Here's to you, Julius LaRosa. On this infamous day in show biz history, Arthur Godfrey– what, you never heard of Walter Godfrey? — fired singer Julius LaRosa. Godfrey was the Ed Sullivan of the morning hours on TV and radio. See Mark Rotella's book "Amore: The Story of Italian American Song" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).
Jim Periconi's amazing colection of Italian American publications, books and magazines, from the early decades of the 20th century, a lifetime labor of love, is on display at the Grolier Club (47 East 60th Street in Manhattan) and should be seen!. — DL