A tale to remember
Twenty years ago I had a chance to meet and interview author Stephen King, but to do it meant I’d have to work a 15 hour day. I was tired so I turned down the chance and I’ve regretted it ever since. Now when my boss calls and offers me a chance to meet someone that I’m a fan of, I always say yes. I did it two years ago when Garth Brooks was in town and I gave up a scheduled day off to hang with “friends in low places.” And I did it again last week when actor Chaz Palminteri was in town to promote “A Bronx Tale,” which is coming to Proctors.
I’d been a fan of Palmenteri since seeing him play the cop who gets fooled in “The Usual Suspects.” As we sat in the small dining area of Villa Italia in Schenectady I told Chaz I thought the last scene in that movie, when his character realizes who Kevin Spacey really is, is one of the best moments in cinematic history. He laughed and said, “You know John I get that comment all the time. People love that moment when the cop puts it all together but it’s too late.”
Once the camera started rolling I had to stop being a fan and ask him real questions about “A Bronx Tale.” The first being, how much of what we see in the movie is real and did all that stuff really happen? To my surprise he said yes. “It’s a true story. It’s a real story. I saw a man get killed. That kid in the story, Calogero, that’s me. That’s my real name. So what you see in the movie and on stage, that is my life.”
Those who have seen the movie know that after Calogero witnesses a murder in the street the cops show up and bring him down for a line-up right on the sidewalk. One by one they ask the child which thug pulled the trigger forcing him to look these tough guys directly in the eye. I asked Chaz if that really happened and he said, “Yes and no. The cops did come up to my flat and told my parents they know I saw who shot the man and I had to come down to I.D. them. My father put his arm around me and said ‘NO, he’s not going anywhere.’ So they had me come to the window and one by one asked me who did it?” And just like the child in the story, Palminteri didn’t snitch.
Palminteri wrote “A Bronx Tale” when he was a struggling actor in L.A. and he couldn’t get work. He performed it as a one man play and critics took notice, as did actor Robert De Niro. “I had one studio offer me a million dollars for the rights to my story and keep in mind I had two hundred bucks in the bank at the time, but I said no because they wanted to do the film without me. Then De Niro came backstage one night after a performance and shook my hand and said we should make the movie; he’d play the father and I’d play Sonny.” The rest is Bronx history.
Three things strike you right away when you meet Chaz Palminteri. He’s very tall, he looks great for his age, and he doesn’t act like a star. He comes off as the neighborhood guy who just took the stool next to you at a corner bar and wants to watch the Giants game. I really liked him because I could tell it wasn’t an act. He was also a good sport going back in the kitchen at Villa Italia to get a lesson in how to fill cannoli from chef Bobby Mallozzi. When one of his cannoli turn out perfect he looked like a five year old who just won a prize. “Are you filming this? Send it to me”, he said to anyone in the crowd recording the moment.
Before our time was up I asked Chaz why he feels “A Bronx Tale” has become such a beloved film and story? “I think it’s the message that the saddest thing in life is wasted talent. That one line connects with people and there’s a part of them that identifies with this characters, be you young or old, black or white.”
He’s right. Just like the amazing “Shawshank Redemption,” his story — “A Bronx Tale” — is one that I will always stop to watch if I’m flipping through the channels. Even though I’ve seen it 10 times I’ll tell myself I’m just going to stay and watch one scene and, of course, I’m in until the end.
The musical “A Bronx Tale” will be at Proctors October 23 to 28. Chaz Palmenteri isn’t playing the lead these days but he doesn’t need to. He already lived it.