{"id":77168,"date":"2025-12-21T15:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/77168\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T15:57:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:57:10","slug":"staten-island-tips-its-hat-to-frank-sinatra-on-his-110th-birthday-with-party-at-grasmere-dining-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/77168\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island tips its hat to Frank Sinatra on his 110th birthday with party at Grasmere dining spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Welcome to Inside Out, our weekly roundup of stories about Staten Islanders making waves, being seen, supporting our community and just making our borough a special place to live. Have a story for Inside Out? Email Carol Ann Benanti at benanti@siadvance.com<\/p>\n

\"Sinatra\"Stefano Sena, executive chef at Bocelli Ristorante, and entertainer, Carl Thomas smile for the camera at the 110th birthday celebration to honor Frank Sinatra. (Courtesy\/Mario Belluomo)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Born in 1915, Frank Sinatra would have celebrated his 110th birthday on Dec. 12 prompting widespread tributes across social media from fans, friends, and institutions who celebrated his iconic voice, acting career, and lasting cultural impact.<\/p>\n

Tributes to the timeless icon emphasized Sinatra as a voice of generations, known for signature tunes like \u201cMy Way\u201d and \u201cNew York, New York,\u201d as well as his enduring influence in the world of entertainment.<\/p>\n

Posts and personal tributes to Ole\u2019 Blue Eyes wished him a happy \u201cheavenly\u201d birthday, acknowledging his passing on May 14, 1998 and included shared memories of the Oscar-winning actor\u2019s timeless legacy and his role in the \u201cRat Pack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sinatra\"An elaborate birthday cake with a replica of Frank Sinatra celebrates the legend’s 110th birthday. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

Also known as the \u201cChairman of the Board,\u201d and the \u201cSultan of Swoon\u201d among other endearing monikers, the legendary Frank Sinatra was an iconic figure in the world of entertainment whose vocal prowess and undeniable charm was larger than life.<\/p>\n

He was the idol of \u201cbobby soxers\u201d often causing mass hysteria among screaming, adoring fans who followed the teen idol from Hoboken, N.J. \u2014 from place to place.<\/p>\n

And he was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century who garnered awards for his highly successful film and TV career, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and being recognized by the Kennedy Center.<\/p>\n

TRIBUTES ON STATEN ISLAND<\/p>\n

Meantime, right here on Staten Island, the special affection for the time-honored crooner continues to live large. <\/p>\n

A group of gentlemen who comprise the \u201cFrank Sinatra Club\u201d and adore the \u201cKing of Crooners,\u201d revel in his musical repertoire and even see fit to surround themselves with Frank Sinatra memorabilia.<\/p>\n

Joe Rinaldo, who heads up the entourage, explains that throughout the years all his family ever did was listen to the sounds of Sinatra.<\/p>\n

And Rinaldo and Stefano Sena, executive chef at Bocelli Ristorante, coordinate an evening each year as a dedication to Sinatra.<\/p>\n

FRANK SINATRA\u2019S BIRTHDAY<\/p>\n

So, as a way to commemorate Sinatra\u2019s birthday a \u201cFrank Sinatra Night,\u201d was staged in the Grasmere dining spot with everything Sinatra \u2014 and where tables were adorned with vintage photos and Frank Sinatra memorabilia.<\/p>\n

\"Sinatra\"Vintage photos of Frank Sinatra dotted the banquet room. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Sinatra\"Frank Sinatra memorabilia was sprinkled throughout the banquet room. (Staten Island Advance\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

The evening would serve as a way to mix, mingle and dance the night away and at the same time pay homage to the illustrious entertainer.<\/p>\n

In his welcoming remarks, Sena acknowledged everyone present for contributing to the success of the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrank Sinatra\u2019s birthday was yesterday and I\u2019d like to thank everyone who came out to celebrate the event and enjoy this beautiful evening,\u201d he noted. \u201cWe have a fantastic menu and a great lineup of entertainers including crooner Carl Thomas and Alex Leonard on keyboard and vocals. We hope you enjoy this special night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sinatra\"Party goers gathered for a fun shot during the party to celebrate Frank Sinatra (Courtesy\/Mario Belluomo)Staten Island Advance\"Sinatra\"Rita and Gerard Pirrone. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Sinatra\"Crooner Carl Thomas and Marisa Calabrese Shelley. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Sinatra\"Table mates smile for the camera at the Frank Sinatra celebration. (Courtesy\/Mario Belluomo)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

THE EVENING\u2019S ENTERTAINMENT<\/p>\n

Virtuoso pianist, vocalist and actor Alex Leonard provided musical entertainment on keyboard with tunes from the Great American Songbook made famous by Frank Sinatra.<\/p>\n

Leonard was accompanied by Sena on trumpet, who played familiar favorites.<\/p>\n

\"Sinatra\"From the left, entertainers, Alex Leonard and Carl Thomas. Stefano Sena, executive chef at Bocelli Ristorante, accompanied on trumpet. (Courtesy\/Mario Belluomo)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

In speaking of Sinatra, Leonard noted: <\/p>\n

\u201cThe 20th century ended on New Year\u2019s Eve in December 1999. But in spirit the century actually ended earlier in 1998, the day that Frank Sinatra passed. As an artist and personality Sinatra defined the 20th century. We can certainly point to other great singers of that time period yet most all of them would agree that it was Sinatra who stood out as THE interpreter of American popular music, an artist \u2018top of the heap\u2019 among his peers. Sinatra is an enigma, a series of contradictions, a musical genius found not only in his recordings but in his ability to conduct and interact with the musicians in the orchestra, all seasoned professionals who held him in highest esteem.\u201c<\/p>\n

\"Sinatra\"Alex Leonard on keyboard and Stefano Sena on trumpet. (Courtesy\/Mario Belluomo)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

He added that the evening visited the music of the crooner of the 40\u2019s, the smooth balladeer of the 50\u2019s, the Las Vegas swinger of the 60\u2019s and the reflective artist of the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s…<\/p>\n

\"Sinatra\"Songstylist Carl Thomas and his wife Karen stand near a celebratory cake to make Frank Sinatra’s 110th birthday. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

Also on the entertainment roster was Carl Thomas, a song stylist who performs standard favorites.<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019s musical menu is inclusive of tunes made famous by Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and other crooners whose Rat Pack classics made the Copacabana the number one night spot in Manhattan \u2014 and perhaps the country.<\/p>\n

Thomas reveals that he created a show called \u201cA Night at the Copa\u201d after the album, titled \u201cSinatra at the Sands,\u201d featuring Sinatra with the Count Basie Orchestra and arrangements by Quincy Jones.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so fortunate in my career in show business to meet Sinatra on numerous occasions and he\u2019s been my inspiration all my life \u2014 both Sinatra and Bobby Darin,” he commented. \u201dAnd I was very happy to meet Sinatra\u2019s piano player Bill Miller, Sinatra\u2019s longtme pianist \u2014 at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in 1966. It was Bill Miller in the background and Count Basie on piano \u2014 the star pianist \u2014 leading the orchestra that evening with Quincy Jones arranging and conducting. We hope you enjoy the selection.”<\/p>\n

CELEBRATIONS – DEC. 21 TO DEC. 27<\/p>\n

DEC. 21<\/p>\n

Larry Toto marks a birthday Sunday as does Natalie DeVito, Anthony Vinciguerra, Alyse Kelly, Allison Kindos, Robert Hart, Maria DiPilato, Allison Wallace, who turns 25, Heather O\u2019Connor, Jessica Frydberg who turns 18, Chelsea Varounis and twins Richard and Salvatore Cognat.<\/p>\n

DEC. 22<\/p>\n

Happy birthday on Monday to Augie Martiniello, Kevin Collins, Rogan Patrick McSwiggan who\u2019s now 16, Inez Goins, Vanessa Kraker, who turns 23,Denise Tyson, Margaret Nemeth and twins Ian and Jenna McDaniel.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a double celebration Monday for twins Christopher and Stephanie Castaldo.<\/p>\n

DEC. 23<\/p>\n

Tuesday is birthday time for Julie Ierardi, Dan McGarry, Christopher Norton, Judy Cardona, Christina Salerno, Lillian Kuell and Michael Noto.<\/p>\n

DEC. 24<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a Christmas Eve birthday on Wednesday for Ava Christina Guarcello who\u2019s now turns 19, Michael D\u2019Aquila, Christine Haber, Debra Schwall, Erica Kobayashi, Andrea Loughery, Jimmy Parisi Jr. and Samantha Doyle.<\/p>\n

DEC. 25 <\/p>\n

Lauren McIsaac O\u2019Hare, John Allocco, Petra Andersen, Ina Vazquez and Susan Jellicks all celebrate on Thursday, Christmas Day.<\/p>\n

DEC. 26<\/p>\n

Birthday best on Friday to Michael Tambini, Jack Madonia, Marie Stockman, Victoria Masucci and Eddie Carbonaro.<\/p>\n

DEC. 27<\/p>\n

The happiest of birthdays on Saturday to attorney, Chris Caputo, Tony Whalen, Robert Werneken, twins Daniel and James Loughery, Lisa Bernstein, Jen McGarry, Dale Greenwaldt, Nicholas Klein, Erik Lorentzen, Emma Jane Carr, Lou Parisi Jr., and Melissa Anelli.<\/p>\n

Happy wedding anniversary Saturday to Christina and Richard Verardi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s note: Welcome to Inside Out, our weekly roundup of stories about Staten Islanders making waves, being seen,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-77168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}