Ron Onesti: This is MY Bronx Tale

Today, this eighth day of May, is my birthday. Traditionally, I spend a couple of days in New York City, as this area is close to the top on my favorite places list. With 20 shows in 24 days at The Arcada, it doesn't look as if I will be able to go this year.

So, since I can't actually be there this time, I would like to take a symbolic bite of "The Big Apple," even if it is just to reflect on my past travels to the home of Lady Liberty. And I would like to take you along, and tell you about one of my favorite places, and a few of my favorite people.

Born on Taylor Street in Chicago's Little Italy, I am a Chicago guy, through and through. Although my love affair with many of the West suburbs has made them my personal and professional home, I have "312" figuratively tattooed on my chest. But running a close second to the Chicago metropolitan area as my favorite place on the planet (outside of my home in Tuscany) is a small pocket within the New York borough of the Bronx. It is the Bronx' "Little Italy" (not to be confused with the famed NYC Little Italy on Mulberry Street).

I think I first became enamored with the gritty, hard-edge New York "state of mind" at a very young age, watching "The Dead End Kids," Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the rest of the Bowery Boys after the Abbott and Costello movies on Saturday mornings. They had that tough-neighborhood, street-wise persona, much like that of the guys I grew up with in the concrete gardens of inner-city Chicago.

My dad was a big fan of James Cagney, that silver screen legend who, along with Edward G. Robinson, George Raft and Humphrey Bogart, perpetuated that tough guy, New York gangster image. So, every time it was on the tube, we watched what we believed to be Cagney's best film, "Yankee Doodle Dandy." He played the all-American, straight-legged song-and-dance man George M. Cohan, whose name populated multiple marquees simultaneously as a performer and a producer on the Broad-Way (that's how showbiz superstars of the day called it). That may be where I was first bitten by the "producer" bug!

In 1977, John Travolta catapulted a new form of "cool" in the person of Tony Monero in the blockbuster disco flick "Saturday Night Fever." Once again, the Brooklyn lifestyle was glorified, and I was drawn into it, myself sporting three gold chains, red polyester pants, a silk shirt (opened to expose all three of my budding chest hairs) and 4-inch high platform shoes. Being a little guy, I was ecstatic about the platforms coming into style, except for the fact that EVERYBODY wore platforms, so the entire population was raised 4 inches. My head was STILL being used as an armrest by the taller bullies in the class!

But my all-time favorite film came out in 1993 - "A Bronx Tale," autobiographically written by Chazz Palminteri. Although Chazz played the mob chieftain Sonny, it actually tells the childhood story of Chazz as a young boy growing up in the mob-protected Fordham neighborhood in the Bronx of the 1960s. He was a cute Italian kid named Cologero that the "Outfit" took under its wing, only to ironically warn him to stay out of that very element. The movie also starred Robert DeNiro, who celebrated his directorial debut in the film, as Cologero's father.

Without getting too specific, it was very close to my own upbringing on the streets of Chicago at about the same time. As my career in the business of entertainment began to take off, I spread my wings into New York and New Jersey. I was managing the daughter of pop-jazz legend Louis Prima, Lena Prima, when I was asked to get involved with cast parties for the popular HBO television series "The Sopranos" at The Borgata Casino in Atlantic City. It was there I met Louis Vanaria, the young actor who played "Crazy Mario," an animated character in "A Bronx Tale."

We became fast friends and I brought him to Chicago from time to time to perform his Sinatra-esque show at the Italian festivals I would produce. When I read that Chazz Palminteri was out doing a one-man show based on the film, I called my friend Louis to see if he could hook me up with the Oscar-nominated actor. With the caveat of no promises, and the probability that Chazz would not respond to his request, he said he would try.

A couple days later I received a call on my cellphone. "Ron Onesti?" the voice asked. "This is Chazz Palminteri. We have a mutual acquaintance who tells me you are interested in presenting my play in Chicago."

"Yeah right!" I snapped. "C'mon Louie, quit messing around." "No, this IS Chazz," the all-too-familiar, hauntingly intense voice stated. I nearly dropped the phone!

We spoke for quite a while, and I eventually flew to White Plains, New York, to consummate the deal at the larger-than-life actor's home. Since then, we have done a few projects together and have become friends. On many occasions, I have returned to Arthur Avenue and 187th Street, that neighborhood in the Bronx where Palminteri grew up and was the setting for the film. Chazz and I would have lunch by David Greco at the 100-year-old Bronx institution, the prosciutto-clad Mike's Deli, to be followed by a post-antipasto experience with the "Cannoli King," Jerome Raguso from Gino's Pastry Shop. Walking with Chazz on the streets of the Bronx is like walking with DiMaggio at Yankee Stadium. QUITE the experience!

Chazz wanted me to check out a local Bronx band that performs all of that East Coast music, such as that of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Dion & The Belmonts, Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, and so on. I said, "Sure, I'll check them out!" The band was called "The Bronx Wanderers," and I received a packet from its manager not a week later. I really love the act!

The band was a father, his two sons and other family members at the time. Each one of them had their own unique performance style and look. They were as entertaining to watch as they were to listen to. And the music! It was all the hits that the Midwestern bands weren't doing. This was at the time when the history-making musical "Jersey Boys" first came out. I was looking for a band that did that stuff, and they were it!

I brought them to Chicago to first perform in my Oakley Avenue Italian Block Party over the Father's Day weekend. They were a smash! People could not get enough of them. So I've continued to bring them in, also doing my Little Italy Fest-West in Addison, a Mother's Day Sock Hop (this Sunday at The Arcada) and a Veterans Day salute in November. I have never seen a band with more loyal fans! From its humble beginnings in small local restaurants in the Bronx, the band has grown to be one of the most sought after acts in the country. And nobody else in the Chicago area can get them but us!

Yes, I have many Bronx Tales. But when it is all said and done, it is the family-feel of a neighborhood I grew up in, the unlocked-door security of a community that looks out for each other, and the smell of fresh-baked bread emulating from the local bakery that defined my childhood environment.

Whether it is Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, or Taylor Street in Chicago, the template is the same. It is a place of an era gone by - just an old neighborhood for some, but for me, it is the essence of a salami and cheese, olive oil paradise.

• Ron Onesti is president and CEO of The Onesti Entertainment Corp. and The Historic Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. Celebrity questions and comments? Email ron@oshows.com.