Page 9 - Italian-American Herald - March 2023

IN MEMORIAM
ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
MARCH2023 | ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM 9
there?,” she said. “I thought you were here with me.”
I laughed. “Jerry’s an entertainer. And it’s good publicity for me.”
So, yeah, sometimes he exaggerated.
It is true he did some favors for the mob, but he did favors for everyone
else. If a mayor asked him to entertain at a city event, Jerry didn’t charge.
Charities got help, too.
He got a lot of grief from
my friends in the press when
he pointed out reporters and physically blocked them from
getting into the funeral of mob boss Angelo Bruno.
I told him he bought himself a lot of ill will from journalists.
“He was like a father to me and I didn’t want them turning it into a circus,” he said.
Loyalty over self-interest.
That was the man. Icon and legend.
He was loyal to his friends, devoted to his
daughters, and always respectful to the artists, mostly Black, who created the doo-wop music he loved so much. And his long-time love Keely.
We had a running gag. “What can I do for you, my pal?” He would say.
“Play the Del-Vikings,” I would reply. They were big in the ‘50s, the era that Jerry loved best. He always hated the British invasion for ending the doo-wop era.
So now he’s spinning in Heaven, entertaining the angels and hanging with music makers who preceded him.
So long, Geator. We are so much poorer without you. IAH
It is true he did some favors for the mob, but he did favors for everyone else.
If a mayor asked him to entertain at
a city event, Jerry didn’t charge.
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