Ermenegildo "Jilly" Rizzo (May 6, 1917 – May 6, 1992) was an American restaurateur and entertainer.
Career
As a young man, Rizzo worked with his father delivering
Italian ice
Italian ice is a frozen or semi-frozen sweetened treat made with fruit (often from concentrates, juices, or purées) or other natural or artificial food flavorings.U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationCFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 Acce ...
to cafes. Rizzo opened
Jilly's Saloon, a lounge on West 49th Street, then moved to 256 West
52nd Street
52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Jazz center
Following the repeal of ...
at the intersection with
Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. Jilly's Saloon was a popular celebrity hangout in the 1960s. Rizzo's long-time friend
Frank Sinatra frequented the lounge. Rizzo later became one of Sinatra's chief aides, and was even referenced in Sinatra's adapted lyrics for "
Mrs. Robinson" to avoid using the name "Jesus". Rizzo was also a frequent guest on ''
Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...
'', where he would recite one liners in his monotone
New York accent
The phonology, sound system of New York City English is popularly known as a New York accent. The New York metropolitan area, New York metropolitan accent is one of the most recognizable accent (sociolinguistics), accents of the United States, ...
.
In 1990, Rizzo and five other men were convicted of fraud in relation to an $8 million loan scheme. He was given 1,000 hours of community service in a case presided over by judge
Jack B. Weinstein.
Death
Rizzo was killed by a drunk driver in
Rancho Mirage, CA on his 75th birthday, May 6, 1992.
He is buried in
Desert Memorial Park
Desert Memorial Park is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California, United States, near Palm Springs. Opening in 1956 and receiving its first interment in 1957,The Palm Springs Cemetery District itself was covers 504 square miles, including Palm Spr ...
in
Cathedral City, California
Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second larg ...
.
Filmography
See also
* ''
The Night We Called It a Day''
References
External links
*
1917 births
1992 deaths
American male film actors
American people of Italian descent
American restaurateurs
Burials at Desert Memorial Park
Businesspeople from New York City
Road incident deaths in California
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American musicians
20th-century American businesspeople
Television personalities from New York City
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