Issue 73

This issue is filled with celebrations, milestones and honors. On July 10 at 5:43 PM our daughter-in-law, Alison Frenkel Samtur, gave birth to our first grandchild, Ava May Samtur. Her father, Stuart, and his three brothers are as thrilled as we are at this beautiful 6-pound, 3-ounce little “peanut.” Hope this is the first of many more to come.

On May 19, 2011, DeWitt Clinton Alumni Association celebrated its 114th Reunion Banquet Program. It represented milestones because it honored the 10th anniversary of the class of 2001, the 25th anniversary of the class of 1986, and the 50th anniversary of my graduating class of 1961. About two hundred plus attended the event that took place in The Bronx (where else?) at the very end of Tremont Avenue at the Marina Del Rey. It was enjoyable meeting and greeting former classmates and others who came over and introduced themselves to me as current or former subscribers. In addition, this 114th reception honored four distinguished alumni: Frank Gilroy (’43), Stan Brooks (’43), Reginal Grier (’46), and Gerald Sheindlin (’51).

Frank Gilroy’s long and distinguished career includes writing, directing, and producing for television, films, and plays. His plays include the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Outer-Critics Circle Award-winning The Subject Was Roses. In addition, Gilroy wrote for TV shows such as Playhouse 90 and Studio One.

Stan Brooks wrote for the Clinton News. In 1962, Brooks joined New York radio station 1010 WINS. Three years later, the station decided to go “all-news” and put him in charge of the news department. Working in secrecy, Brooks assembled the air and editorial staffs, worked out the format, and on April 19, 1965 launched 1010 WINS as America’s first successful all-news station. He’s still on the job!

Reginald Grier served in the U.S. Army for 26 years in Italy and throughout Asia. In 1970, the former commander of the 127th Signal Battalion at Camp Casey, South Korea received the Yanqui County Medal, the highest medal South Korea awards foreigners for working in community affairs. Retiring as colonel, Grier began a second career as associate professor in accounting and law at William Patterson College in New Jersey.

Gerald Sheindlin served as an Acting Justice of the New York state Supreme Court from 1986 until 1999. From 1999 to 2001, he was the People’s Court judge on television. This Bronx boy actually married a familiar Brooklyn girl (inter-borough marriage?). Her name, Judge Judy, who now rules the airwaves (and probably the household). Gerald is also the author of two books, Genetic Fingerprinting: The Law and Science of DNA and Blood Trail.

On May 22, the annual Bronx Walk of Fame Inductees were honored for their hard work and accomplishments. They were: Chazz Palminteri, Charles Latibeaudiedre, Joy Bryant, and Irene Cara.

Chazz Palminteri has appeared twice on Broadway in A Bronx Tale, the captivating story of a kid growing up in the Belmont section of the borough. His recent sold-out engagements parallels his Broadway debut of the show in 1989. He went on to write the screenplay and co-star alongside Robert De Niro, who made his directorial debut with the film. Chazz is now on national tour with his critically-acclaimed one-man show, A Bronx Tale. He has more than 50 movies to his credit including The Usual Suspects, Bullets Over Broadway (Academy Award nomination), Analyze This, Hurlyburly, Mulholland Falls, Faithful, Pool Hall Junkies, The Perez Family, Jade, Diabolique, Down To Earth, And A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints.

Charles Latibeaudiere is an accomplished producer who helped redefine entertainment news coverage on TV and the internet as Co-Executive Producer of pop culture phenomenon, TMZ, the #1 source for entertainment news on the internet and a nationally syndicated hit TV show. As a Supervising Producer of the then-new (1995) Telepicture show , EXTRA, Charles was responsible for establishing the program’s award-winning coverage of the entertainment news, and EXTRA remains a hit after more than 17 years on the air. In 1997, Harvey Levin and Jim Paratore tapped Charles to help them create another Telepictures production, a TV version of their hit website TMZ.COM. Together they pulled a never-before-seen feat in entertainment: spinning off a #1 ranked website into a #1 ranked television program.

Joy Bryant in 2002 made an impressive made an impressive transistion from a model runway to the big screan with a breakthrough performance in Denzel Washington’s Awtwone Fisher, which garnered critical praise. Afterwards joy co-starred in the coming-of-age drama, Honey, and Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Joy also appeared in the Universal thriller, The Skeleton Way starring Kate Hudson. She starred in the Universal comedy Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins opposite Martin Lawrence, James Earl Jones, and Mike Epps. Joy can also be seen as Jasmine Trussel on NBC’s hiy show Parenthood.

Irene Cara as a teenager worked as a background vocalist for top names in the industry, but it was her breakout role in the acclaimed 1980 musical Fame that earned her the recognition as a star in her own right. The 1983 classic Flashdance garnered her an Academy Award for the best original song making Irene the first African-American female since Rita Moreno (West Side Story, 1961) and the first bi-racial female ever to win in any category. Irene is one of the most awarded artists of her generation, winning a Gollden Globe and Grammies both as a vocalist and a songwriter, a People’s Choice Award, an Obie Award as child for her work in the theatre.

Our famous Bronx Cemetery, Woodlawn Cemetery may become a National Historic Landmark. This 400-acre cemetery was founded during the Civil War (1963) by rich Manhattanites. This is the final resting place for celebrities and icon of industries. You can find Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, Miles Davis. Duke Ellington, Glenn Ford, Oscar Hammerstein, Lionel Hampton, Fiorello LaGuardia, Robert Moses, Herman Melville, and Orville and Wilbur Wright just to name a few. Our borough already boasts five National Historic Landmarks: the Bartow-Pell Mansion in Pelham Bay Park, the Lorillard Snuff Mill in the Botanical Gardens, the Garden as a whole, a stretch of the Old Croton Aqueduct and the Van Cortlandt House in Van Cortlandt Park.

And finally, for those nautical Bronxites who frequented City Island during the early 1960’s you will be happy to know that The Black Whale Restaurant on City Island Avenue is still in business and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The food is still wonderful and their deserts are still a blast from the past.