Deaths in July 2022-- Part 8: Abe, Sirico, Sorvino, Trimble, Dow, Nichols and Russell

SHINZO ABE, 67

**  Japan's longest-serving prime mnister, he was also perhaps the most polarizing complex politician in recent Japanese history.  Died July8.

TONY SIRICO, 79

**  He played mobster Paulie Walnuts in "The Sopranos" and brought his tough-guy swagger to films including "Goodfellas."  Died July 8.

PAUL SORVINO, 83

**  An imposing actor who specialized in playing crooks and cops like Paulie Cicero in Goodfellas" and NYPD Sgt. Phil Cerreta on "Law and Order."  Died July 25.

DAVID TRIMBLE, 77

A former Northern Ireland first minister who won the Nobel Peace Prize for playing a key role in helping end Northern Ireland's decades of violence.  Died July 25.

TONY DOW, 77

**  As Wally Cleaver on the sitcom "Leave It to Beaver," he helped create the popular and lasting image of the American teenager of the 1950s and '60s.  Died July 27.

I still like to watch those reruns.  And, then there was good old Eddie Haskell.

NICHELLE NICHOLS, 89

**  She broke barriers for black women in Hollywood as communiations officer Lt. Uhura on the original "Star Trek" TV series.  Diedd July 30.

Huge "Star Trek" fan.  I remember when I was a freshman at NIU and my roommate had a little 13-inch black and white TV and every day after dinner, about ten guys would crowd in the room to watch reruns of the show.

BILL RUSSELL, 88

**  NBA great who anchored a Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 championships in 13 years-- the last two as the first black head coach in any major U.S. sport -- and marched for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr.  Died July 31.

So, the movie "Goodfellas" lost three people within three months last summer.  And, then there was that other Sonny guy in "The Godfather" who died.  Not a good year to be a movie actor who played a mobster.

'The Godfather' Turns 50-- Part 1

From the February 27, 2022, Parade Magazine by Mara Reunstein.

Some of the questions that arose during the filming of this movie classic released fifty years ago were:

The cast is all wrong.

The tone is too somber.

It needs to be shorter.

Does it have to be set in the 1940s?

Those were just some of the questions Paramount Pictures executives had about the adaptation of Mario Puzo's gangster movie about a powerful Italian American family as it lumbered to its March 1972 release.

Director Francis Ford Coppola, who had co-written the big war biopic "Patton" after Elia Kazan and Arthur Penn turned it down.

Today Coppola's "The Godfather" is considered a true cinematic masterpiece and a pop culture touchstone.

It grossed $136 million in all, surpassed at the time only by "Gone With the Wind" and "The Sound of Music.  Adjusted for inflation, that's $711 million, making it the 26th highest-grossing film of all time.

Well, add another $6 to that when I had my own private showing at the Fox Lake Theatre.  (I was the only one in the theater back in March.  This was my first theater seen movie since February 28, 2020 for some reason.)

--CootBrando

50 Things About 'The Godfather'-- Part 2: 'Leave the Gun, Take the ...'

8.  The studio wanted "The Godfather" to be set in modern times (the 70s back then) and perhaps Kansas City to save in the budget, but Coppola insisted on keeping it in New York from 1945 to 1955.  Aren't we glad he did.

9.  Actor Richard Castellano, playing Clemenza, improvised one of the most memorable lines in the film:  "Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

10.  Francis For Coppola's good friend, George Lucas was in charge of the montage of newspaper headlines and crime scene photos depicting the bloody war between the five families.

11.  Lucas' contributions was his way of saying thanks to his friend Francis, who helped raise funds for his "American Graffiti."

12.  Coppola's father Carmine is the piano player in the aforementioned montage.

13.  The combined salaries of Al Pacino, James Caan and Diane Keaton was $105,000.  They were each paid $35,000.

14.  Robert Duval was paid $36,000 for his two months of work.  He must have had a better agent.

--Cooter

Friday the 13th News of Note-- Part 5: Unlucky Day for "Joey the Clown" Lombardo

MAY 13, 1994:  The Bulls' Scottie Pippen sits out the final 1.8 seconds of a playoff game against the New York Knicks with the score tied because he is miffed that coach Phil Jackson has drawn up a play giving the last shot to Toni Kukoc.

The Bulls win when Kukoc hits the shot.

JANUARY 13, 2006:  FBU agents arrest "Joey the Clown" Lombardo in Elmwood Park.  The mob boss, on the lam for nine months, is apprehended after suffering from an abscessed tooth and going to his dentist, who turns out to be an FBI tipster.  What a world when you can't even trust your dentist.  Wondering if he got that tooth taken care of?

Sorry 'Bout That Scottie.  --DaCoot

Want to Call Al Capone?

The My Al Capone Museum website has a scetion of a 1923 Chicago phonebook with Al's phone number. Under the CAPONE name heading, it had: Al 7244 Prairie Ave and the number VIN (cus) 6149.

I'm not sure what the cus stood for, perhaps customer?

Hey, Al... --DaCoot

How Would You Like to Own Al Capone's House in Chicago?--

From the Dec. 25, 2008, Chicago Tribune "Notoriety could be a selling point" by Joel Hood.

"Want to own a notorious piece of Chicago history? The modest, red-brick home once owned by Al Capone is expected to hit the market this spring for an estimated $450,000, marking a new chapter for the infamous South Side landmark that has had just two owners since the death of Capone's mother in 1952."

Barbara Hogsette, 71, has owned the house since 1963, but plans to move to California.

The house has stood at 7244 Prairie Avenue for over a century. Cook County records show that Al Capone bought the home in August 1923 for $5,500.

Capone was in his early 20s when he moved to Chicago from Brooklyn but he already had bootlegging, gambling and prostitution rackets going on in town.

He wanted a safe haven for his mother Teresa and she and his wife Mae signed the deed. Nonetheless, Chicago police kept watch on the house and, in December 1927 were outside the home waiting to arrest Capone if he stepped outside. He later left and wasn't arrested, but continued his operations elsewhere for four more years before being arrested for tax evasion.

You can see pictures and get more information at the My Al Capone Museum site at www.myalcaponemuseum.com.

Al Capone Slept Here? --Cooter

Then, There Was Edward O'Hare, Butch's Father-- Part 2

On November 8, 1939, Butch's father, Edward O'Hare, who was president of Sportsman's Park Racetrack in Stickney, was gunned down in a gangland execution. He was also frontman for Al Capone's gang syndicate.

He had evidently double-crossed Capone. When Capone went to prison in 1932, he appointed O'Hare to run the racetrack. But five years later, while in federal prison, Capone learned that it was O'Hare who had cooperated with the government to send him to Alcatraz.

O'Hare lived in fear for his life the last two years of his life after he learned that Capone knew. About a week before Capone was released from prison, O'Hare was killed by two shotgun blasts in a high-speed chase along Ogden Avenue. His car crashed into a lightpole just west of Rockwell Street. Eight years later, Frank Wilson, one of the federal investigators who got Capone (and later chief of the Secret Service) wrote of O'Hare: "On the inside of the gang, I had one of the best undercover men I have ever known, Eddie O'Hare."

--DaCoot

Jazz Age Gangsters-- Part 2: "...Beegest an' Highest Men in the Ceety."

And, the gangsters had many powerful public men in their pocket. South Side mobster "Diamond Joe" Esposito, involved with bootlegging, prostitution and racketeering, celebrated his son's christening in 1925 with guests including two sitting judges, a former judge, the clerk of probate court and a U.S. senator.

He bragged, "My fren's are de beegest an' highest men in the ceety."

Three years later he was killed in a drive-by shooting while sitting on his front steps. The day he died, U.S. Senator Charles Deneen praised Esposito as a loyal and generous friend.. The day of the funeral, the senator's house was bombed.

There are a lot more interesting stories in the article.

-- DaCoot

Jazz Age Gangsters-- Part 1: Some Things Don't Change Much

From the August 4, 2013, Chicago Tribune "Chicago Flashback: Chicago's Jazz Age gangsters were covered like celebrities" by Ron Grossman.

Chicago headlines from the 1920s and 1930s like "6 Wounded in 4 Gun Affrays; Gangs Fight Running Battle" could very well still be used today what with all the shootings, drive-bys and murders in Chicago.

I wonder what the death and wounded toll will be after this Labor Day weekend? Chicago streets are more dangerous than those in Afghanistan. And, we're fighting a war there.

And, Chicago streets were dangerous back in the 20s and 30s, especially if you were connected with any gangster activity. Only now, we have gangs of a different sort, but still involved in illegal activities.

The Tribune says even its reporters back then did not always report gangland activities appropriately. They would keep the public apprised of nicknames like "Mossy," "Big Steve" and "Dutch."

How About 'The Scourge?" --RoadDog

Gangland Violence at the Manning Hotel

From the Fall/Winter 2011 Hometown Heritage bulletin of the FoxLake-Grant Township Area Historical Society.

The Chain of Lakes here in northeastern Illinois has a long history of being a destination of gambling and drinking, even before the village incorporated in 1907. So, it was no big surprise to find that certain Chicago gangland sorts made their way out to the area, including Al Capone and his rival George "Bugs" Moran.

The two rivals supplied beer and alcohol throughout the Chain of Lakes region. The mobsters personal hideouts and speakeasies were located all over the lakes. Since they were competing for the same business, it is no surprise this led to violence.

It exploded June 1, 1930 when machine gun-toting gangsters carried out a hit at the Manning Hotel in Fox Lake (on Pistakee Lake). Five persons, including members of the Capone-allied Druggan gang were shot and three died.

This took place just one year after the more famous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. There were several witnesses, but the crime was never solved.

The Manning Hotel still stands today, but is a private home. I've heard that there are still bullet holes in the wall where the bar used to be, but have never been inside. Interestingly enough, it is located next door to the K.K. Hamsher Funeral Home.

No Copper's Gonna Get Me. Y'hear? --DaCoot

Al Capone's Gun

From the June 23rd Chicago Tribune.

Here in Chicagoland, practically every place standing in the 1920s was visited by Al Capone at least once in his life.

Well, last week his gun got $109,000 at Christie's Auction June 22nd.

That would be a Colt .38 revolver which, according to Colt records, was made in May 1929, just a few months after the famous St. Valentine's Day Massacre. So, he couldn't have used it there, even if he had been there.

It was expected to get between $81,000 and $113,000 and was sold by a private collector who had a personal letter from the widow of Al's brother Ralph Capone confirming that the gun had "previously belonged to and was only used by Al Capone while he was alive."

The anonymous successful buyer bid online.

Al Slept Here and Shot Here. --Cooter