails at the Brennan Court House

Joe Franklin- Amercia’s First Talk Show Host “Memory Lane” January 22nd, 1983

The River View Observer’s exclusive interview with the man who is “America’s First Talk Show Host.”

young-joe-franklin
Joe Franklin circa 1983

Before Jack Paar Johnny Carson, Jay Leno , Jimmy Kimmel  Conan  O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon there is Joe Franklin.

Joe Franklin —America‘s First Talk Show Host!

by Sally Deering

To his fans he’s the “King of Nostalgia,” but to thousands of show folk, Joe Franklin is a friend who gives stars a place to shine and unknowns the chance to stand out from the crowd.  In his 50-year career, Franklin has made it his mission to help the struggling artist get a foot in the door, and with a look-back, it seems this spunky octogenarian not only accomplished his goal, he picked up a little stardust of his own along the way.

In 1951 TV was a toddler still learning and discovering its capabilities. Many of the TV studios were in New York – on the fringes of the Theater District broadcasting game shows, kiddie shows, dramas and comedies live and in black-and-white. That year, station WJZ (which later became ABC,) approached Franklin about doing a TV talk show.Things clicked and “The Joe Franklin Show” premiered with Franklin as host engaging celebrity guests in the art of conversation.

Continue reading Joe Franklin- Amercia’s First Talk Show Host “Memory Lane” January 22nd, 1983

Cover Story -CAKE BOSS- Buddy Valastro -Our River View Interview

Cake Boss Star on the Rise- How Bitter- Sweet It Is…

TLC Monday Nights …10pm

By Sally Deering   Photos by David Bayne

buddy-valastro-cake-bossNo disrespect to Frank Sinatra, but Hoboken’s bouncing a new favorite son on its knee, a charismatic cake baker who followed in the floured footsteps of his father to become the star of his own reality TV show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buddy Valastro is TLC’s “Cake Boss,” the guru of cakes and the driving force behind Carlo’s Bake Shop on Washington Street in Hoboken, an Italian pastry empire he runs with his mother, Mary, and four older sisters – Grace, Maddalene, Mary and Lisa. On “Cake Boss,” (TLC, Monday nights at 10,) cameras trail Valastro as he wrestles with the demands of a thriving bakery business and the antics of his kooky, close-knit, hard-working family and crew. Continue reading Cover Story -CAKE BOSS- Buddy Valastro -Our River View Interview

Danny Aiello, A Stand- Up Guy!

danny-photo-nicer

By Sally Deering

Inside photos by David Bayne

Award-winning actor Danny Aiello is the House Special — the “cherry on the Spumoni”– at Tutta Pasta Italian restaurant in Hoboken, where on any given day passers-by can catch a glimpse of Aiello holding court in the dining room, signing autographs for his fans and, in essence, spreading his special charm like finely seasoned olive oil on a hunk of crusty Italian bread.  

“People love Danny,” Tutta Pasta’s manager Vincent Borriello says. “They love to see him. He’s always happy and he makes other people happy.” Continue reading Danny Aiello, A Stand- Up Guy!

Put on Your Dancing Shoes and Let’s Dance!

aug-cover-photo-1-rvo-092Channeling Your Inner Fred and Ginger!
By Sally Deering

Press your nose against the glass of that storefront next to the dry cleaners or peer into that dimly-lit loft above the take-out joint and you’re likely to see everyday people from all walks of life gliding, dipping, shimmying and swiveling in their search for their inner Fred and Ginger.
America’s got dance fever, so put on your Blue Suedes, dust off the record player and let’s dance!
Ever since “Dancing with the Stars,”“So You Think You Can Dance,” and “America’s Got Talent!,” hit the airwaves, couch-potatoes everywhere, who wouldn’t know a Meringue from a Lemon Meringue are kicking off their fuzzy slippers and Mamboing around the coffee table.
And right here in Hudson, we’re doing it, too. Continue reading Put on Your Dancing Shoes and Let’s Dance!

Good Times in Bad Times-July 09

When the Yellow Brick Road Hits a Speed-bump,these seven Hudsonities follow their hearts

By Sally Deering

Most folks weren’t around to witness The Great Depression of 1929 cover-photo-2-monya-mccarty-nurse2when the stock market crashed and people lost their savings, their jobs and sometimes their lives. But many of us do remember the Dotcom crash of 1987 that caused the stock market to nosedive and Internet entrepreneurs to lose their cybershirts. Well, here we are again, folks, rafting through the troubled waters of another photo-6-laura-schaffnit-of-another-mans-treasures-vintage-shop3recession in a yellow rubber dingy without a paddle.
Uncle Sam is up to his red, white and blues in I.O.U.’s. We owe a trillion and change to to China and according to CreditCard.com, every household in America has more than $8 grand in credit card debt with no end in sight. But Americans are a rugged bunch. When all we have are lemons in the fridge, we thumb our nose at the bad times and toast to better days with a swig of lemonade. 
It’s the American Way and it’s the Hudson way, too.

Continue reading Good Times in Bad Times-July 09

New Jersey City University’s Celebrated Jazz Program

…Swinging All The Way

by Tom Dwyer

bigband.JPG

Walk through the halls of the jazz music department at New Jersey City University, and you can’t help but be struck by the lush and professional sounds of music students practicing: horn players getting down with a Miles Davis tune, jazz ensembles playing intricate arrangements of sophisticated big band charts, and vocalists warming up to a hip, smooth song.  The NJCU Jazz Studies Program (part of the Music, Dance & Theatre Department) has become one of the best programs in the country to train serious young jazz musicians. Students from all corners of the country are finding that NJCU’s Jazz Program offers world-class jazz teachers, personal one-on-one study, and the chance to sit in with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world. 

Continue reading New Jersey City University’s Celebrated Jazz Program

Jobs- Cover Story -Hudson County Workforce Investment Board

…Offering Training and Jobs in a Difficult Environment

by Tom Dwyer

cover-photo-jan-16-wib-09-rvo.bmp
We all know that the economy is in dire straights. Many residents of Hudson County have lost their jobs from the Wall Street meltdown. But one organization, the Hudson County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) is doing everything it can to help people get back to work. Part of a federal program of nationwide Workforce Investment Boards, the primary responsibility of the Hudson County WIB is to serve as an alliance of the public and private sectors for the purpose of coordinating, planning, policy guidance, and oversight of employment and training activities in Hudson County.  In other words, as their brochure states it, their primary goal is to become the job connecting point for employers and job seekers. 

Continue reading Jobs- Cover Story -Hudson County Workforce Investment Board

Tom Dwyer- A Helping Hand On Thanksgiving Day -Cover Story

By Tom Dwyer tom-dwyer-river-view-observer.jpg

thanksgiving-dinner.jpgA Helping Hand On Thanksgiving Day

 Thanksgiving Day is a special time to be with family and friends and enjoy a great meal while giving thanks.  But not everyone is so lucky on Thanksgiving, so this November 27th, 13 charitable organizations through out Hudson County will open their doors to those less fortunate and serve up a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.   

Jimmy King’s Civic Association in Jersey City (440 Hoboken Avenue) has been hosting Thanksgiving dinner for Jersey City residents for the past eleven years.  Most of King’s Thanksgiving Day guests are from Jersey City Heights and the Journal Square area.  Last year, King’s association delivered more than 300 hot meals to shut-ins and senior citizens, and at the club they served an additional 200 guests a sit-down Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.  “We started this Thanksgiving event at Nico’s, a Jersey City restaurant.  Our plan was to help people in the area who had nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, or couldn’t afford a Thanksgiving meal,” King said. Today, with 300 association members, King has a small army of volunteers to deliver meals, and help shuttle people to the club.
Share/Save/Bookmark

Continue reading Tom Dwyer- A Helping Hand On Thanksgiving Day -Cover Story