As the editor of the Chautauqua Lake Pops blog I am excited to announce that we are only 6 online signatures away from realizing 1,000 signatures in support of the Pops.  Though the online petition shows us to be several 100 away from reaching 1,000 signatures we are much closer than one might think.  The reason being .. 389 signatures were acquired from the paper petitions that were put into circulation last Thursday!    

If you attended the ribbon cutting at Mayville's Farmer's Market, you would have seen me next to the Mayville-Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce table gathering signatures.  In just 5 days we gathered 389 signatures from several Mayville locations which were then added to the online petition signatures bringing us closer to 1,000 names!

Be one of the 6 more names to reach 1,000 Pops enthusiasts. When you go online to vote you can read the many comments that express how important the Pops is to the Village of Mayville and to the Chautauqua Lake region.  The Pops is an economic driver!  

On a personal note, we have all been through a very difficult year with many losing their lives to the pandemic.  If you are one of the lucky ones, pat yourself on the back for making it through 2020.  A year that didn't allow us to be with friends and family!

Having the Pops back in 2021 will be a welcome sight!  

A special thank you to Sorena Gilkinson, Mayville-Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce for posting the change.org link which has resulted in a ground-swell of support for the beloved Pops.  The Pops has a 20 year history in Bemus Point. Those of you who experienced the Pops during those 20 years know how very special it was then and will continue to be in the years to come!  The seasons in Bemus Point lead up to a Labor Day finale with the Bemus Bay Pops Symphony Orchestra on the floating stage in the latter years.  

The one word that best describes those evening finales was .. magical!  

In 2019, when the Pops appeared in Mayville for the first season the finale featured Scott Keo who made you think you were at a Michael Buble concert.  Now, in 2021 the finale will be a tribute to Motown with a group entitled Sounds of the Sixties backed up by the Chautauqua Lake Pops Symphony Orchestra. It will be another magical evening.  Take my word!  

Music Matters .. now, more than ever!

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse

 

 

https://www.change.org/p/community-members-and-businesses-help-keep-the-chautauqua-pops-in-mayville?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_29404590_en-US:7&recruiter=1211340579&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

The 500 mark has been reached! Please continue to sign the online petition as the Pops is  very close to reaching 1,000 names in addition to the paper petitions that were placed at various locations.  Please share the change.org link through the 4th of July weekend. 

Music matters .. now, more than ever!

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse

 

To my viewership,

I wish to thank each and every one of my Chautauqua Lake Pops viewers whom, to date, number 10,720 views since the Pops blog was officially launched in February 2019. 

I have now added a follow feature to the Pops blog. By doing so, you will be notified when I have posted a new story.

Thank you.

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse 

#popslove

 

This photo was recently taken while in the offices of Stewart's Mayville Hardware.  I wanted to share this with my viewership as a reminder that this local business in Mayville is just one of several businesses lending their support to the Pops.  The Pops helps their businesses by bringing in locals and out-of-town patrons to the Village of Mayville. 

Stop by the hardware and sign the petition that applies to you .. Village of Mayville Residents, Non-Village of Mayville Residents, Village of Mayville Businesses or Non-Village of Mayville Businesses.

Thank you.

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse 

 

The Palace Theatre 

1923-1987

The roots of the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts reach back as far as the Roaring Twenties!  The theater now operated by The Reg was first opened in Jamestown, New York on February 5, 1923, as The Palace Theatre.  It was a "high-class vaudeville house".  In its first three years, the theater would typically show short comedy and feature films before and after its twice-daily vaudeville performances.

In 1926, The Palace and its facility was purchased by businessman Nikitas Dipson who continued its usual programming of film and vaudeville shows until he secured a 20 year lease making The Palace a Warner Brothers theater.  This meant a slow phasing out of live performance and an increase in film screenings.  By 1934, films were the only entertainment available on a regular basis.  Once the lease with Warner Brothers was concluded in 1950 Dipson, now doing business as Dipson Theatres, once again took over management of The Palace.  Soon after, an extensive remodel to the facility took place which saw the installation of new heating and cooling systems, carpeting, wall coverings and new seats.  At the reopening of the theater, Dipson announced his intention to continue presenting first-run films of the highest quality, but to also return to some of the theater's original programming such as stage shows, orchestras and vaudeville performances.

One of The Palace's finest moments came in 1956, when it hosted the world premiere of Forever Darling, starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.  The comedy couple visited Jamestown, Ball's birthplace, to attend the screening, drawing thousands of adoring fans downtown and to the theater to welcome the Hollywood stars during their Western New York visit.  

Unfortunately, the Palace's golden years would not last.  In the following decades, the theater experienced a decline in attendance and deterioration to its equipment and to the building, itself.  At that time, the name Philip Morris entered the picture and as executive director of the Chautauqua County Arts Council he contacted his friend, Harry Chapin about doing a performance in Jamestown to raise awareness about the current condition of The Palace.  

In June of 1981, The Palace featured Chapin live in concert which was the first live performance show to be held in the theater in 25 years!  The concert experience was marred for artist and audience, alike, due to a leaky roof which allowed rain water to enter the theatre during the performance.  This prompted Chapin to offer a return to Jamestown for another concert, though as a fundraiser, if the community would organize an effort to save and repair the building.  Sadly, Chapin's second performance was not to be.  Chapin was tragically lost in a car accident the following month.  

However, Chapin's encouragement truly sparked the beginnings of a local push to save The Palace.  

Thank you, Harry Chapin.

A group of citizens, with the help of the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency and the Gebbie Foundation, banded together to repair and clean up the theater.  By October 1982, the theater was once again ready to host performances.  

In February 1987, the $3.35 million Palace Civic Center capital campaign was started to completely renovate the old Palace.  Enter The Reginald and Elizabeth Lenna Foundation which made an early donation of $1 million and by the Fall season the campaign had exceeded its goal by raising $3.5 million. In 1998, The Palace was officially renamed the Reg Lenna Civic Center.  

A renovation began in 1989 which included the removal of all seats for reupholstering, a reconstruction of the orchestra pit, the installation of new stage lighting and equipment, new curtains and house lights, handicapped seating, a new stage door and loading dock, new floor coverings and stage floor, a new stage entrance and new heating and cooling systems.  Additionally, artwork that was original to the theater was repaired and cleaned.

So, on October 12, 1990 the beautifully restored, 1,269-seat Reg Lenna Civic Center held its grand reopening and soon after received a League of Historic American Theatres Award for the quality and workmanship of its grand restoration.  

Construction on the master plan to renovate all of The Reg facilities was completed in December 2018. 

In February 2000, the community lost a great friend and benefactor with the passing of Reg Lenna.  His wife, Betty, passed in 2011. 

Thank you, Reg and Betty Lenna.  We, as residents of Jamestown and of the County, are eternally grateful. 

Editor's Note:  Due to my vast interest in historical places which includes historical theatres, I chose to share The Palace and its history.  The, now, Reg Lenna Civic Center and the Chautauqua Lake Pops (formerly the Bemus Bay Pops) continues to be an entertainment venue for all who enjoy the arts.  The former Palace and the Pops truly have many things in common as entertainment venues.  A Pops slogan through the years comes to mind .. Bringing the Arts to the People.  It, too, can be applied to The Reg.

Thank you, Dan and Sue Dalpra.

Pat Locke 

Maestro Muse

 

Getting Ready to Launch the 2021 Pops Season

Music matters, now more than ever!  

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse 

Chautauqua Lake Pops By the Shore

Petitions will be available to sign showing your support of the Chautauqua Lake Pops at the Farmer's Market in the park on Erie Street in Mayville tomorrow, June 24th. Come by for a free Pops poster and share with us why you love the Pops.  

The Chautauqua-Mayville Chamber has provided a link to sign the petition, online.  

https://www.change.org/p/community-members-and-businesses-help-keep-the-chautauqua-pops-in-mayville?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_29404590_en-US:7&recruiter=1211340579&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

Thank you. See you in Mayville.

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse 

Music matters .. now more than ever!

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse

 

Bemus Point Takes You Back to Yesteryear

By Carl Francis Penders (2010), travel writer from West Seneca NY


When Dan Dalpra bought the Bemus Point Shoreline Diner in 1992 and converted it into The Italian Fisherman with the idea of offering outdoor dining, his plans were met with something less than enthusiasm.  He was regularly reminded that "no one eats outdoors."

Today, however, driving the entrepreneurial engine propelling Bemus Point's emergence as one of Western New York's most popular resorts, Dalpra's primary challenge is keeping up his ever-expanding vision.

Dalpra and his colleagues have turned Bemus Point, one of Chautauqua Lake's two pedestrian communities .. the other is the Chautauqua Institution .. into a family-fun and entertainment destination.  The Italian Fisherman serves excellent steaks, seafood and pastas in a welcoming waterfront setting.

In 1998, with the goal of making Bemus Point a destination, the 40-member Bemus Bay Pops was born on the roof of The Italian Fisherman drawing thousands to the shore.  Recognizing the roof's limitations as a concert venue, Dalpra looked out to the lake and on the water found a home for his orchestra and an outlet for his creativity conceiving the world's original floating stage.  People come on foot and boat to the 60x60 structure taking in shows like Chautauqua Lake Idol, the Pops and a variety of acts throughout the summer.

Light the Lakes is the latest Bemus Point initiative, a Labor Day weekend fireworks extravaganza.  Described as one of North America's largest displays, fireworks are launched all around Chautauqua Lake at nearby Midway Park, Lakewood, Findley Lake and also in Barcelona, a Chautauqua County town on Lake Erie.  Visitors are drawn to Bemus Point and all around Chautauqua County from Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania and beyond for the weekend of activities highlighted by the massive fireworks over the water providing all with a super summer send-off and celebration!!

Of course, Bemus Point happens to be one heck of a cool haunt to simply hang out and plenty are content to do just that.  Carol Skillman is owner of the 102 year old specialty retail store bearing her name.  She says, "Everybody just loves to walk around the village. A walk around Bemus is also a stroll back in time."

The Hotel Lenhart, a landmark in operation since 1880, is a favorite for tourists and locals alike.  The Lenhart's 53 rooms ranging from large parlor types on the ground floor to single bed rooms on the top floor continue to draw guests returning through a family's third and fourth generations.

The Victorian-era dining room serves breakfast daily and off the lobby is a formal parlor where upon looking hard enough you'll find one of the hotel's few concessions to modern life, a television enclosed in a cabinet.  Adjacent to the parlor, the sun room, decorated with Charlotte Lucille Lenhart's artwork, grandmother of current owner John Lenhart Johnson is the choice for game players.  And featuring a rainbow-like array of rocking chairs, the Lenhart porch is an attraction for those intent on watching the world go by and soaking in a Bemus Bay sunset.

Taking you even further into yesteryear is the Stow-Bemus Point Ferry connecting the two Chautauqua Lake points since 1811.  Operating on summer weekends the ferry is a ride into a bygone era.  Once on Bemus Point grounds awaiting your arrival is The Village Casino, a hub for ice cream, lakeside dining and nighttime entertainment.  Upon leaving the Casino you will be greeted by the village park with its basketball courts and playground which provides a venue for games, classic boat, car and art shows.


"Bemus has a bit of Mayberry in it, with old-time values," says Laurie Miller, owner of the Bemus Point Inn, the classic diner known for its jumbo delicious cinnamon rolls and breakfasts.

I hope you enjoyed reading this 2010 historical article featuring all that was Bemus Point.  Fast forward to 2019 when we experienced a Pops' name change and location change.  The Chautauqua Lake Pops held its first official summer concert series in Mayville, NY behind the historic train depot.  In 2020, the difficult decision to cancel the Pops summer concert series due to COVID-19 was made by CEO and founder, Dan Dalpra.  Now, in 2021 Dan and his staff are making plans to relaunch the Pops for all to enjoy, again!  It's time!

Music Matters, now more than ever!

Pat Locke
Maestro Muse

 

The Belle and The Pops

Mat Stage at the Wheel in the Pilot House

The Distinctive Red Paddlewheel

The Chautauqua Belle at Days End

When you hear the Belle's distinctive whistle .. you know it is near and its red paddle wheel is churning the riverboat through the waters of Chautauqua Lake.  It's the Sound of Summer. 

Happy Summer, 2021 .. at the Pops!

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse

The Belle visited the Pops many times in Bemus Point.  It was always a special sight to see as it passed behind the stage with passengers onboard waving at the concert goers on the Pops lawn and on the decks of the Italian Fisherman.  

Dan's gift to us all was and continues to be the Pops..  Thank you, Dan for your incredible vision. 

Thank you for all you did in Bemus Point and continue to do for all of us in Mayville, the county seat.

When we all work together, we all succeed.

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse 

 

 

The Chautauqua Lake Pops is back and it will be better than ever!

As New York State continues to open up after the pandemic, our founder Dan Dalpra is committed to making this year's Pops .. one to remember!

It truly takes a village to bring the Pops to the shore and bring the arts to the people!  That village was Bemus Point and now it is Mayville, the county seat!

Thumbs Up, Dan!  

Music Matters, now more than ever!

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse

 

This quote is on the wall in the Pops Mayville office.

Thank you, Dan for bringing the arts to the people in Bemus Point and now in Mayville, the county seat.

Music Matters .. now, more than ever.

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse

 

The Andriaccio family has its roots in the mountain village of San Fele, a rural area of the Potenza Province and Basilicata region. Vito Andriaccio immigrated in the 1870s from San Fele to the Myrtle Neighborhood of Buffalo with his wife and nine children. Antoinette migrated to Buffalo at the age of two with her parents and sister from the village of Collepietro in the Abruzzi region of Italy.

Andriaccio's Restaurant has been serving the community and the many visitors that come to Chautauqua since 1982. The founders, Guy and Antoinette Andriaccio, along with their five children moved to Chautauqua in the late 70's, from Buffalo where Guy had owned a restaurant on Chippewa Street. They bought an old gas station on the corners of Rt. 394 and 33 across from Chautauqua Institution and opened their doors in February of 1982.

Over the 35 years in business, the restaurant has seen founders, Guy and Toni and their family help out in one way or another. A tradition continues today, as Nick and his wife Sally and their four children, maintain the Andriaccio name, quality and pride, still providing exceptional cuisine and service that made them so successful. We still use Grandmas old world recipes for our homemade dough and sauces, stirred with the "age old" large wooden spoon. We keep up with the ever changing food trends, and offer healthier choices along with gluten free options as well. We pride ourselves on offering local produce in season, growing our own fresh organic herbs.

Walk into Andriaccio's and what's most apparent, besides the sweet aromas of homemade dough and fresh tomato sauce, is the wealth of family and community memorabilia hanging in the enteryway: awards, newspaper clippings, family events, photos, reminders to the heart of Andriaccio's livelihood. And proving that family commitment can indeed endure in the face of progress, Nick and Sally's children - Amanda, Jacob, Justin and Abigail can be seen helping out on any night, finding their spirit in something unique.

Their Commitment to Excellence

As a Chef owned and operated restaurant, your enjoyment is certainly a matter of pride for us. We are committed to providing you with the very best in service and dining. As in any trade, excellence in dining is a journey that is enhanced over many years of passion and creativity in the culinary arts. Great food takes time and passion to prepare, and as such, all our food is prepared to order with the freshest and highest quality ingredients. We thank you, our customers, for your patronage and genuinely hope that you enjoy your dining experience with us as much as we have enjoyed sharing our love and passion for Great Italian Food!

This history was taken from the Andriaccio's website.  Thank you, Nick Andriaccio and family.

Nick with sons, Jacob and Justin and Grandpa Guy

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse 

 

2019

Celebrating Our First Season in Mayville on the Lake

 

2017

Celebrating 20 Spectacular Years from the Roof .. to the Lake .. to the Stars!

 

2016

Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Frank Sinatra and 19 Years of the Bemus Bay Pops

 

The Chautauqua Lake Pops wishes to work together to make a difference in our world and continue  ..  Bringing the Arts to the People.

Music Matters.

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse

 

Stewart's Mayville Hardware 

 

The Mayville Hardware in Mayville is now known as Stewart's Mayville Hardware located in the same location that it has been for over 60 years at 53 S. Erie Street. Owners, Craig and Sherry Stewart have been running things for the past several years and have evolved the business by having anything hardware related available for customers and by providing a new computerized system for easy and quick checkouts. The business couple wasted no time in making sure the staple of the Mayville community wouldn't fade from the local storefront scene.  Even before the closure under previous family ownership, the Stewarts began the purchasing process because Craig felt a pending closure would negatively affect other local businesses, including his own Sea, Land and Air business that specializes in landscaping work, kitchen and bathroom remolding plus repairs to boats and small airplanes. After an offer was put together and accepted, the Stewarts established a relationship with the sponsoring warehouse, Do It Best based out of Ft. Wayne Indiana and founded in 1945 by Arnold Gerberding. Do It Best Corp. is the second-largest co-op in the industry approaching $4 billion in annual sales.  

 

"A lot of people were glad that Mayville Hardware didn't close. Never owning or working in a retail store has taught me alot."

 

Sherry Stewart

 

The Stewart ownership of the Mayville Hardware continues a family legacy in which the Anderson family operated the store.  After initial operations were performed under new leadership, the Stewarts felt encouraged by the positive response of the village. Customers can still come to the hardware to get glass cut, windows glazed, screens replaced, keys made, pipe cut/threaded and more.  

 

"You buy it here; we can install it. Everyone keeps saying how glad they are that the place is still open."

 

Craig Stewart

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse

 

 

Webb's Captain's Table 

It all started with Paul Webb and Nadine Henderson.  Paul was from St. Petersburg, Florida and Nadine was from Corry, Pennsylvania.  As young kids, they both moved with their parents to Mayville NY, the county seat of Chautauqua County which sat at the North end of Chautauqua lake a few miles and several feet higher in elevation South of Lake Erie.  Paul was an athlete, Nadine a dancer.  Their story began around 1937, the year they both graduated from high school.  It all seemed to happen at once.  First, they were married blending their stories together and then they started honing their talents Paul as a ballplayer and Nadine as a tap-dancer with her partner and friend, Marmey Crandall.  Paul played for the local Moose Club and soon was invited to play for a county team known as the Lake Erie Redbirds.  He attracted so much attention from his performance on the field that a professional scout invited him to tryout for the St. Louis Cardinals!

Meanwhile, in her own realm on the dance floor, Nadine was also turning heads. After a successful performance on Major Bowe’s Talent Hour, a popular radio program of the time, Nadine was invited to tryout for the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes! Unfortunately, neither Paul nor Nadine ever made it to their auditions. A war was brewing in Europe. Germany invaded France, Belgium, and Norway. In Washington DC, a military draft was reinstated and Paul Webb was notified that his name had been drawn.  

Paul went to Europe and Nadine stayed in Mayville tending to the young family business which was a soda shop on Mayville's main street known as the Fountainette.  In 1944, Paul landed at Normandy under Nazi machine-gun fire.  He not only survived the invasion, but took twenty-nine German prisoners.  He fought with General Patton at the Battle of Bastogne.  When the war was over a bronze metal adorned his chest for acts of heroism in a combat zone.  Paul Webb returned to Mayville after proudly serving his country.

Ready to work and disciplined from wartime Paul and Nadine sold the Fountainette to make way for their dreams as candy-makers and restauranteurs.  They purchased a small cottage on the shores of Chautauqua Lake and began making chocolate suckers from their kitchen.  They later purchased The Mooring Bit, a small diner in Mayville that became Webb's Captain's Table.  In 1970, Paul and Nadine, with a family now beneath them, started construction on a lakeside motel.

From there came many changes and expansions to Webb's family business, but the groundwork had been laid. What started out as a venture in chocolate suckers grew to include not only the restaurant, the motel, the candy shop and a miniature golf course, but also various real-estate acquisitions in Florida including a second candy shop, rental medical offices, a gas station with convenience store and even a citrus grove! Though Paul passed in 1999 and Nadine in 2007, their imprint on the business remains firm and lasting, today.  The way they learned to entertain, to care, to listen and to provide -- it's all there, like they never left.  Today, the story of Webb's lives on through their five children, many grandchildren and the ever-extending company of great-grandchildren.

Paul and Nadine Henderson Webb's imprint on their restaurant business certainly remains firm and everlasting to this day thanks to their son, Ben; his wife, Amy and their 2 children, Teagan and Cord who will, hopefully, someday carry on the legacy of the Webb name for another generation and beyond. 

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse

 

The Lakeview Hotel and Restaurant 

Rick Newell, owner of The Lakeview Hotel and Restaurant is a 100% supporter of the Chautauqua Lake Pops.  He has maintained the lakefront property where the Pops is located, helped with advertising in the Buffalo market having grown up in Clarence, has willingly changed performance times at his restaurant to work with the Pops performance schedule. He has been involved with many local Mayville projects including being in the music business so he knows the importance of working together for the good of the community. 

 

It was amazing to witness the Pops presence making Mayville look busy like a 4th of July weekend. Even folks driving through town created a visual advertisement for the Mayville-Chautauqua region especially the lake area.  The Lakeview was able to manage traffic therefore people saw that the Pops wasn't a vehicle detriment.  Rick met out of town folks at his restaurant who really weren't familiar with the area, but they had heard about the Pops and decided to come see for themselves what we, as a community, had to offer its locals and visitors.  The Lakeview is directly across the street from the historic train depot and the Pops concert schedule for the summer season. He sees the Pops and all that it offers as helping him, not hurting him.

 

Rick truly feels the majority of residents in the Village of Mayville are 100% in favor of the Pops.  He feels this way because he knows that it brings business to town which helps the local economy and, in turn, promotes having fun in the summer. 

 

"The days of manufacturing are over!  Our biggest asset is the lake and tourism!  The majority of Mayville residents are positive-minded people who accept new changes that benefit their village which then allows positive community spirit to grow and thrive."

 

Rick Newell

Music Matters.

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse

 

 

2015

                              Celebrating 18 Years of Bringing the Arts to the People

 2014

Celebrating Music From Around the World .. 50 Years of The Beatles .. and 17 Years of the Bemus Bay Pops!

Music Matters.

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse

 Matter, Music and the Mind

"A rough sound was polished until it became a smoother sound which was polished until it became music."

Mark Strand, US poet laureate (1990)

"Music is the profoundest expression of nature. Music, the combiner, nothing more spiritual, nothing more sensuous, a god, yet completely human, advances, prevails, supplying in certain wants and quarters what nothing else could supply.  

Walt Whitman

"Music is a laboratory for feeling and time whose mysterious power both eclipses and illuminates all the other arts."

Philosopher Susanne Langer

"Music is the best means we have of digesting time. It is the sound wave of the soul."

Igor Stravinsky

"Music is at once the most wonderful, the most alive of all the arts."

Susan Sontag

"God has given us music so that above al it can lead us upwards.  Music unites all qualities:  it can exalt us, divert us, cheer us up or break the heardest of hearts with the softest of is melancholy tones."

Friedrich Nietzsche

"Music ... stands quite apart from all the other arts.  It is the universal language."

Arthur Schopenhauer

"That is the quality which dance music has no other.  It is as though some swift current of water swept you along with it.  It is magic music."

Virginia Woolf

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent."

Victor Hugo, poet

"After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."

Aldous Huxley

"Music, uniquely among the arts, is both completely abstract and emotional.  It has no power to represent anything particular or external, but it has a unique power to express inner states or feelings.  Music can pierce the heart directly.  It needs no mediation.

Oliver Sacks 

Celebrating music is celebrating life

..with one another..

No matter wherever or whenever you find it .. Music Matters.

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse

Sebastian Anzaldo as Frank Sinatra

Sebastian made his television debut as Sinatra in the summer of 2007 on the ABC hit show, The Next Best Thing, Who is The Greatest Celebrity Impersonator.  Sebastian came in 2nd to none other than Elvis! 

After Sebastian worked in Los Angeles for 14 years he relocated to The Entertainment Capitol of the World, Las Vegas where he discovered his knack for doing "Frank".  With a dedication to perfecting the art of Sinatra, everything was in place and Sebastian began doing one corporate events after another.  As word got out that there was a new 'Chairman' in town, he got the call to star in The Tribute To The Rat Pack show on the Strip.  This, in turn, led to the show entitled Barbra and Frank, The Concert That Never Was appearing at the Riviera Hotel and Casino and eventually onto the Bemus Bay Pops floating stage in Bemus Point NY. 

Thank you, Dan for bringing Sebastian as "Frank" and Sharon as "Barbra" to our corner of the world!  

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse

 

Susan Griffiths as the Iconic Marilyn Monroe

Susan is a TV actress and Marilyn Monroe look-alike who appears as the film legend in the Season Five episode of Quantum Leap titled Goodbye Norma Jean. She has been a Marilyn Monroe impersonator since her appearance in Legends in Concert (1991).

She was born on December 31, 1959 in Tustin California.  Looking like an A-list celebrity certainly has its perks, but looking like a celebrity who is widely regarded as one of the sexiest women who ever lived and getting paid for it?  Well, that's just incredible!

Ms. Griffiths has made an astonishing $4 million over the course of her career as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator.  Appearing on film, in advertisements and even at corporate events, Susan has been racking in cash for her uncanny resemblance to the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes star since the 80s. 

"People always told me I looked like Marilyn".

It wasn't until colleagues at a Macy's department store, where she was working at a cosmetics counter, urged her to audition for an impersonator agency that she decided to capitalize on her doppelganger status.

Susan had never even seen one of Maryilyn's movies until she was 21, but she decided to audition and sign with an agency.  She then honed an on-stage act that she performed in Hawaii and Las Vegas with the tribute show Legends in Concert. 

"I had to learn to sing."  Marilyn wasn't known for being an incredible singer.  It wasn't like I had to come up to the standards of Judy Garland, but I had to study with several vocal coaches".

"Marilyn" also had to speak like the Seven Year Itch bombshell, who was known for her sultry, breathy voice.  "At first it took a lot of practice to get Marilyn's mannerisms right, especially her breathy voice which was the hardest.  I spent hours pouring over her movies and practicing.  Now everything is just second nature".

For awhile in the late 80s and early 90s Susan retired her act, but couldn't avoid the call of being a celebrity look-alike forever.  She revisited impersonating Marilyn for the 1991 TV movie, Marilyn in Me. From there, she went on to play Marilyn several more times in film, most notably in the cult classic Pulp Fiction with John Travolta.  "Every time John saw me, he'd make comments about how similar I looked to Marilyn".

Though she takes pains to apply her make-up and bleach her brown hair to look like Marilyn's hair she insists she's had no surgery to further the likeness and often gets stopped on the street when she isn't done up. "People even approach me when I'm bare-faced and wearing a hat covering my distinctive hair, exclaiming how much I look like Marilyn". 

Susan continues to do her Marilyn act at private events charging $1,500 to $4,000 for a single appearance. 

"One of the most unbelievable moments was the night Kentucky billionaire, Steve Wilson, hired me as his date for the Kentucky Derby in 2010.  There was a red carpet and I had my own personal bodyguard.  It was an extraordinary evening".

Susan is thrilled she's had the chance to make a career out of her likeness to such a beloved celebrity.  

"Thanks to Marilyn, I've had a fabulous life.  I love my job and feel so blessed.  It's incredible how much attention I get from Marilyn fans". 

Susan appeared on the Bemus Bay Pops floating stage with the group called Guys and Dolls (Martin, Monroe, Streisand and Sinatra).

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse 

 

Andy DiMino as Dean Martin

Andy has been called "the quintessential crooner". After a varied career that took him to Hollywood clubs and Colorado ski lodges, the Southern California native moved to Las Vegas, where he discovered his inner Dean Martin. 

For the last several years, he has been one-third of A Toast to the Rat Pack with Sebastian Anzaldo as Frank Sinatra and Lambus Dean as Sammy Davis, Jr. 

"It's a really fun show. In theaters, we break it up into two sets.  During the first set, we focus on the individual performers.  Dean Martin usually opens the show with three songs then he turns it over to Sammy for three songs and Frank for three songs.  That way, each performer gets to do the solo numbers from the catalog."

Andy DiMino

Before the intermission, the trio comes together for a handful of songs  They return to the stage as The Rat Pack, with the three tuxedoed performers interacting and closing with "big finish numbers".  The six-piece band features a three-piece orchestra that hearkens back to the big band era.

DiMino grew up watching The Dean Martin Show  from 1965 to 1974, but he was a self-professed "child of the 1960s" during which time he  was raised on The Beatles. 

After a stint with bands, he stepped back to raise his son.  In 1990, DiMino relocated to Las Vegas and started working odd jobs ranging from a strolling minstrel/guitarist at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino to singing the Italian-American songs of Martin.  Then, he saw a Rat Pack tribute show at now-shuttered the Desert Inn in Paradise, Nevada.

"A light bulb went off in my head.  I thought, I could do this.  I like this music.  I like the comedy.  I like the era.  I'm already Italian."  The pros outweighed the cons and it made perfect sense.

DiMino studied all the music and read everything he could.  He picked up the mannerisms by watching DVDs of Martin's TV show.  Singing and performing weren't the hard parts.  Instead, DiMino admits he was a little leery about Martin's comedic side.  Andy had never done comedy before.  Dean Martin was a natural comedian.  Andy had done some musical theater.  

"These were such great characters. Through our show, we hope to remind the audience how much they loved the characters and music of that time and how it made them feel.  If we can do that, that's success for us.  We've done our jobs." 

Andy DiMino

Pat Locke, Maestro Muse