"Stiffs"

There's a buzz on Hanover Street about the upcoming shoot of an independent film called "Stiffs" which will star Danny Aiello. While sipping an espresso with Sambuca at the Cafe Graffiti, I bumped into my friend Vinnie. I said, "Vinnie, che si dice, come stai?" He smiled and said, "sto bene." Then with an excited look in his eyes he said, "Did you hear that one of the guys from the North End was picked to be in the Danny Aiello film?"
I asked, "who?"
He said, "you know, the guy that was on Emeril Live, what's his name?"
"Oh, you mean Frankie," I said. "Yeah, yeah, that's it, Frankie."

Vinnie was all excited and I also found out as he sat and joined me for an espresso, that he was also quite ticked off. He said that last week he showed up for a call for people to be extras in the movie. He said that the guy in charge liked his looks and would probably use him in the funeral scene.

I said, "congratulations, salute," as I raised my glass of Sambuca in a toast.
He responded dejectedly, "nah, don't bother, I didn't get picked."
"What happened?", I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders and continued.

"They were in the process of taking my name and phone number down, when all of a sudden from the back I hear this loudmouth yelling, 'Angela, Angela, I'm a friend of Frankie's, he told me to see you.'"

At this point, I had an idea of who he was talking about but I didn't dare to divulge any information to him. He proceeded to tell me that the woman, Angela, came over and said that they would call him if they needed him. He could sense that the other guy got picked over him and that's why he was mad.

As we left, I tried to cheer him up and said to him, "Vinnie, why don't you go see Frankie, maybe he can put in a good word for you." His eyes were a little brighter, and said "you think so?" Then I pulled him over and quietly gave him this advice, "Vinnie, if you buy a few of his cookbooks, I'm sure he'll take care of you, know what I mean?'

In honor of Frankie, who will venture into the acting field with the shooting of the movie "Stiffs" I offer the following which can be sung to the tune, "From A Jack To A King."






From a chef to a “Stiff”
From Emeril Live to a North End gig
He dropped his sauce for a chance to act
And he'll walk away with your heart

From a chef to a “Stiff”
With no regrets he put his apron down
And took a chance with his acting frown
And will be king of your heart

For just a little while I thought that he might lose his chance
But at his audition they saw the sparkle in his eyes

From a chef to a “Stiff”
From Emeril Live to a North End gig
He dropped his sauce for a chance to act
He’ll walk away with your heart


Buon Anno
Buona Fortuna