by Sally Deering

Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe lit up the silver screen with her simmering sexuality, bootyliscious bod and a killer smile that warmed film-lovers hearts.  Playing the bubble-headed blonde roles producers cast her in, Monroe delivered sex-appeal by the D-cupful with an added twist of vulnerability, like her character Sugar Kane in “Some Like it Hot.”  When Sugar tells “girl musicians” Josephine and Daphne, (played Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon,)  “I’m tired of getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop,” the chord strikes like an arrow threw the heart and although the line belongs to writer/director Billy Wilder and his co-writer I.A.L. Diamond, the delivery is all Marilyn.

We lost Marilyn Monroe in 1962 to a pill overdose, but her memory lives on in her films and the merchandizing of her image stamped on everything from pocketbooks to postage stamps. You can’t pass a souvenir shop without seeing Monroe’s heavy-lidded eyes and ruby red pucker plastered on T-shirts, pocketbooks, pens, lighters, even coffee mugs – ah, the price of fame.

But Marilyn Monroe was more than just an icon of sexuality. Underneath her platinum-blonde persona, she was a thinker, a smart sugar cookie who took the craft of acting seriously, moving to New York to study “The Method” with Lee Strasberg and challenging herself in complicated film roles. She was intelligent and curious and according to several biographers, Monroe was an avid reader and nourished her mind with good literature.  Writer Joyce Carol Oates even penned a piece about a chance encounter with Marilyn Monroe in the Strand bookstore in New York City back in the 1950s.  In her short-story collection, “I Am No One You Know,” Oates – a college-student at NYU at the time – observed the star poring over book stacks and aware of her fear of being noticed as Marilyn Monroe, Oates’ character offers to handle Monroe’s cash transaction at the register and hands the star her book purchases outside the store.
 
Just recently, Monroe’s love of books and the merchandizing of her image have melded together for a good cause thanks to Tony Lambiase of Jersey City, who recently donated his collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia to the Jersey City free Public Library at a time when New Jersey libraries face budget cuts and capital improvement projects need funding.  Lambiase’s donation includes a life-sized statue of Monroe picked up in a store in Pennsylvania – a gift to him from friends; a sign discovered on a deserted building;  and a framed grouping of  Marilyn Monroe postage stamps circa 1995 issued by the U.S. Post Office. 
 
“I’ve been collecting Marilyn Monroe items since 1990,” Lambiase says. “It started when my sister-in-law bought me a cigarette lighter with Marilyn Monroe’s picture on it.”

The Jersey City Library, like libraries across the state, has been facing budget cuts in a measure to reduce New Jersey’s deficit.  Employees may be laid-off or given work furloughs – unpaid days off – and if the state does any more downsizing in its effort to slim down spending, some branches may even close.

A recent grassroots effort led by state librarians, library workers and supporters helped restore $4.2 million to the New Jersey budget for library programs. According to a post on savemynjlibrary.org, “delivery of materials between libraries will continue for this budget year.  Also, access to the EBSCO databases that many residents and students rely on will continue. In the proposed New Jersey FY 2011 Budget, state aid for municipalities is being reduced in a time when tax revenues are also decreasing.   Although municipal library funding is a small percentage of a municipality’s budget, typically less than 3%, many towns are feeling pressures with shrinking tax revenues and are looking to reduce library funding to find relief.”

With foresight and sound-decision making, Jersey City Library Director Priscilla Gardner started the Jersey City Library Foundation in 2004 as a safety-net to fund capital improvement projects for the library. The Foundation’s last fundraising campaign brought in $222,000 for a bookmobile and their latest project is the installation of security cameras in all Jersey City library branches for employee and patron safety. The money raised from the Marilyn Monroe memorabilia will help support this project.
 
“Along with Cynthia Harris of the New Jersey Room, we are working on determining the best way to market the material,” Gardner, who also serves as the Library Foundation’s executive director says. “In that way, the Lambiase Marilyn Monroe Collection is properly presented and his interest in helping the Jersey City Free Public Library is full executed.”

Cynthia Harris, manager of the New Jersey Room – a repository of papers and photographs documenting the history of Jersey City and all the towns in Hudson County – is curator of the Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, researching its value, which at this point is at the early stage.
 “I wouldn’t begin to guess on the value,” Harris says, “but anyone who’s a fan of Marilyn will find something to catch their heart. I’m intrigued by that life-sized statue of Marilyn in her white dress from ‘The Seven Year Itch.’ I think it’s very cool and some of the pictures are really nice. There’s enough variety that anybody who’s a fan will find something to tickle their fancy or something that will add to their collection.”
 
Lambiase’s Marilyn Monroe collection – 20 pieces in all — will be featured at the Library Foundation’s annual Fall fundraiser where guests will be able to bid on the items in a silent auction with all proceeds going to the capital improvements project.
 
And one can just imagine somewhere in the universe, where stars burn their brightest, Marilyn Monroe – the sexy, dazzling and bubbly-blonde who indeed had a brain – smiles that killer smile,  thrilled that her image will help nourish people’s minds and not just hold their coffee.

The post Saving the Stacks with a Stacked Hollywood Blonde first appeared on River View Observer.

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.

Franklin has sat behind the mic for some 300,000 interviews with the Who’s Who of Hollywood — Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and practically every superstar in between. But it wasn’t just the big names that interested Franklin. New York City was his hometown and Franklin knew first-hand how young actors, singers and comics were struggling for their first break. So between the glamorous glitterati, Franklin interviewed unknown up-and-comers. Some never went any further than Franklin’s show, but others like comic Bill Cosby, singers Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand and actress Julia Roberts saw their careers take off and became superstars.

 At 83, the dapper “boy from ‘da Bronx” is still going strong. His radio show “Memory Lane,” broadcasts Saturday nights at midnight on WOR, 710-AM and he hosts weekly interviews with celebrities for Bloomberg Radio’s “Lifestyles.”

An authority on the world of show business from the days of silent films, Franklin has written 23 books on the stars and how some of them played a role in his life. He interviewed so many stand-up comics, he wrote a book about them, too. Carving out his niche as talk show host cum celebrity, Franklin even played himself in films like “Ghostbusters” and “Broadway Danny Rose.” And now, the accolades are rolling in. The Theater Museum honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a dinner held at the Players Club, last October, and he was honored by the Museum of Broadcasting for his contribution to television. And to many New Yorkers, he’s still the man to see when you’re trying to break into the biz.

The Open Door Policy

Franklin’s office is in a busy theatrical building that shadows the Theatre District west of Broadway, a building where the business of show is conducted on a daily basis. Walk through the halls and you’re likely to see audition postings on office doors and the halls filling up with dancers, singers and actors waiting to be called in to perform a monologue or sing 8-bars for the director or casting agent. It’s a building like so many others in Manhattan and before you even get to Franklin’s office, you feel that show biz electricity in the air. When you reach his door, it’s slightly ajar as if to say “Come in, have a seat and we’ll talk!”

Stepping inside Franklin’s office is like entering a catacomb of memorabilia crowded with piles of books, celebrity photographs, magazines and papers. Shelves line most of the walls with record albums from Franklin’s days as a DJ spinning “33s” for New York’s insomniacs, lonely-hearts and night-shifters who tuned in to his radio program back in the day. Franklin still keeps warehouses filled with memorabilia he has collected throughout his years, with enough nostalgic ephemera to fill several museums.

At the far side of the room, Franklin holds court at a small desk – his two phones ringing constantly with press agents and publicists looking to book their clients on his radio show.  He doesn’t have a computer or a talent coordinator and does all the bookings himself.

“I never solicited a guest,” Franklin says between calls, “never called one guest to appear on my show. They all came to me.”

Among his favorites, he says, were five U.S. Presidents, Cary Grant and Charlie Chaplin. He had Frank Sinatra on four times.

“He was charming,” Franklin says. “He spoke what he spoke, ‘dese, dems and doughs,’ but when he sang, he was like a different person.”

And the stars keep coming. This week, for his Bloomberg Radio show, Franklin booked Lily Tomlin, Andy Williams, Dick Van Patten and his best friend from childhood, Tony Curtis, who’s plugging a new book.  When interviewing celebs, Franklin says, “get the plug out of the way fast. They’re always nervous about what they gotta plug, once that’s done, they can relax.”

It’s a late Thursday afternoon and Franklin’s friend, 56 year-old aspiring actor Frank DiGiovanni has been visiting and helps answer phones and greet visitors.  When they walk through the open door, some Franklin knows and some he doesn’t, but whether they’re stopping in to say hello or plug their act – Franklin greets each one with a smile and a handshake.

“DJ Patty” and “DJ Anthony” a mother and son mobile disc jockey act from Long Island are visiting Franklin with the hope he might help them break into the Manhattan scene. DJ Patty, a vivacious blonde, shows Franklin a picture of herself with Robert DeNiro from the time she DJ’d a party for the “Casino” cast. Franklin seems genuinely interested and invites her to sit and schmooze.

“He’s a legend,” DJ Patty gushes. “I watched his show all the time.”

And while DJ Patty puts on the charm, Franklin’s old buddy Remo Capra strolls through the door. Capra talked about the time he sang with the Tommy Dorsey band in 1956 and recorded an album with Frank DeVol at Columbia records.

“I used to go on Joe’s show all the time,” Capra says. “Those were good times.”

And then Tommy “G” from Bayonne bursts through the door with some buddies.

“I met Joe through my cousin, they were very good friends,” Tommy “G” says after shaking hands with Franklin and exchanging hellos. “I call him on the phone and stop by and say hi whenever I’m in the neighborhood.”

So do a lot of people.

“This is typical,” DiGiovanni says.. “They come to talk with Joe or to network.”

A New York Landmark

Joe Franklin is a New York original who shooed away offers to leave the urban landscape for the glitz and glam of Hollywood. He’s a “Regular Joe” who still gets a kick out of being recognized on the street and hearing cab drivers tell him they learned English from watching his show.

“I was told I should relocate to the West Coast, but I didn’t want to drop the New York Beat,” Franklin says.

He’s a New York landmark, a TV pioneer who has given thousands of people their shot – and he’s not done yet. As the phones keep ringing, Franklin sits in his chair booking guests and sharing anecdotes with the people chatting away in his office. This is his world – schmoozing with big names and meeting new faces and Franklin, looking delighted at all the activity, stops for a moment and asks, “Anyone want coffee?”

His guests say “Yes,” coffee orders are taken and everyone settles in for a schmooze-fest;  just another typical day in the life of “America’s First Talk Show Host.”

The post Joe Franklin- Amercia’s First Talk Show Host “Memory Lane” January 22nd, 1983 first appeared on River View Observer.

But in Hudson County-He’s it!!    

Although Frank Sinatra died over 11 years ago, his legend, and music and escapades as an entertainer on and off the stage and screen live on. Especially in Hudson County where stories about the boy from Hoboken are passed down from parents to children. In Hudson County we love Frank Sinatra .Everyone has a Sinatra story – it really is -Six degrees of Frank Sinatra here. You hear things like “Frank was at my mother’s wedding,” or “they say he use to ride the streets of Hoboken late at night in his limo, remembering the good old days. And   there isn’t a restaurant in Hudson County that doesn’t have  some kind of photo of Frank. Yep, In Hudson County we love Frank- here is a bio on Hudson County’s favorite son.       

Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Frank Sinatraâ€s father was a firefighter and amateur boxer named Martin Anthony Sinatra while his mother, Natalie Sinatra had political aspirations. Over the next eighty years Frank Sinatra was a singer, actor, director and producer who entertained generation after generation all over the world.Maybe it was due to the fact that his father was an amateur pugilist, but Sinatra wanted to become a sportswriter when he was young. Frank Sinatraâ€s first job was as an office boy in the Hudson Observer. It was supposed to be his apprenticeship where he picks up the tricks of the trade. But once he heard the voice of Bing Crosby on radio, he changed his mind and decided that he would become a singer. Along with a few pals he formed the Hoboken Four.

Frank Sinatra was known as Ol†Blue Eyes to his fans. One of the first entertainment superstars the world has known. Frank Sinatraâ€s songs have a timeless beauty to them. Sinatraâ€s hit songs include “Strangers in the Night”, “The Lady is a Tramp”, “New York, New York” and “Chicago.” He was the first ever star to have teenage girl fans scream at him in public. The word bobbysoxer was coined around this time.

Frank Sinatra, the actor refused to be typecast or slotted into any particular category. He acted in serious movies such as “The Manchurian Candidate,” “From here to Eternity” capers such as Oceanâ€s Eleven and outrageous musicals such as “Guys and Dolls” and “Pal Joey.” He went on to act in more than fifty films.

Frank Sinatra is a ten time Grammy award winner, two time Golden Globe winner and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “From Here to Eternity.” He also won an honorary Oscar for his work on “The House I Live In” which was a short film advocating racial equality and secularism. Apart from these he also won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award and Cecil B DeMille Award. National achievements included Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award, Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Another legacy of Frank Sinatra was the legendary Rat Pack. It comprised his close friends in the entertainment business. The Rat Pack included Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Milton Berle and Tony Curtis.

It will be an understatement to say that Sinatra had a busy love life. At various points in time he was married to Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow and Barbara Marx. When Frank Sinatra married Mia Farrow, he was thirty years older than her. His lovers included Lauren Bacall, Juliet Prowse and Dorothy Provine. Sinatra was to be married to Bacall but he called it off when he realized that the press had heard of their engagement.

But it was not only milk and honey for Sinatra. The Frank Sinatra file in the FBI is in excess of two thousand pages. He was plagued with mob affiliations throughout his career. It is rumored that the character of Johnny Fontane in the book “Godfather” was inspired by Sinatra. Frank Sinatra lost his gambling license in Nevada after he was seen in the company of Sam Giancana. Giancana was at the time accused of ordering the killing of more than two hundred people.

Another Sinatra fan was the infamous Lucky Luciano. Frank Sinatra, Jr. was kidnapped in 1963. It was only on the payment of ransom money by his father that he was released. For his part Frank Sinatra has steadfastly denied his alleged mob links throughout his life.

Frank Sinatraâ€s children have all done work that keeps their illustrious fatherâ€s legacy intact. His daughter Nancy Sinatra was an actress and she wrote two books about Frank. His son Frank Sinatra Jr, was the conductor in his fatherâ€s orchestra. Frank Sinatraâ€s youngest daughter, Christina Sinatra produced a mini series on the life of her father.

Though Frank Sinatra announced his retirement in 1971, there was no way that his fans would let him stop. He appeared in numerous television serials and movies throughout the 1980â€s. In 1993 and 1994 he released two albums called Duets I and Duets II which comprised his songs with other artists over the years. These turned out to be his highest ever selling albums. He even went on to the win the Grammy for Duets II. Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998.

Anish Chandy

The post Hudson County’s Favorite Son-Frank Sinatra first appeared on River View Observer.