Category Archives: General

Celebrity Interview, General, Sports Limited

Boxing Legend Chuck Wepner “The Real Rocky” interview with Sally Deering of the River View Observer


Bookmark and Share

The Real “Rocky”

  Bayonne Boxing Champ Chuck Wepner – the real Rocky Balboa – Star of ESPN Documentary

 By Sally Deering

In this steveamack.com photo Chuck Wepner poses in front of a photo of his 1975 match with Muhammad Ali at the recent pre -screening at the Philadelphia Film Festival for his documentary "The Real Rocky."

At 72, Chuck Wepner of Bayonne stands 6’5”, weighs 250 lbs, has biceps like ropes of steel, and looks like he can still go a few rounds in the ring – even though it’s been 36 years since his match with Muhammad Ali for the World Heavyweight title.

In 1975, Wepner boxed 15 rounds with Ali and lost with a broken nose, cuts over his eyes and a bruised ego. But what the Bayonne boxer didn’t know was that an unknown named Sylvester Stallone was watching the fight on his TV set and three days later would write “Rocky” based on underdog Wepner. The film became a major hit in 1976 winning three Academy Awards and earning Stallone fame and fortune. Yo! Let’s not forget the sequels, too.

On Tues, Oct 25 at 8 p.m., “The Real Rocky” a documentary about Wepner’s life as a championship boxer and the story behind his bout with Ali airs on ESPN. (It also airs Wed, Oct 26 at 11 p.m. and Sat, Nov. 26 at 7:30 a.m. on ESPN2.)  And a film based on Wepner’s amazing story is in pre-production and will star Liev Schreiber as Wepner.

The one-hour documentary is directed by Jeff Feuerzeig, an award-winning director whose feature film “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” won top documentary directing honors at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.  On ESPN.go.com, Feuerzeig, who grew up in New Jersey, explained his inspiration for making the Wepner documentary.

“ I’ve been a Chuck Wepner fan ever since 1975, when I was 10 years old and my father took my brother and me to Sports Night at the Raritan High School gymnasium in Hazlet to see Chuck, aka ‘The Bayonne Bleeder,’ just months before he was set to go up against Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title,” Feuerzeig told ESPN. “There were no figures who loomed larger in this 10 year-old’s imagination than Evel Knievel, Andre the Giant and, especially, Muhammad Ali – “The Greatest” – and here was a 6-foot-5 behemoth (Wepner) in a full-length fur coat…and ridiculous amount of jewelry leading us in a chant of ‘Who’s gonna beat Ali? WEPNER!’ And in that instant, Chuck Wepner became a real-life mythological figure — as real to me as the Jersey Devil that haunted the local Pine Barrens.” Continue reading Boxing Legend Chuck Wepner “The Real Rocky” interview with Sally Deering of the River View Observer →

General, Our Community

HUDSON THEN…AGAIN


Bookmark and Share


bayonne_opera_house

by Maureen Wlodarczyk
 
My mother Arlene was a “Jersey Girl” decades before anyone thought of calling us Garden State girls by the moniker that now evokes images of big hair and dark suntans.  Arlene wasn’t that kind of “Jersey Girl.”  She was a Jersey City girl, born and raised.  Born just weeks after the stock market crash of 1929, a child of the Depression and an adolescent of World War II, my mother remembers a very happy, if modest, childhood in the city she loved, surrounded by caring family, friends and neighbors in the Greenville section.  I enjoy hearing her talk about those “old days” and I am usually the one to prompt her to tell me those stories.

Continue reading HUDSON THEN…AGAIN →

General

EPA Announces Cleanup Plan for Quanta Resources Superfund Site in Edgewater, New Jersey

 
Bookmark and Share

(New York, N.Y. – October 4, 2011)  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a plan to contain and control soil and ground water contamination at the Quanta Resources Superfund Site in Edgewater, New Jersey, which is located along the Hudson River. Soil and ground water underneath the site and adjacent properties are contaminated with arsenic, lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds resulting from over 100 years of past industrial activities in the area. Exposure to these pollutants can have serious health effects, and in some cases, increase the risk of cancer. Because of the nature and complexity of the contamination at the 15-acre site, EPA divided the investigation and cleanup into two phases – one addressing the contaminated soil and ground water and the other focused on contamination in the river. The final plan announced today is the first phase of the long-term cleanup. A future cleanup plan will address contamination in the Hudson River.

Continue reading EPA Announces Cleanup Plan for Quanta Resources Superfund Site in Edgewater, New Jersey →

Local Happenings, Our Community

Jersey City to Observe the 10th Anniversary of the Attack on America


Bookmark and Share

Several events will take place throughout the City Including a Walkway Dedication in Honor of Jersey City’s Fallen

Heroes and the “Reflections”9-11 Memorial Service

and the Jersey City 9/11 Memorial Committee will observe the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks with the annual 9/11 Memorial Service “Reflections,” at 8:20 a.m. on Sunday, September 11, 2011, at the foot of Grand Street on the Jersey City Waterfront. The public is encouraged to attend the patriotic ceremony. Continue reading Jersey City to Observe the 10th Anniversary of the Attack on America →

General

Sinatra Fans- Something for you!!!

Bookmark and Share
The films are being shown at the “Museum Of The Moving Image” in Astoria, Queens.
Screening Schedule
Presented in collaboration with The Paley Center for Media

Photo: David Sutton/Frank Sinatra Enterprises
Photo: David Sutton/Frank Sinatra Enterprises

The Films of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra was one of the biggest show business stars of the 20th century. In addition to his phenomenal success and influence as a recording artist, he was also a prolific star in movies and television. In August and September, Museum of the Moving Image and the Paley Center for Media will join forces to celebrate Sinatra’s legacy as a performer on the big screen and on television. From the 1940s to the 1980s, he made more than 60 films. After his early success for MGM in a number of lightweight musicals, he lobbied for the substantial dramatic role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity, and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He then showed his range in a surprising variety of roles—in comedies, melodramas, gangster films, action movies—revealing surprising depth and ambition as an actor. In September, The Paley Center for Media will present a number of television specials, focusing on Sinatra’s collaboration with the Count Basie Band. For more information, visit paleycenter.org.
August 12–September 4 
Source Sinatra Family News

General

Edgewater Resident Christen Satchelle Named a Contender in Global Singing Talent Search

Leave a comment

Avon Voices Voting Begins Soon!  Help Make Dreams Come True for Your Hometown’s Singing Sensation

 Edgewater, NJ – May 11, 2011 – Local Edgewater resident, Christen Satchelle, has been named a Round 1 Contender in Avon Voices, Avon’s first-ever global singing talent search. Christen was selected as one of the more than 175 global Contenders, from over 50 countries, who have just completed professional recording sessions in either Nashville, Paris, Hong Kong or Rio, with performance videos available for voting at AvonVoices.com starting April 22.   Ultimately, the public vote and the vote of the celebrity judging panel will determine two women – one an Avon Representative – who will receive an opportunity to record a professionally-produced album.

 Edgewater residents can participate in Avon Voices and help Christen advance to the next round by logging on to AvonVoices.com. Registration is open now and voting begins on April 22nd.  Continue reading Edgewater Resident Christen Satchelle Named a Contender in Global Singing Talent Search →

General, Live On Stage, Our Community

GILBERT GOTTFRIED IN JERSEY CITY APRIL 14TH

Leave a comment
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried brings laughter to the Jersey City Waterfront on Apirl 14th, 2011
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried brings laughter to the Jersey City Waterfront on Apirl 14th, 2011

  Jersey City, New Jersey -National talent and recent controversial joke maker Gilbert Gottfried  headlines  Thursday, April 14th, 2011 at Michael Anthony’s dazzling Waterfront Restaurant in Jersey City, New Jersey.  Host John “Nutsy” Fagan, another Jersey City Resident, will be on hand to warm up the evening.

After spending several years mastering the art of stand-up comedy, producers of the legendary NBC late night comedy show Saturday Night Live became aware of Gottfried and, in 1980, hired him as a cast member. It wasn’t until a few years later when his true notoriety would begin when MTV hired him for a series of improvised and hilarious promos for the newly formed channel. This led to several television appearances on “The Cosby Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman.”

Continue reading GILBERT GOTTFRIED IN JERSEY CITY APRIL 14TH →

General, Our Community

Bayonne Women’s Club Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day

Leave a comment

By Evelyn Bonilla

 

women-on-bridgeOn Tuesday, March 8, 2011 the Bayonne Woman’s Club-BWC; celebrated “International Woman’s Day” in Bayonne Park. The event which was organized by the BWC celebrates the many strives and achievements of women throughout the years. On this day, women from all over the world stood on bridges to acknowledge, International Women’s Day’s 100th Anniversary (1911-2011). In commemoration of this day the Bayonne Woman’s Club, gathered together and stood on a small bridge in Bayonne Park with candles lit in celebration of this day

 

The Bayonne Woman’s Club was formed by Mary Dunlap-Beales and Mary Kay Tokar both Bayonne natives-the club was formed to unite women together. It allows women of all diversities to get to know each other and to shares their opinions and ideas about the community. Mary Dunlap Beales explains, “We are in a new era in Bayonne, a great era! The Bayonne Women’s Club gives us a chance to get to know each other and to learn from each other, there is no political agenda what so ever. It’s just a place for women of all diversities to get together and share their goals; for themselves and their community.” Continue reading Bayonne Women’s Club Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day →