The Kayak Run 2022 will be held on July 23 (See

2022 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

JULY 23 AUGUST 19

AUGUST 20 AUGUST 27

AUGUST 28 SEPTEMBER 1

SEP 09 Howie Mandel SEP 22 Amy Schumer SEP 24 The Sixties Show— The Greatest 1960’s Musical Re-Creation Show On Earth SEP 29 ABBA The Concert OCT 01 Peter Noone: Hot Autumn Nights OCT 07 Myriam Hernandez OCT 09 Masters of Illusion – Live! OCT 14 Gilberto Santa Rosa OCT 16 Engelbert Humperdinck OCT 22 Monsters of Freestyle feat. TKA, Rob Base and Many Others OCT 28 Linda Eder NOV 04 WBAB Presents: Blue Oyster Cult and Mark Farner’s American Band NOV 26 Almost Queen— A Tribute to QUEEN NOV 27 Boyz ll Men: Live in Concert DEC 01 Russell Peters: The Act Your Age World Tour!

BOX OFFICE IS OPEN!

WED–SAT: 12PM–5PM SHOW DAYS: 12PM–9PM thetheatreatwestbury.com Some of the 200-plus golfers playing at the Brookville Country Club to support The Safe

Center’s 40th Annual Swing for Hope Golf Outing. (Photo courtesy of the Safe Center)

Safe Center Fights Domestic Violence

On June 13, more than 200 golfers gathered on a beautiful day at the Brookville Country Club to support The Safe Center’s 40th annual Swing for Hope Golf Outing. It was a day filled with excitement and support for an organization whose mission is to protect, assist and empower victims of family violence and sexual assault in Nassau County while challenging and changing social systems that tolerate and perpetuate abuse. This year looks to be a record-breaking year due to the generous contributions of all involved. If you did not attend but would like to donate, visit www.tscliGolf.org and click the “make a donation” button. —Submitted by the Safe Center

Grumman Northrop-Grumman Retiree Club

Celebrating 55 years keeping the legacy alive

The Grumman Northrop-Grumman Retiree Club was started in 1967, the parent chapter is still located on the Bethpage campus with some 1,520 retiree members on Long Island and in chapters around the country.

Grumman Aerospace Corporation of Bethpage at its peak employed more than 35,000 employees leading the Long Island economy. The company helped put the first man on the moon in July of 1969 with the successful development of the LEM, Lunar Module. During World War II the company and its workforce fabricated thousands of F-series fighters for the war effort.

Grumman went on to produce many high quality Navy Aircraft including the F-14 Tomcat, showcased in the movie Top Gun and the current new movie Top Gun Maverick. Today the company still produces the Navy’s E-2D Hawkeye aircraft at its facilities in Florida.

The Grumman reputation in the industry was further cemented by a top Navy official quoting that “the Grumman name on an aircraft is like “Sterling on Silver.”

The GNGRC would like to see former and current employees join the retiree club as well as come out and support the club at one or all of the following upcoming events: ·September 7—GNGRC annual Picnic at Marjorie Post Park in Massapequa ·October 26—Luncheon at the Crest Hollow CC Retirees that still haven’t joined or a family member that may wish to honor a retiree and/ or a former Grumman worker may also join. The club would like to invite former and current employees to join the retiree club helping to keep that aircraft legacy alive. Visit www.grummanretireeclub.com or email grumrc@gmail.com for more info and a membership. —Submitted by the Grumman Northrup Retiree Club

James Caan: How To Play Sonny Corleone

JOSEPH SCOTCHIE

jscotchie@antonmediagroup.com

When James Caan died last week, he was hailed as the ultimate New Yorker: Smart, funny, tough—and decisive. He left a legacy of up to 90 films and television movies. Even at the time of his death, Caan remained active. For millions of moviegoers, Caan will always be identified with Santino (“Sonny”) Corleone, the oldest son of Don Vito Corleone and the muscle behind the all-powerful Corleone crime family as dramatized in both the novel and film version of The Godfather.

Caan was a born-and-bred New Yorker. Born James Kahn in 1940 in The Bronx to parents of German-Jewish ancestry, his family made the trek to Sunnyside, Queens, where he grew up. Caan left New York for college, attending Michigan State. He came home to attend Hofstra. Caan never graduated, but his classmates included Francis Ford Coppola, who would co-write and direct The Godfather saga.

Caan excelled in television and movies. His first break came in 1971 with the television production of Brian’s Song, a drama about the friendship between Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, both running backs for the 1966 Chicago Bears. Piccolo was a native of Massachusetts who played college football at North Carolina State. Undrafted, he tried out for and made the Chicago Bears, still coached by the legendary George Halas.

Piccolo, who was white, became a roommate of Sayers, then the top halfback in the league. For a white footballer and a black teammate to be roommates wasn’t unknown, but it still was a cause for gossip.

Sayers was one of the game’s top stars during its 1960s Golden Age. Piccolo worked hard for playing time. In the movie, Caan played Piccolo, while Billy Dee Williams portrayed Sayers.

The movie had humor. Piccolo was a fun-loving type that every team needs to lighten up the tension. The year 1971 was hardly a Periclean Age in America, but some humor would be out-of-bounds today. In one scene, Piccolo and Sayers squared off for a 40-yard sprint. Piccolo needed to make the team. Beating Sayers in such a dash would improve his chances considerably. As the two lined up, Piccolo struck up a conversation. Piccolo’s wife was pregnant with the couple’s first child. Piccolo told his roommate that he and his wife were thinking about naming the child after Sayers.

“Oh yeah?” Sayers piped up. The man was impressed.

“Yeah,” Piccolo answered. “Spade Piccolo!” The whistle blew and Piccolo raced off, leaving Sayers in the dust.

The movie showed real life clips of Sayers and Piccolo starring on the gridiron for the Bears. The movie was tragic. The young Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer. At the end of the year, Sayers won a humanitarian award. In his speech, Williams held up the trophy and announced, “I love Brian Piccolo.” The line brought out handkerchiefs all over the country.

Brian’s Song was Caan’s steppingstone for his biggest role. Originally, Caan also auditioned for the part of Michael Corleone, Vito’s youngest son. Al Pacino played Michael, while Caan landed the unforgettable role of Sonny. Caan reportedly prepared for the role by spending time with real-life made men. Once the film was released, Caan complained about certain scenes left on the cutting room floor. In the film, Sonny swaggers through life, having his way with law enforcement officials, rival gangsters and a younger mistress. Mario Puzo’s novel portrays Sonny as a fearsome warrior. During a fictional account of the Castellammarese Wars of the 1930s, Vito falls ill. The young Sonny takes over and marshals his forces to victory, becoming the most feared man in New York. In the movie, Sonny is portrayed as reckless and temperamental.

When Don Vito is wounded in an assassination attempt, Sonny takes charge of the family. He prepares for war only to be talked out of it by Tom Hagen, the family’s Irish-German consigliere. That was a key moment. The Corleones did need a Sicilian advisor. The Godfather, above all, is about family loyalty. Family first, your country a little further down the road. Sonny figures in two dramatic scenes. Both Sonny and Hagen want the Corleones to jump into the narcotics trade. In a meeting with a drug lord, Don Vito says “no.” However, an excited Sonny shows interest. The old man scolds his eldest son. “Don’t tell anyone outside the family what you’re thinking,” he roars. Sonny’s slip of the tongue nearly gets his father killed.

At the end of The Godfather, Part II, Michael has a flashback. It’s Dec. 8. 1941, Don Vito’s birthday. The men gather around in a dining room. The talk is about Pearl Harbor. Sonny ridicules the millions of men soon to die “for strangers.” “You know what those fellows are?” Sonny asks his brothers. “They’re saps, that’s what they are.”

For his portrayal of Sonny Corleone, Caan was nominated for an Oscar. He didn’t win, but his career took off. More movies followed, as did such TV series as Las Vegas. A city boy living out West, Caan took up a second career as a professional steer roper at rodeos, boasting that he was “the only Jewish cowboy” on the professional circuit.

On two occasions, he was also named the Italian American Man of the Year. Caan accepted the awards, even though on the second time around, he had to remind the committee that he was Jewish, not a son of Italy. Caan was even denied membership to a country club on grounds that he was indeed a real-life mobster.

Sonny Corleone lives on. Plus, he was right about a coming war. Hagen was wrong. Blood will tell. After Sonny’s death, Vito and Michael plot revenge on the other New York families. Michael, who the old man never wanted to be part of the family business, pulled off the job. Neither Sonny nor Don Vito were around to see it, but you can’t say they would be displeased.

From left: Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan, and John Cazale (Amazon.com)