Celebration of Queens 2015 by Queens Chronicle

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Queens’ Largest Weekly Community Newspaper Group

2015

18TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2015

18th Annual Celebration of Queens

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Published every week by

MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC.

MARK WEIDLER President & Publisher SUSAN & STANLEY MERZON Founders Raymond G. Sito Peter C. Mastrosimone Liz Rhoades Michael Gannon Christopher Barca Anthony O’Reilly Cristina Schreil Terry Nusspickel Jan Schulman Moeen Din Ella Jipescu Richard Weyhausen Lisa LiCausi Stela Barbu Gregg Cohen

General Manager Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Editorial Production Manager Art Director Associate Art Director Associate Art Director Proofreader Office Manager Administration Production Assistant

Senior Account Executives: Jim Berkoff, Beverly Espinoza

Account Executives: Patricia Gatt, Debrah Gordon, Al Rowe, Maureen Schuler

Contributors: Lloyd Carroll, Mark Lord, Ronald Marzlock

Photographers: Walter Karling, Rick Maiman, Steve Malecki

Intern: Christine Spagnuolo

CONTENTS Lights! Camera! Queens! .....4

The Wolf of Wall Street ...... 21

Coming to America ..............6

Double Indemnity ...............22

Goodfellas .............................8

The King of Queens ............24

Boardwalk Empire ...............9

Spider Man ........................... 27

All in the Family ................. 10

Radio Days........................... 27

Men in Black ........................ 12

Entourage ............................ 27

Sharknado 22 ..................... 14

Queens Logic .......................28

The Godfather ..................... 16

Elementary ..........................28

The Nanny ...........................20

Chop Shop ...........................32

Supplement editor: Peter C. Mastrosimone; Supplement designe ne ner er an and d co cove v r ili lu ve ust s ra rato ato tor: r: Elllla a Jiipe p sc scu; u; Ed Edit dittor o ia al la layout: Terry Nusspickel

Office: 62-33 Woodhaven Blvd. Rego Park, NY 11374-7769 Phone: (718) 205-8000 Fax: (718) 205-0150 Mail: P.O. Box 74-7769 Rego Park, NY 11374-7769 E-mail: Mailbox@qchron.com Website: www.qchron.com TOTAL CIRCULATION: MEMBER

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18TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2015

LIGHTS! CAMERA! QUEENS!

Hope you’ve H ’ got some popcorn h handy, d b because you’re about to enter the world of Hollywood and the TV networks. Welcome to Queens on Screen, our 18th annual celebration of the borough special edition. As the old Saturday Night Live character Stefon might say, this supplement has everything. Gangsters. Comedy. Family. Murder. Space aliens. And sharks — lots and lots of sharks raining down from the sky. And it’s all about Queens. Here we examine some very well-known, and a couple lesser-known, movies and TV shows that revolve around or have some connection to the borough. Rather than just reiterate familiar plots and themes — we suspect you know “Goodfellas” is about the Mafia — we go for the different angle when possible, and always put Queens first. The borough itself is something of a character, especially in films such as “Coming to America,” the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy about an African prince who comes here thinking there’d be no better place to find a bride than “the city of Queens.” Other times it deeply informs the characters’ actions, as in 1991’s “Queens Logic,” a film that didn’t

do all that well at the box office but purports to get across the way people in the borough tend to go about their daily lives. Despite the optimism of Murphy’s “Coming to America” character, Akeem, Queens is not always portrayed well. That’s often a function of the time in which a production was made: In 1988 crime was far worse than it is today and there was barely an inch of subway car that didn’t have graffiti on it. You see all that in “Coming to America.” Other times Queens gets a very different look. Situational comedy “The King of Queens” is all about the laughs, while iconic sitcom “All in the Family” is about both humor and a changing society. Many of the stories here are like real estate: location, location, location. Multiple scenes from “Goodfellas” were shot in Queens, at places such as Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven. A “Boardwalk Empire” episode was filmed in part at the Poppenhusen Institute in College Point. Tobey Maguire’s 2002 “Spider-Man” hails from Sunnyside, though in the comic books he’s from Forest Hills. And thanks to the sleuthing of one man, here you can learn exactly where Don Corleone was buried in “The Godfather” — not just which cemetery or even

which section, but the precise location. Some stories go off the beaten path. The 1944 film noir classic “Double Indemnity,” starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson, is set in California, but it’s based upon a real murder that happened in Queens Village — one that resulted in a “trial of the century” at the time. You can learn all about it here. And then there’s the zaniness. We examine that pinnacle of American cinema, “Sharknado 2 — The Second One,” including how it came to be that a Mets game was interrupted by snow, as well as killer great whites. And we press Borough President Melinda Katz on whether the saucers atop the New York State Pavilion, which she has been working to get restored, can truly fly, as one did in “Men in Black.” Whether it’s a battle with aliens, prime-time comedy or organized crime, Queens indeed is ready for its closeup, Mr. DeMille. Time to get that popcorn out of the microwave and enjoy your trip with us through Queens on Screen.

Peter C. Mastrosimone

Editor-in-Chief

Cover photo credits: HBO, CBS Television and Paramount Pictures

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‘COMING TO AMERICA’ Queens as the gritty new frontier by Cristina Schreil What better borough for a king looking for love? The 1988 hit comedy “Coming to America” may feature a liberal dose of silly antics, crass jokes and several incorrect representations of daily life in Africa, but it also captures the World’s Borough in an interesting moment in New York City’s history. The Queens portrayed in “Coming to America” is far from the new hub of development, celebrated multiculturalism and tourism it is now, but rather a snapshot of the crime-choked city of that time. In the film, Eddie Murphy’s Akeem, the heir to the fictitious African kingdom of Zamunda who is underwhelmed with life, faces a boring arranged marriage. After convincing his father — who apparently broadcasts his wealth by wearing what look like golden wheels of cheese — that he must venture to America to find a woman who “arouses his intellect, as well as his loins,” he and manservant Semmi, played by Arsenio Hall, depart for the great beyond. When deciding where exactly in America to go, Akeem declares he wants “grace, elegance, taste and culture” and a woman “suitable for a king.” Queens it is. With many other films and TV shows taking place in the borough highlight characters who have called Queens their home, this story presents it as a new frontier, with two main characters who are fishes out of water as they navigate new customs and crime-riddled, littered streets. Almost foreshadowing how today’s Queens Borough President Melinda Katz wants people traveling in from LaGuardia or JFK to see what Queens has to offer before zipping straight into Manhattan, Akeem and Semmi stick around in the World’s Borough. “You sure you guys want to go to Queens? A couple rich fellas like you should be in Manhattan,” their taxi driver says. “No, I want Queens. We’re not rich. We’re ordinary African students,” Akeem answers. “Take us to the most common part.” “That’s easy,” the cabbie says. “If there’s one thing Queens has got a lot of, it’s common parts.” Perhaps a nod to Murphy’s Brooklyn upbringing, several key scenes were actually

Wiz,” the In 1978’s “The vilion serves as New York State Pa re Dorothy whe Munchkinland, ter a blizzard. and Toto land af

shot near the intersection of Hooper and South Fifth streets in South Williamsburg, which served as the Queens street on which the characters took refuge. The elevated train track in the background — the J train moving through Brooklyn in reality, but reminiscent of the No. 7 in Queens — and the low buildings full of different ethnic groups create a neighborhood feeling very much like Jackson Heights or Elmhurst. When the main characters arrive there, Queens appears quite unsavory, despite Akeem’s enthusiasm: Residents hurl trash onto the street, curse and steal from the Zamundan luggage left on the curb. The neighborhood scenes have an unclear real-life location, as does the home of the McDowell family, whom Akeem and Semmi work for. Their home is opulent — not as wealthy as Zamunda’s palace, however — and viewers have said they are in Jamaica Estates. Yet the most recognizable shots of Queens take place at the boldly named McDowell’s restaurant, stated in the film to be located at 85-07 Queens Blvd. The location, at a sinceshut down and demolished Wendy’s restaurant, which long-occupied the 36,259-squarefoot lot at 51-35 Reeder St., right by the Grand Avenue-Newtown subway stop in Elmhurst, was the backdrop of working life, where these men accustomed to luxury pay their dues at the bottom of the fast-food chain. There are several panning establishing shots of Queens Boulevard, where buses, cars and trucks are seen zipping down the corridor and signs marking Reeder Street are visible on several occasions. For Queens-raised viewers, the environment is unmistakably plucked from their backyard. In a scene taking place toward the end of the movie, wherein Akeem follows the woman he’s fallen in love with into the nowrenamed Van Wyck Boulevard subway station, viewers see a familiar sight: graffiti-covered walls and seats and the rattle of cars through tunnels on the way to Sutphin Boulevard. Akeem even hops the turnstiles. He has adapted to the ways of the borough. While the Africa portrayed in the movie goes against widespread images of poverty that many were used to associating with the continent, Queens is the location that’s highlighted as lacking here, plagued with murders and vagrants. While it’s where Akeem finds love, the violence the filmmakers equate with the setting is clear. As scholar Tejumola Olaniyan, who penned a cultural critique that in part explores the comedy, wrote, “There is a selfdeprecating irony here that borrows from chauvinistic aspects of the discourse of American liberal democracy: the ‘free’ ghetto, Queens, is more liberating than the opulent but ‘stifling’ Zamunda palace.” While the borough has changed since 1988, the scenes there still have a clear Queens feel. In “Coming to America,” Q Queens is a character in itself.

Queens plays a key role in “Coming to America,” with Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst evident in scenes at McDowell’s, top and above, and at subway stations such as Van Wyck Boulevard, middle. PARAMOUNT PICTURES VIA NETFLIX Inset, the characters plan to visit the borough fit for a king.

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‘GOODFELLAS’ Mafia classic was filmed across Queens by Anthony O’Reilly Odds are you’ve passed by at least one spot where the 1990s classic “Goodfellas” was filmed. Take for example 24-09 32 St. in Astoria. That house was used to portray Henry Hill’s “Brooklyn” home. Or look at Neir’s Tavern, a modest watering hole at 87-48 78 St. in Woodhaven and the oldest bar in New York City to operate continually in the same location. Although the bar has pictures of the movie hanging up on its wall, it’d be easy to think of it as just another place to hang out. That’s what one customer thought a few years ago until the owner, Loycent Gordon, told him about the eatery’s prominence. The man was stunned. “I’m a huge ‘Goodfellas’ fan. You just made my day,” Gordon recalled the man saying. “Yeah I’m a huge ‘Goodfellas’ fan, too,” the owner responded. The customer then lifted up his shirt, revealing a tattoo of Ray Liotta and Robert de Niro, two of the movie’s main characters. “You don’t understand. I’m a huge ‘Goodfellas’ fan. You just made my day,” he told Gordon. It’s not uncommon for people to walk into Neir’s without knowing that it once hosted de Niro, Liotta and Martin Scorsese, Gordon said. The regulars recently there on a sunny Friday afternoon seemed more interested in their beverages and watching the afternoon news than looking at all the “Goodfellas” remnants at Neir’s. “That’s why we say Neir’s is the most famous bar you’ve never heard of,” the owner, affectionately known as Loy by many, pointed out. But millions have seen it in “Goodfellas” — based off a book, called “Wiseguy,” on the true story of Hill, a former Mafia associate, during his time with the Lucchese crime family. The film this summer is celebrating its 25th anniversary, with several cast members

Ashes’ in both The ‘Valley of 13 versions of 20 the 1974 and by’ is Flushing ts ‘The Great Ga re the city dumped e h w , s e site Meadow leaning up th c l ti n u h s a l a co . 0 World’s Fair for the 1939-4

‘‘Didn’t I tell you not to buy anything?’’ Robert de Niro, left, asks Johnny Williams in a scene filmed at Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven. The mafia crime family had just pulled off the Lufthansa WARNER BROS./ SCREENSHOT VIA YOUTUBE heist and was wary of the authorities being on their back. going on a media tour with memories of filming the classic movie. It is widely considered one of the best movies of its time. It was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, but only won one Academy Award — a Supporting Actor Award for Joe Pesci for his depiction of Tommy de Vito. The United States Library of Congress has deemed it “culturally significant” and has picked it for preservation in the National Film Registry. The urban legend as to how the movie wound up filming in Woodhaven, as told by Gordon, says Scorsese was shooting at another bar in Queens when someone working on the film stumbled across Neir’s. When the prolific director was brought to the bar, he immediately changed the location. Remember the Christmas party where de Niro yelled at his associates for frivolously spending money while they were being watched by the authorities? “Didn’t I tell you not to buy anything? Not to attract attention?” de Niro shouts at one of his associates who bought a car for his new wife, who defends his purchase by saying it’s “in my mother’s name.” The green walls in the background of that scene belong to Neir’s. Why were federal agents watching the crime family? They had just pulled off one of the most high-profile robbery of all time: the Lufthansa heist. The Lucchese crime family on Dec. 11 1978, through an elaborate plot, stole $5 million in untraceable cash and $875,000 in jewelry from a plane arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport. If done today, the value of their haul would be more than $21 million, experts have said. The scene where Hill, whose voice is

it dedicated to legendary singer Mae West, who, as legend has it, had some of her first performances at the bar. It also hosted Ben Stiller as he filmed part of the 2011 movie “Tower Heist,” the pictures of him and the rest of his staff hanging alongside those of the cast in “Goodfellas.” Gordon said creating the museum is part of his four-point plan to “save the bar,” which he said was in danger of closing years ago. The other parts of his plan include buying the bar outright, to avoid having to pay monthly rent, making necessary renovations and reconnecting with the Woodhaven community. “Tourists aren’t going to save Neir’s Tavern” he said. “The locals are going to save Neir’s Tavern.” Among these famous landmarks that once had Pesci, Liotta and de Niro in their doors, there are some that are no longer around or have seen changes throughout the ages. The building across the street from Hill’s “Brooklyn” home, where he worked parking Cadillacs, was torn down years ago, according to multiple websites. The Air Line Diner seen in the movie, located at 69-35 Astoria Blvd., is now a Jackson Hole burger joint but still has its old sign hanging for all to see. Salerno’s Restaurant, where Hill first goes on a date with his wife, Karen, in the movie, has since closed and become the Tropicana Lounge, located at 117-11 Hillside Ave. in Richmond Hill. The scene where Pesci and de Niro’s characters brutally stomp “Billy Batts” nearly to death took place in the Suite Lounge, really the Spartan Restaurant now known as Lido Restaurant, at 73-20 Grand Ave. in Maspeth. So if you’ve been a fan of Goodfellas for as long as you can remember, now is your chance to visit these places and retrace Hill’s steps on his rise to and fall from greatness. Or you can stay home and live the rest of Q your life out like a schnook.

narrating the action throughout the film, describes the plan for the heist also takes place in Neir’s. But that’s not the only eatery the wiseguys frequent during the movie. Take a trip up to 56-26 Maspeth Ave. and you’ll hit the Clinton Diner, called the “Sherwood Diner” in the movie — a real restaurant located on Long Island. There, Jimmy Conway — de Niro’s character whose name in real life was Jimmy Burke — discusses Hills’ case on drug sale charges with him. Hill, however, realizes Conway is plotting to have him killed because he fears he’ll talk to agents about the crime family’s illegal activities. Outside the diner, Conway gets the news that de Vito has been killed. He takes his anger out on a payphone. You might catch come subtle Queens references if you rewatch the movie, and what better time than its 25th anniversary? Right before Conway has Morrie, one of the innovators of the Lufthansa heist who irks de Niro’s character by asking for money, killed, you can hear one of the characters reference “Rockaway Boulevard.” Although “Goodfellas” will always have a place in every mafioso’s and film buff’s heart, Gordon wants to cement that legacy. The tavern owner said he’s looking to create a “Goodfellas” museum at the bar, where people can see mementos and props from the movie. He would also like to see part of the bar host artifacts from the Union Course ractrack, which hosted horse races just blocks away, and still have another part of Neir’s Tavern today.

PHOTO BY ANTHONY O’REILLY

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Pivotal scenes shot throughout boro by Christopher Barca If you were a fan of HBO’s award-winning period drama “Boardwalk Empire,” you might have occasionally caught yourself squinting your eyes thinking you recognized the setting. Your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you. The show may have been predominantly set in Atlantic City and Chicago, but it was Queens that actors Steve Buscemi and Middle Village native Vincent Piazza were often filming in. The very first episode, the only in the series directed by Flushing native Martin Scorsese during its run from 2010 to 2014, centers around a 1920 speech that Atlantic City Treasurer Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, the show’s main character, played by Buscemi, gives to the Women’s Temperance League. In that scene, Thompson, a powerful yet corrupt politician who doubles as a crime boss in the alcohol bootlegging business during Prohibition, speaks to an all-female audience inside a large meeting hall about the evils of liquor. Historically informed Queens residents watching the show may have immediately recognized the building as not being an Atlantic City ballroom, but the Poppenhusen Institute

Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, a corrupt politician and crime boss, speaks to the Women’s Temperance League in the pilot episode of “Boardwalk Empire.” The scene was shot at the Poppenhusen HBO VIA BOARDWALK EMPIRE WIKI Institute in College Point in 2009. at 114-04 14 Road in College Point. Faye Graham, an administrative assistant at the facility, said it took two days for the crew to set up, with the scene being filmed over the course of an entire day back in 2009, a year before the episode aired. “It was exactly the room they were looking

for,” Graham said of the grand ballroom’s tall ceilings and interior balcony. “I felt like I was back in my favorite time period, the Roaring ’20s, watching these women come in with their flappers and different outfits on.” Graham added that while the Poppenhusen Institute staff mostly kept to themselves,

trying not to interrupt the cast and crew, they were allowed to look on as the scene was filmed and were given an advanced preview of it before it ran on HBO. Even though the show’s series finale aired last year, she said some people visiting the building still remember it as the meeting place of the Women’s Temperance League of Atlantic City. “Some people still recognize it,” she said. “Once they see the room, they’ll say ‘Oh, I remember this from the show.’” “Boardwalk Empire” occasionally filmed in Ridgewood throughout its run, as the neighborhood’s famous row houses served as a stand-in for Prohibition-era Chicago. Ridgewood, as well as Far Rockaway, was also heavily used as a shooting location during the show’s fifth and final season. Buscemi and Stephen Graham, who played legendary gangster Al Capone, were spotted filming scenes at the Ridgewood Democratic Club at 60-70 Putnam Ave. last July and in 2013, respectively. The Rockaway Beach boardwalk was also transformed into a budding turn-of-the-century Atlantic City last summer in order to film flashback scenes of Thompson’s childhood. Q

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‘ALL IN THE FAMILY’ Landmark show was all about Queens by Mark Lord Perhaps the one thing about “All in the Family” even more controversial than the topics covered by the long-running CBS TV series is the location of leading character Archie Bunker’s house as depicted in the opening credits. Beginning on Jan. 12, 1971, and every week for eight and a half of the 12 and a half years it and its successor show ran, viewers would hear the unmistakable voices of Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton, who brought the bigoted but lovable Archie and his faithful wife, Edith, to life (and, in the process, went from being relatively unknown character actors to international stardom), sing the opening theme song, written by Broadway veterans Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. “Boy, the way Glenn Miller played Songs that made the Hit Parade; Guys like us we had it made; Those were the days ...” As the Bunkers sang, seated at their family piano, the camera panned across a row of simple houses, eventually tightening on the one that represented their home, referred to on the show as 704 Hauser St. in Astoria — though some say it was supposed to be Flushing or Corona. The actual address is 89-70 Cooper Ave. The big question is: What neighborhood of Queens is it in? Many believe it’s Glendale, but area residents take pride in knowing it actually falls within the 11374 ZIP code, making it part of Rego Park. The fact was highlighted in 2001, when O’Connor passed away at the age of 76. As reported in the Queens Chronicle at the time, “Almost all the houses west of Woodhaven Boulevard between Myrtle Avenue and Cooper Avenue are in Glendale, except that small row of houses chosen by Hollywood.” The family living in the house at the time it was filmed reportedly never received a cent for their involvement in the series; what they did receive was much unappreciated fan attention. The front of the house was altered long ago and the siding is a different color now, but the house remains a curiosity for devotees of the show. The interior scenes were videotaped in front of a live audience on the West Coast. O’Connor, himself, grew up in Elmhurst and, later, Forest Hills. Bonnie Olson, an ordained

ctors lived in Many famous a a few of the st Queens, with ju m Hollywood’s o fr rd, leading ladies ng Joan Crawfo Golden Age bei d Mae West. an Ginger Rogers

Protestant minister and lifelong resident of Forest Hills, recently recalled meeting O’Connor, a friend of her father’s, when she was a child. “Carroll lived on the north side of Queens Boulevard, near the Grand Central,” she said. Olson remembers him visiting the family in their home on Burns Street, a box of Scottish short bread in hand, which, Olson said, he placed atop the refrigerator. O’Connor, she added, was supposed to be best man at her father’s wedding, but, in the end, the role went to Olson’s uncle. Olson recalled O’Connor’s nickname for her dad: Mac, a shortened version of the family name, MacDougall. Most memorably, her father made a cameo appearance on the show, in an episode structured around Archie’s old buddies. As the first situation comedy to deal openly with racial prejudice and politics, the show featured such then-potentially scandalous themes as abortion, homosexuality, the Vietnam War and even mate-swapping. In later years, the show was turned into a new series, with changes to the cast and a shift in focus from the Bunker home to Archie’s bar, a development reflected in the new series’ moniker, “Archie Bunker’s Place.” With so many memorable episodes in the show, several stand out: “Cousin Maude’s Visit,” which introduced Edith’s outspoken relative (played by Beatrice Arthur), who would spin off into her own series the following season; “Edith’s Problem,” which focused on her mood swings with the approach of menopause; and “Sammy’s Visit,” which featured a guest appearance by the famed African-American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., who, by the end of the episode, bestowed a kiss on the cheek of a stunned Archie. As explained in Vince Wald ron’s “Cla ssic Sit com s,” “Archie’s part-time job as a cab driver was introduced in an earlier episode largely to set up a plausible excuse for the famous nightclub performer to enter the Bunkers’ Queens living room.” It was episodes such as those that catapulted the show to the top of the annual ratings charts. At the end of its first season (actually, half a season, with a total of 13 episodes), it landed in 34th place. By the following year, it was No. 1, a position it would hold for five straight years. At its peak, the show would be seen by more than 50 million viewers nationwide. “All in the Family” even added to the common American lexicon such words as “meathead,” a nickname Archie applied to his son-inlaw, whom he described as “dead from the neck up”; “dingbat,” a term he frequently used to describe Edith; and “stifle,” an order he frequently gave to silence Edith, who was more often than not the show’s voice of reason. In addition to “Maude,” the show also spawned “The Jeffersons,” which would go on

An approximation of the iconic block shot that opened “All in the Family” every week, above, neighbor Ralph Gonzalez in front of the “Bunker House” on Cooper Avenue and Archie with his grandson, Joey. PHOTOS BY MARK LORD AND CBS TELEVISION VIA WIKIPEDIA

to have a long run of its own, and “Gloria,” a short-lived sequel centered on Archie’s daughter. During its run, the show itself, as well as all four of its leading actors, its writers and directors, were all honored with multiple Emmy Awards. Roger Gonzalez, 53, has lived on Cooper Avenue a few doors down from the “Bunker house” for the past 16 years. “W hen I moved in,” he recalled, “that was the big thing.” While admitting that it’s not the attraction it used to be, he said, “Over the years, it has been mentioned a lot.” “My generation grew up on that show,” Gonzalez said, but young people today are no longer familiar with it. “I teach multicultural marketing and I always talk about Archie Bunker,” he said, solemnly adding, “Nobody has a clue.” Still, there are those who were too young to watch or fully get the show during its initial airing who have nonetheless become devoted fans. “I have always had a love for the history of television,” said Gary Pipa, 49, of Floral Park, who said he has a collection of 1,500 DVDs, mostly old TV shows. “I have memories of reruns on WNYW, Channel 5. As I got older, I realized it is such a unique show. I don’t think you could put that show on today.” Toward the end of the series, Edith has died

and Archie is shown mourning her loss. “It shows him as a human being,” Pipa said. “I don’t think he’s an evil character. He’s been misled. He was a good dad with some old-fashioned views. He cared about his family and America.” In an attempt to bring the character into current times, Gonzalez wondered, “What would Archie have to say about Rachel Dolezal, Muslims and the Mexican rapists Trump says are coming over the border?” What, indeed, might he have said? As a tribute to the show’s unique position in American culture, the chairs frequently used by Archie and Edith were accepted for display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Not bad for a couple of old pieces of furniture that were once, at least in television land, part of a home right here in Glendale ... uh, Q make that Rego Park!

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Queens – If you’ve tried to sell your home yourself, you know that the minute you put the “For Sale by Owner” sign up, the phone will start to ring off the hook. Unfortunately, most calls aren’t from prospective buyers, but rather from every real estate agent in town who will start to hound you for your listing. Like other “For Sale by Owners,” you’ll be subjected to a hundred sales pitches from agents who will tell you how great they are and how you can’t possibly sell your home by yourself. After all, without the proper information, selling a home isn’t easy. Perhaps you’ve had your home on the market for several months with no offers from qualified buyers. This can be a very frustrating time, and many homeowners have given up their dreams of selling their homes themselves. But don’t give up

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‘MEN IN BLACK’ Katz insists the Pavilion has no flying saucers by Peter C. Mastrosimone They’re just a set of unusual but historical structures to most, long faded from glory, rusting away for years but finally with a chance of restoration in their future. But the Men in Black knew better. They knew the saucers atop the New York State Pavilion’s Observation Towers in Flushing Meadows Corona Park are no mere architectural oddities of the mid-Sixties, crafted when the space race was on in Washington and Moscow and “The Jetsons” was on in prime time. They’re flying saucers. And when Edgar the Bug carried Dr. Laurel Weaver up one of the towers — a la King Kong with Fay Wray, Jessica Lange or Naomi Watts — so he could escape the Earth with her in tow, the Galaxy Defenders were ready for him. Weaver, played by Linda Fiorentino, escapes, tossed into the safety of a tree, her bare legs dangling to keep the fellas in the audience interested, in case all the explosions weren’t enough. Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J (Will Smith) arrive at the scene. And when the saucer takes off, they blow it out of the sky over Shea Stadium, even as the Mets are on the field. Now everyone knows the truth about the

tower saucers. Yet the government still denies it. “I have not been inside them personally, but I’m pretty sure they’re not spaceships,” Borough President Melinda Katz told the Chronicle Monday. But the paper pressed ahead, knowing the truth is out there and determined to get at it. “Will you rule out ever getting in one of the saucers, rising above Queens and exercising your power from there?” Katz was asked. “I will never rise above Queens and exercise whatever minimal power I have,” she said. “No flying around and zapping your political enemies from above?” “I can do that from here,” she said. “If the discs could fly and roam around, I wouldn’t use them for that. Maybe I’d take my kids on a trip, on a joyride. I’d let my son drive.” Be afraid, Queens, be very afraid — the eldest of her two sons is in elementary school! While Katz denied any knowledge of the saucers’ true purposes, she did say she loves the popular 1997 sci-fi comedy “Men in Black.” “I like any film that highlights Queens, even if I’m not sure I want it highlighted in that fashion,” she said. The scene ends, after all, with the wounded saucer exploding into the Unisphere and plow-

Pavilion saucer vs. Unisphere! One Queens icon destroys another after Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith COLUMBIA PICTURES VIA YOUTUBE shoot down the former over Flushing Meadows Corona Park. ing into the ground. And you think Parks has a hard time keeping up with maintenance now. Bringing Monday’s conversation back to the real world, Katz, who has pledged to restore and repurpose the old Pavilion, took the opportunity to tout the free paint job parts of it are getting from union workers, saying what’s been

done so far is beautiful. The color is “American cheese” yellow, just as it was when the Pavilion opened for business at the 1964-65 World’s Fair. “American cheese” indeed. Just like “Men in Black.” Q Just like this “article.”

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‘SHARKNADO 2’ ‘The Second One’ hits Citi Field, 7 Train by Michael Gannon Terrified fans fleeing Citi Field from an encroaching blizzard in the middle of the baseball season? It isn’t global warming. It’s “Sharknado 2 — The Second One.” The sequel to the SyFy Channel’s 2013 cult hit follows the ongoing saga of Finlay “Fin” Shepard (Ian Ziering) and April Wexler (Tara Reid), who have survived a freak hurricane that dumped the meanest predators in the ocean on a flooded Los Angeles. Our story begins as Fin and April are flying into John F. Kennedy International Airport on a tour to promote their book about their experience in the original terror on “Live with Kelly and Michael.” They haven’t even made final approach over Howard Beach when there is a homage to “The Twilight Zone.” And surely the producers could not have been serious when casting the role of Capt. Bob Wilson, the pilot of the soon-to-beimperiled airliner, with Robert Hays of “Airplane” fame. The action then breaks to Manhattan and the family of Fin’s sister and her husband, Ellen and Martin Brody (yep!). And Ellen has forebodingly ordered Martin to turn off his omnipresent cell phone for a day of summer family fun. The girls are headed to the Statue of Liberty on this warm, sunny day, and the guys are heading out to Queens to take themselves out to a ballgame. At Citi Field. Cue the sight gags, inside movie trivia jokes, vile puns and direct references to actually good movies and TV, such as “Jaws,” “Airplane” and “Star Wars.” On its “Sharknado 2” page, the website IMDB, short for International Movie Data Base, said the weather in Queens at the time of shooting forced a few changes to the script. Though the action takes place in the summer, the Citi Field and Liberty Island Ferry scenes were shot in February 2014, when the weather was brutally cold. The scriptwriters and director of photography needed to explain why people fleeing in terror from the approaching weather front

Mets fans flee Citi Field as a freak summer blizzard blasts Queens with snow and airborne man-eating sharks in “Sharknado 2: the Second One.” Sharks falling from the sky were in the original script. SYFY CHANNEL VIA YOUTUBE The snow and cold temperatures during filming weren’t. would be running out of the ballpark to the No. 7 train through parking lots and stadium grounds covered in snow. It is Fin who first notices that the weather has taken a turn for the worse, with a shark front from over the Atlantic Ocean about to collide with a cold front from Canada over the New York City region. The camp success of “Sharknado” prompted the sequel and the move to New York. And a bigger city calls for a bigger and more numerous cameos by actors and celebrities of far larger profile than the supporting cast of the original. So don’t worry — Al Roker explains it all, meteorologically speaking, to a confused and terrified Matt Lauer, while the Weather Channel’s Stephanie Abrams keeps viewers updated throughout. Fin has contacted his sister-in-law, who is able to get her family on the ferry back to Manhattan just as the weather starts to turn an A rctic cold while d ropping sharks everywhere.

Though long estranged from his brotherin-law, played by former Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath, Fin needs to warn him and his nephew. But with Martin’s phone turned off, the only way he can do so is to find a taxi driver who can get him from Manhattan to Citi Field fast. Luckily, he finds a veteran New York City cabbie who is no ordinary person, and knows all the shortcuts from long years in a in his taxi. Partial spoiler alert — any diehard Mets fan can spot a distinct plot flaw as the cab pulls up to the stadium to drop Fin just steps outside of the Jackie Robinson rotunda. Finding his seat, the chill in the air at City Field is soon far more than recriminations between Fin and Martin. The blizzard is coming fast, and sharks soon are claiming more victims than the Mets’ bullpen and infield defense combined. Fin and family lead the charge out of the stadium and through the snow to seek the safety of a Manhattan-bound No. 7 Train, and

ers, Groucho, The Marx Broth Chico, lived at nd Harpo, Zeppo a ichmond Hill R in t. 87-48 134 S assic comedy cl g before makin 33’s ‘Duck Soup.’ 19 film’s such as Ian Ziering’s Fin Shepard encounters far worse things than delays and panhandlers on the No. 7 train in “Sharknado 2,” which filmed at and around Citi Field.

for the first time in MTA history, there is no wait on the Mets-Willets Point platform for a westbound train. Left behind is Harland “The Blaster” McGuiness, once a power-hitting Mets second baseman who let the team — and his father — down in the clutch decades ago. Spotted by a sharp-eyed fan standing behind him on line at the stadium food court, The Blaster, in classic cinematic style, finds redemption with a bat in his hand one more time, turning a shark into a pile of sushi. Spoiler alert — regular straphangers, electricians and engineers will spot a distinct plot flaw as the ensuing subway ride turns into something beyond even John Rocker’s worst nightmare. In another thoughtful tip of the hat to Queens, director Anthony Ferrante also included a cameo featuring one of the subway system’s giant alligators. The movie unfortunately leaves Queens behind for Midtown Manhattan as the site of the epic showdown of man vs. shark. The writers also must resolve in the closing minutes the subplot of an impending love triangle, as an ex-flame of Fin’s from high school shows up in the Big Apple. And like his counterpart in Los Angeles one year previously, the mayor of New York City calls on Fin to get it done. One final dilemma on the screen — where does the common man find chainsaws in New York City? — in real life could have been answered by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, the FDNY or a sales clerk at any Home Depot, Lowe’s or Sears Tool and Hardware store in the five boroughs. But, after all, the writers already had successfully dealt with the physics involved in the decompression of a passenger jet at cruising altitude; Earth’s gravity; and the formula of “force = mass x acceleration.” Still doubt the need for or the popularity of the sequel? On July 9, the movie will be skewered in a national live simulcast by RiffTrax, made up of three former members of the old Mystery Science Theater 3000 troupe, which for years wisecracked its way through bad Hollywood movies on its cable television show. The performance will be available in some movie theaters in Queens. And less than two weeks later, the SyFy Channel will debut “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!” with Fin and April this time being called upon to save the nation’s capital, Washington, DC. It is even rumored that actor Daniel Radcliffe of “Harry Potter” fame expressed interest in a cameo, provided they could come up with an imaginative way for him to die. Add to that President Mark Cuban, Vice President Ann Coulter, Bo Derek, pro wrestlers, for mer Playboy playmates, Jer r y Springer and Michael Bolton. Still not convinced to tune in? Consider the phrase “starring David HasQ selhoff.”

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‘THE GODFATHER’ See exactly where Don Corleone was buried by Peter C. Mastrosimone As renaissance man Mark Thomas of Manhattan points out, “The Godfather” is one of the most analyzed films ever made, its every scene seemingly deconstructed by critics and fans. So he was surprised to learn several years ago that no one, as far as he could tell online, had ever delved so deeply into the funeral scene to determine exactly where the titular character was laid to rest. Sure, it was Queens. Sure, it was Calvary Cemetery. But where exactly? When a “Godfather” fanatic contacted him in 2007, asking precisely where the burial had been held, Thomas — an artist, writer, web designer, photographer and pianist who did some work as a forensic genealogist — decided to find out. Taking assignments as a forensic genealogist, essentially someone who photographs gravestones at the request of families for the information they hold, Thomas had been visiting Calvary for years. He knew the cemetery at the southwest junction of the Long Island and Brooklyn-Queens expressways well and had created a website about it, which is why the “Godfather” devotee had contacted him. Though Thomas was not really a fan of “The

Godfather,” he had the 1972 Mafia classic on disc and watched the scene in which Don Vito Corleone, the rags-to-riches Italian-American outlaw played by Marlon Brando, is interred. “I knew where it was immediately,” Thomas recalled Monday. “It wasn’t a lot of work to find the exact spot. It was fun, though.” He posted his work in painstaking detail on on one of his webpages, which you can reach at sorabji.com/godfather, along with screenshots from the movie and contemporary photos of the same locations for comparison. He even posted a map where, naturally, X marks the spot. It’s one of his many interesting sorabji.com pages. Key to locating the place of burial was a distinct monument seen in some of the same shots that show the Kosciuszko Bridge in the background. Marking the graves of three members of a family named Daly who died in the 1880s, it culminates in a cross inscribed with the letters “ihs” and is clearly visible in the film. It’s located in the southern part of section 1-West. “One thing I really liked about the project is how that anonymous Daly family rises up from obscurity in a way that they never would have imagined, their tombstone featured in a major Hollywood film decades later,” Thomas said. There was one puzzle about the Daly marker

When mourners bade farewell to Vito Corleone — and tried to jockey for power — in “The Godfather,” they did it in Calvary Cemetery, and researcher Mark Thomas determined exactly where. The PARAMOUNT PICTURES VIA SORABJI.COM crucial clue: the Daly monument on the left in this image. that Thomas had to solve, as explained on his webpage. But there is another about the entire scene that remains a mystery to him. “I’d always wondered about the “Godfather” sequence, because the cemetery is pretty strict about filming there,” Thomas said. “I wonder if

they got permission. I imagine they were in and out pretty quick.” Maybe the “Godfather” crew just barged their way in, filmed and left. Or maybe they made the cemetery an offer it Q couldn’t refuse.

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‘THE NANNY’ That voice and laugh nobody can forget by Mark Lord When it comes to real-life connections to the borough, few works in any genre could approach “The Nanny,” a situation comedy on CBS from 1993 to 1999, chalking up no fewer than 145 episodes about “the flashy girl from Flushing, the nanny named Fran.” As the title character, Fran Drescher, who also co-created the show, became a household name, face and, especially, voice. Born Francine Joy Drescher in Kew Gardens Hills in 1957, she would attend both Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, where a classmate just happened to be one Raymond Romano, who would find fame on his own television series, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and Queens College. Like a page out of a fairy tale, she married her high school sweetheart, Peter Marc Jacobson, who would become her longtime life and business partner, co-creating the show with Drescher. There was a less than happy ending to the story, though, when the couple separated and, following 21 years of marriage, divorced, with Jacobson eventually coming out as gay. But the show brought Drescher to the pinnacle of success, thanks in no small part to her signature laugh, unmistakable New York accent and nasal intonations. The show revolves around Fran, who has been fired from her job in a bridal shop and dumped by her boyfriend. She becomes a door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman, where she meets wealthy British widower Maxwell Sheffield living in Manhattan with his three children and becomes their nanny.

Fran Drescher, left, with Tiffany Wasserman at a Santa Monica, Calif. art gallery. COURTESY CBS TELEVISION, LEFT, AND TIFFANY WASSERMAN She eventually marries Sheffield, played by Charles Shaughnessy, and they have fraternal twins. The show won one Emmy award. “The Nanny” is based more in reality than many so-called “reality shows.” First, there’s the nanny’s name: Fran (Okay, so there have been plenty of television characters named after the performers who enacted them). But she’s not the only character on the show named after actual people in Drescher’s life.

Fran’s TV mother was named Sylvia, just as Drescher’s own mother was. Similarly, her TV father was named Morty, which was also her own father’s name. Even Drescher’s maternal great-grandmother, Yetta, was given her due on the show, in the person of Fran’s grandmother. And that’s just for starters. Sylvia, in real life, worked as a bridal consultant. The opening line of the show’s theme song introduces the Fran character as “working in a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens.” Romano brought a further touch of realism to the show when he guest starred, playing Fran’s former high school classmate, named, as on his own series, Ray Barone. Even the composer Marvin Hamlisch, himself a product of Queens College, made an appearance in an episode, as — what else? — Fran’s former high school music teacher. Drescher’s own parents, Mort and Sylvia, made appearances on the show as recurring characters, Uncle Stanley and Aunt Rose. One liberty the creators took on the show was changing Fran’s last name to Fine. As it turns out, there was a woman by the same name who, like the TV character, actually lived in Flushing. Living next door to this woman was a woman named Syd, who asked that her last name be withheld. She recently recalled that the real Fran Fine “wrote to the show, saying how cool she thought it was. She was disappointed to get back an immediate letter from the network lawyers, saying continued on page 34

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Bayside’s Belfort made a killing, illegally by Lloyd Carroll I am not sure what it is about Queens and guys who try to hoodwink stock investors. Filmgoers will certainly remember Charlie Sheen’s Bud Fox character, who grew up the son of a JFK airline mechanic in Queens and became adept at gathering inside information, a clear Securities and Exchange Commission no-no according to Rule 10b-5 in Oliver Stone’s 1987 masterpiece, “Wall Street.” In a lesser-seen film, Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi), a Queens College dropout who lives with his parents in Kew Gardens Hills, becomes intoxicated with the shady world of penny stocks in 2000’s equally good “Boiler Room.” Of course in the real world there was rogue Far Rockaway financier Bernard Madoff, who ran a gigantic Ponzi scheme that eventually unraveled. And then there was Bayside’s own Jordan Belfort, who knew how to sell worthless securities by exploiting the hopes and fears of middle-class folks who dreamed of hitting it big just as he would — until the feds closed in on him. Even when he was incarcerated in California, Belfort had luck. His cellmate was entertainer Tommy Chong, half of the famous film

comedy duo, “Cheech & Chong,” who was serving a sentence for a drug-related crime. Chong encouraged Belfort to write down his experiences, and was able eventually to get director Martin Scorsese interested in bringing Belfort’s story to the big screen. “The Wolf of Wall Street” was a moniker that Forbes Magazine bestowed upon Bay Terrace native Belfort when he was making the firm he founded with buddy Daniel Porush (renamed Donny Azoff in the movie and portrayed by Jonah Hill), Great Neck-based Stratton Oakmont, into the largest over-the-counter brokerage house in the country. The film opens with a rowdy party for the company but then flashes back to the fall of 1987, with a young Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) eagerly looking forward to get his foot in the door at a fictitious Manhattan investment firm. His mentor is fast-talking Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) who takes him to lunch on his first day and gives one of the most memorable pep talks in movie history. This is by far the highlight of the film. Unfortunately, “Black Monday” hits — Oct. 19, 1987, when the New York Stock Exchange lost 508 points, which was a major percentage back then. Belfort’s firm goes

Page 21 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 25, 2015

‘THE WOLF OF WALL STREET’

Queens residents may recognize that Jordan Belfort’s Jaguar E-Type is parked outside the Shalimar Diner in Rego Park, called the Kacandes in the film, in a scene complete with an LIRR PARAMOUNT PICTURES / RED GRANITE PICTURES, ABOVE VIA MOVIELOCI.COM train in the background. belly-up and so, it appears, does his dream of becoming a stockbroker. His wife, Teresa (Cristin Miloti), spots an ad from a company hiring brokers. It turns out to be a “boiler room” operation on Long Island, where low-

rent guys are selling penny stocks. Jordan knows little about the world of “thinly capitalized” corporations but his ears perk up when he hears that commissions can continued on page 34

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‘DOUBLE INDEMNITY’ Queens murder inspired film noir classic A high-profile trial ended with her in the electric chair in Sing Sing. Legendary author James M. Cain wrote You won’t see any shots of Queens in the a book based on the case in 1943, moving film noir classic “Double Indemnity.” Although the movie, based off a book by the setting to California, with the movie the same name, is shot on the opposite coming out the next year. But if you ask retired NYPD Sgt. Marco coast in California, you can trace its roots straight to 93-27 222 St. in Queens Village. Conelli, the Queens Village case reaches That’s where on March 20, 1927, Ruth far beyond the classic starring Barbara Snyder and her lover, Henry Judd Gray, Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson. murdered Snyder’s husband, Albert. Just as the world watched a Florida In an effort to double the amount her husband’s life insurance would pay out, courtroom during the trial of George Zimdue to a clause known as double indemnity, merman or an Italian one to see if Amerithe two disguised the killing as a burglary can citizen Amanda Knox would be cleared of murder, the same was tr ue for the that ended in murder. Al Snyder didn’t know he had signed up nation’s eyes on Queens as Ruth Snyder and Gray stood trial. for life insurance. “The case itself was the pioneer of so And Ruth Snyder, apparently, did not many things,” said Conelli, a former Queens know how to hide her wrongdoings. According to historical records and Village resident now living in Floral Park, LI, newspaper articles published at the time, of Snyder’s trial in Queens County Supreme investigators quickly noticed something Court. “Court TV and the paparazzi. I believe it all started there with her case.” wrong with the widow’s behavior. Delis near the courthouse, Conelli said, She didn’t seem as distraught as someone would have bags with coffee and buttered who had just lost her husband should be. rolls prepared for the rush of newspaper But that’s not what did her in. The police were quickly able to find the and radio reporters and curious people items purportedly stolen during the rob- waiting outside the courthouse. Newspapers were battling each other for bery, which she had told cops she had been the latest scoop on the case. tied up. All of this is backed up by the retired cop’s massive collection of newspaper clippings, crime scene photographs and even death certificates revolving around the case. His fascination with it started when his friend gave him a book that revealed the infamous murder took place only blocks away from where he once lived. Since then he’s gone on to learn just about ever ything he could about the case and frequently gives speeches on it at libraries and historical societies. “I was inseparable from the s t o r y,” C o n el l i s a id . “ I ju s t amassed anything I could from it.” That includes the newspaper clippings that, as the trial wore on, tried to Marco Conelli and his former Queens home. PHOTOS BY ANTHONY O’REILLY provide readers with the newest and most exciting tidbits from the case. His Queens Village house once had a room dedicated to artifacts from the case, he and his wife said. The battle for media supremacy in the case came to a head during Snyder’s execution in prison. s Although reporters were allowed in the za n a st o C e th room, Conelli said, photographers were On “Seinfeld,” of Bayside for ut’ strictly forbidden. were ‘driven o liday of Festivus, The New York Daily News sent Chicago o h e th observing re their e h Tribune photographer Tom Howard into the w , a ri o st A apparently to ade. room with a custom-designed ankle camera. r shots were m “He had the plunger hid up his pantshome’s exterio line,” said Conelli, who has a picture of the News’ famous photo.

by Anthony O’Reilly

Barbara Stanwyck may play a California housewife in the “Double Indemnity” movie, but the roots for her character go back to Queens Village resident Ruth Snyder. Both mistresses, unsuccessfully, PARAMOUNT PICTURES VIA YOUTUBE tried to cash in on their husband’s life insurance. The tabloid ran the picture with the headline “DEAD.” Snyder’s case shares some similarities with the “Double Indemnity” movie. For one, both murders involved an affair. S e c o n d ly, t h e i l l -f a t e d h u s b a n d s unknowingly signed life insurance policies neither of them knew they were buying. In both cases, their wives had them sign the paper by hiding it behind another. It was a facet of the hidden policy in the Queens case that is also the basis for another of Cain’s novels: “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” Accord i ng to Conelli, Snyder had instructed her mailman to only deliver documents pertaining to the insurance policy to her and to ring the doorbell twice when he had anything pertaining to it. That wasn’t the case in the “Double Indemnity” movie. MacMurray’s character is a cunning insurance salesman who falls for Stanwyck’s and, at her behest, sells her husband life insurance with a double indemnity clause that has the policy pay out double if the ill-fated man

dies on a train. The two lovebirds are able to kill the man and stage his death to make it look as if he fell off the back of a moving train. But Robinson’s character, a friend of MacMurray’s and a coworker in the insurance industry, notices that the husband never cashed out on an accident insurance policy after he broke his leg. Robinson’s suspicion and paranoia on the part of Stanwyck and MacMurray cause the two lovers to shoot each other. Although Stanwyck’s character dies, it’s unclear if MacMurray’s succumbs to his injuries as well. Today, there is a sale pending on the old Snyder house, according to real estate records. Although largely forgotten, the Snyder case is still a constant source of interest for Conelli. “I’m always looking around to see what I can find,” he said. Queens on screen, “Double Indemnity” is not, strictly speaking. But its backstory is a borough classic that has influenced some TV and reading classics, and arguably has shaped the Q media landscape as we know it.

Just a sampling of some of the mementos Conelli has from the Ruth Snyder case.

C M CELEB page 23 Y K Page 23 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 25, 2015

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 25, 2015 Page 24

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‘THE KING OF QUEENS’ Lots of laughs with Doug Heffernan by Liz Rhoades “The King of Queens,” that popular CBS sitcom that ran for nine seasons, from 1998 to 2007, continues to remain a hit today on reruns and DVDs. Although the show takes place in Queens — with the opening credits showing the Queens Center mall, the stars of the sitcom frolicking in Flushing Meadows Park and eating ices at the Lemon Ice King in Corona — the programs were actually filmed in Culver City, Calif. at Sony Pictures Studios. The show revolves around Doug and Carrie Heffernan, a blue-collar married couple, and Carrie’s father, the unpredictable and sometimes volatile Arthur Spooner, who lived with them. Doug, played by comedian Kevin James, is a deliveryman for the fictitious International Parcel Service, while his wife, portrayed by Leah Remini, is a secretary in Manhattan, first at a law firm and later in real estate. Her father, played by the veteran comedian Jerry Stiller, is a source of aggravation for the Heffernans as they have very little alone time. According to the plot, Spooner came to live with them shortly after their marriage because he accidentally set his house on fire and had no insurance. One of Doug’s joys was his 70-inch television, which is now relegated to the garage because Spooner occupies the basement. Heffernan and his friends could often be seen hanging out at Cooper’s Ale House in Glendale, now Yerman’s Irish Pub. But those scenes were also recreated in the studio. Regular cast members who played Doug’s friends included Deacon Palmer, portrayed by Victor Williams, his best friend and co-worker, who graduated from St. John’s University; and Spencer Olchin, played by Patton Oswalt, described as a nerd who likes science fiction and comic books and is a hypochondriac. Other regular players were Holly Shumpert, portrayed by Nicole Sullivan, a dog walker, family friend and overimbiber; and Kelly Palmer, played by Merrin Dungey, Deacon’s wife and Carrie’s best friend. Carrie and Doug don’t know what to do with the old man, who is always around and complaining so they finally hire Holly to take

ria Studios, Kaufman Asto s the original a built in 1920, w unt Pictures, o m ra home of Pa es 100 silent movi n and more tha s stages. it were filmed on

Jerry Stiller played Carrie Heffernan’s father, Arthur Spooner, a constant thorn in the side of CBS TELEVISION the couple.

Leah Remini and Kevin James played Carrie and Doug Heffernan in the popular sitcom “The King CBS TELEVISION of Queens,” which ran for nine seasons on CBS. him along with the dogs for daily outings. Spooner has gone through three wives and by the final season weds Doug’s friend Spencer’s mother, Veronica. In real life that woman was Anne Meara, Stiller’s wife of 61 years, who died recently. Stiller had played another Queens father in a previous sitcom, “Seinfeld,” portraying George Costanza’s father, Frank, another irascible character, who created Festivus. The Heffernans live at 3121 Aberdeen St. in Rego Park. Notice there is no hypen in the street address. There is no Aberdeen Street in Queens, though there is an Aberdeen Road in Jamaica Estates and an Alderton Street in Rego Park. Unquestionably, the house looks like an abode in Queens, but the exterior was actually filmed in Cliffside Park, NJ. The show was partly inspired by Jackie Gleason’s “The Honeymooners,” with Doug and Carrie showing mannerisms similar to those of Ralph and Alice Cramden and Remini providing deadpan expressions like Alice. Doug’s character also appeared in other series including “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Cosby” in 1996 and “Becker” in 1998. He appeared five times on “Everybody Loves Raymond” and Ray Romano, the Forest Hills native who starred in “Raymond,” also showed up on James’ show, as did other cast members because it was such a popular crossover for fans. Another recurring character in “The King of Queens” was Lou Ferrigno and his real-life wife, who played neighbors of the Heffernans. Best known for his portrayal of The Hulk, Ferrigno, who played himself in the sitcom, didn’t like Hulk jokes from the neighbors. According to online surveys, one of the most popular episodes was from season three and titled “Strike Out.” It dealt with Doug

and Deacon’s handling of their union’s strike. The strike was into its third week. After discovering that the men had slept all day and did nothing, the two wives had had enough of their husbands’ behavior and talked the two into hanging out with Spooner, while Deacon also babysat his youngest child. Hijinks ensued with the men betting on which farm animal noise will come from the baby’s toy next, making infantile jokes to neighbors and giving someone wrong directions to Forest Hills High School. When the two wives discovered their actions, they put an end to it, but by then the strike was over and Spooner lamented that the camaraderie would end. Doug promised otherwise. Stiller was particularly poignant and funny bonding with the two younger men with

his uproarious nonsense actions. None of the lead actors actually hailed from Queens, though close. James is a Long Island native and Remini and Stiller were brought up in Brooklyn. James went on to star in several full-length comedy movies including “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” “Zookeeper” and “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” and continues with his stand-up comedy act. Remini appeared on “Dancing with the Stars,” was a host for a short time on “The Talk” and now stars on a TLC reality show called “It’s All Relative.” Stiller, 88, has gone on to appear in several movies including his son, Ben Stiller’s, “Zoolander” and “Hairspray.” After “The King of Queens” became popular — and it was considered a Monday night staple that was called “comedy that delivers” — the producers phoned the Queens Chronicle asking if they could use copies of the newspapers as props. The answer, of course, was yes. See if you can spot any copies lying around the Heffernan household the next time you Q catch an old episode.

The Lemon Ice King of Corona remains a popular attraction in Queens, especially in the summer. continued page 24 PHOTO BYon RICK MAIMAN It was featured in the opening credits of “The King of Queens.”

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Film tells tale of peninsula a long time ago by Anthony O’Reilly Everyone needs an escape from reality. In the 1987 movie “Radio Days,” the main character’s escape from the everyday is the radio. Where is Joe, narrated by Woody Allen and acted by Seth Green, escaping from? Rockaway Beach. “The scene is Rockaway, the time is my childhood,” Allen says at the beginning of the movie. For some, “Radio Days” paints an accurate depiction of what the peninsula was like back in the mid-20th century. New York Times film critic Avery Corman, who identifies himself as someone who grew up in the Rockaways, said at the time that the movie “uses the importance of radio in our lives in the 1940s as the spine for a sight and sound poem about his early years and the icons of that period.” Corman laments how very few movies back in the late ’80s reflect the real lives of viewers. “Radio Days,” however, seems to have a different effect on him. In speaking to the film critic, Allen said he wanted to use the radio to show what life was

This Rockaway Park house at Beach 115th Street served as the setting for Woody Allen’s “Radio Days,” a depiction of the peninsula during the golden age of radio in the 1940s. It survived ORION PICTURES VIA YOUTUBE Superstorm Sandy and still stands today. like growing up in a time before television became the mainstay. “The whole country was tied together by radio,” Allen told Corman. “We all experienced the same heroes and comedians and singers.”

Joe, who is not given a last name throughout the movie, also uses the radio as his method of letting go of his stresses. He used it to escape his parent’s bickering, which he states at one point could easily start with something as simple as the size of

‘SPIDER-MAN’

by Christopher Barca

by Anthony O’Reilly

“If it doesn’t work out, we can always move back to Queens.” What do you get when you give four Queens residents who came from nothing millions of dollars, access to beautiful women, fancy cars, mansions and private jets and a never-ending list of Hollywood celebrities to hang out with? The answer is eight seasons of HBO’s “Entourage,” plus a feature film. From 2004 to 2011, viewers followed Vincent Chase, played by Adrian Grenier, and his quest to become an A-list actor with his half-brother Johnny “Drama” Chase, a C-list celebrity, and childhood friends Eric “E” Murphy, his manager, and Salvatore

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can. And in the 2002 rendition of one of Marvel Comic’s most iconic superheroes, Tobey Maguire finds out what exactly it is a spider can do in Queens. Maguire depicts Peter Parker growing up with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May in a Sunnyside home. Next door to him is his eternal love interest, Mary Jane, played in 2002 by Kirsten Dunst. It was also partially filmed at 88-41 69 Road in Forest Hills. Although West Queens plays the role during that movie, you’d have to look more to the central part of the borough to find the web-slinging hero. In the comic books, the hero grows up with his aunt and uncle in a Forest Hills home at 20 Ingram St. Later in the movie, a more prominent Queens landmark plays a role in Parker’s upbringing as New York City’s newest superhero. His archnemesis, the Green Goblin, makes Spider-Man choose between saving a Roosevelt Island tram full of children and Mary Jane as he dangles both above the East River by the Queensboro Bridge. And there’s a good chance you might see “Spidey” back in Queens in a future installment, either on the big screen or on the comic stands.

The cast of both the “Entourage” television HBO series and feature film.

“Turtle” Assante, his assistant, at his side. The show is predominately set in Los Angeles, where the band of wide-eyed men in their 20s adapt to their newfound lavish lifestyles, but the quartet’s Queens upbringing, and Drama’s reluctance to return to his home borough, is often mentioned throughout the award-winning series. But ironically, it was the success of the independent film “Queens Boulevard” that Chase starred in that helped propel him and his crew to new heights. While viewers never learn what specific part of the borough the characters are from, homecoming scenes for “Return to Queens Boulevard,” the final episode of the fifth season, were filmed in Woodside in 2008. The gang reunited four years after the show ended with an Entourage feature film of the same name, which hit theaters June 3. In one of the movie’s funnier scenes, Chase tells Drama they can move back home if the film he is directing tanks at the box office, an idea that doesn’t go over well. “I don’t want to go back to Queens, bro!” Drama yells. “I like the weather out here too Q much.”

A contract between Sony and Marvel for the famous character, recently leaked by Gawker, lays out that Parker “is raised in a middle class household in Queens” ... and “attended high school in Queens.” Those traits, and other more controversial characteristics for the character, are listed as “mandatory” for Parker and his superhero alter-ego. So let your “Spidey senses” tingle the next Q time you’re roaming the borough.

Sunnyside houses can be seen in the 2002 version of “Spider-man.” COLUMBIA PICTURES VIA YOUTUBE

18TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2015

‘ENTOURAGE’

the oceans, and associates radio songs with different memories. “My most vivid memory connected with an old radio song I associate with the time that Aunt Bea and her then-boyfriend Chester took me into New York to the movies,” Allen says at one point during the movie. “It was the first time I’d ever seen the Radio City Music Hall and it was like entering heaven. I just never saw anything so beautiful in my life.” The house used to depict the Rockaway family is located at Beach 115th Street and still stands there today — it was one of the few on its block to survive Superstorm Sandy. “The boiler is shot, the water heater, too, and the chilly air inside is thick with a musty smell. But this house is one of the lucky ones: It will survive,” the Times wrote in November 2012. Lee Quimby, the co-owner of the house, had said the film was a personal favorite of hers. “I think ‘Radio Days’ is one of his best f ilms,” Quimby said of Allen. “And I thought that even before we bought the Q house.”

Page 27 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 25, 2015

‘RADIO DAYS’

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 25, 2015 Page 28

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‘QUEENS LOGIC’ 1991 film embodies a boro’s attitude by Christine Spagnuolo “Queens Logic” is a quirky dramedy about a group of childhood friends — Al, Den nis and Eliot — who meet up in Queens for the bachelor party and wedding of their friend Ray. The journey the 30-year-old Queens natives and their girlfriends and wives take in their old stomping grounds takes place over the course of a few days. As in most reunion movies, the characters go through a mid-life evaluation of how things are going for them. The bride and groom are having second thoughts, and the group as individuals and a whole go on an emotional roller coaster ride. The characters are middle-class working people, and the film focuses on their spirits and quirks rather than getting viewers to take them too seriously. Al, married to his wife, Carla, and Eliot, a single gay man, sell fish. Dennis is a failing musician who was living in LA, Ray is an artist, and his soonto-be — or not-to-be — wife, Patricia, is a beautician. The movie not only takes place mostly in Queens but was filmed on location in Astoria,

Woodside, Manhattan and at multiple Queens landmarks. Screen writer Tony Spiridakis, who starred in the film as well, is actually from Queens. Well-known actors such as Kevin Bacon and Jamie Lee Curtis embodied the characteristics of nitty-gritty, ordinary people and a realistic Queens attitude that most people who grew up in the area are able to relate to. Viewers get a taste of Queens from the moment the f ilm begins. In the title sequence, Al, headhoncho of the group, is shown climbing a rope on the Triborough Bridge. Ray and Patricia plan to get married outdoors, by the iconic Hell Gate Bridge in Astoria. A lot of tension revolves around the engaged couple as Ray gets cold feet. He had some success as a painter, and so he thinks Patricia does not have the class to be an artist’s wife. Their constant bickering and love-hate relationship represent Queens and the rest of the world. In a memorable scene she explains to him that she is who she is and will never change — “I am Queens,” she proudly states. The movie targets more its coming-ofmiddle-age story than it does specific

The famous Hell Gate Bridge in Astoria that is featured in “Queens Logic.” details about the borough, but the characters create its atmosphere through their behavior and “Queens logic.” A review by The New York Times described the film as being down-to-earth, “best expressed through Hawaiian shirts, wisecracks about domestic violence and a scene in which Patricia

PHOTO BY CRISTINA SCHREIL

expresses her annoyance at Ray by flushing a toilet while he is in the shower.” The movie was not very successful at its time of release in 1991, and perhaps only those who have their own Queens logic can truly understand the characters and the lives Q they lead.

‘ELEMENTARY’ The detective show as seen by an extra 18TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2015

by Andrew Benjamin “Roll sound! Background! Action!” That’s my cue to either cross the street, run from the CGI-created monster or just sit and sip some coffee when those cameras roll. That’s my job. I’m a background actor, commonly known by the term “extra.” For those not in the know, an extra is any person hired to appear in a movie or TV show who does not have lines. The job can range from being a pedestrian who is nothing more than a blur five blocks from the main actors to the nurse who takes a patient’s vitals while Dr. House questions him. My resume includes movies and TV shows such as “The Amazing Spiderman 2,” “Noah,” “Law and Order: SVU” and, among numerous others, the award-winning CBS detective show “Elementary.” “Elementary” is a reinterpretation of the Sherlock Holmes stories and characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While those have been brought to the screen countless times, “Elementary” really takes them in a new direction. In the books, Holmes occasionally dabbles in drug use, cocaine in particular, when he hasn’t

a pressing case to solve. In “Elementary,” he’s a recovering drug addict. In the books, his sidekick is Dr. John Watson, a surgeon and war veteran. In “Elementary,” he is reimagined as Dr. Joan Watson, played by Jackson Heights native Lucy Liu, a surgeon Holmes’ father hires to help keep his son sober. She then grows into becoming his apprentice. And of course, rather than London, “Elementary” is set in New York City and often films at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City. New York is where I book 90 percent of my work — quite appropriate given the historical significance the city has on the big screen. Whether it’s King Kong’s climb to the top of Manhattan’s Empire State building or the Corleone family gathering in Staten Island, the city is not just a location but an essential character itself. And the borough I most enjoy working in is Queens. “Elementary” provided me with two of the notable experiences I had working here. The first time I worked on the show in the borough was in Douglaston back in 2011. It was a two-day shoot on Hillcrest Avenue outside a beautiful house. I never saw the episode but I’m guessing a murder or some nefarious deed

The author in a scene with “Elementary” co-star Lucy Liu, a Jackson Heights native. CBS TELEVISION VIA FACEBOOK

happened there judging by the yellow tape and number of background actors hired to play NYPD. I was booked to play a pedestrian. We filmed late into the night. All us pedestrians were directed to do was look and gawk as we wondered what had happened in this house. The second time was a more memorable experience. I was booked to play a TARU (Technical Assistance Response Unit) Tech. Basically a computer nerd.

I reported to Broadway Stages in LIC, where we shot in a studio. It’s a mid-sized studio that is nowhere near the size or name recognition of Kaufman Astoria Studios. I got a nifty jacket from wardrobe and headed to a police van. Inside the van were series regulars Jonny Lee Miller, who stars as Holmes, Liu, Aidan Quinn and Jon Michael Hill. I realized it would just be me with them! As I sat down at the computer where I would be “typing” away, Liu with a smile asked me “How are you?” There are two big rules in the background acting business. One is get to your location on time. The other is never speak to the main actors. Breaking that protocol, I replied “I’m great. How are you?” Throughout the shooting day, the cast talked and joked with me. Quinn commended me on my performance with a “Great job, Andrew.” Hill shook my hand and introduced himself to me. Miller shook my hand and said, “Thanks, buddy” after we finished filming. Shooting took about two or three hours, very short relative to a typical work day. If you want to check out the episode, it’s called “No Lack of Void.” It aired April 10, 2014. The success of “Elementary” continues, and you can expect a Q new season to start in the fall.

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