Jilly_Rizzo

Jilly Rizzo

Jilly Rizzo

American actor


Ermenegildo "Jilly" Rizzo (May 6, 1917 – May 6, 1992) was an American restaurateur and entertainer.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Career

As a young man, Rizzo worked with his father delivering Italian ice to cafes. Rizzo opened Jilly's Saloon, a lounge on West 49th Street, then moved to 256 West 52nd Street 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.[1] 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, where he would recite one liners in his monotone New York accent. Rizzo also appeared briefly in Sinatra's music video "L.A. Is My Lady", one of dozens of celebrity cameos in the 1983 production which received frequent airplay on the pop music cable channel VH1.

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.[2]

Death

Rizzo was killed by a drunk driver in Rancho Mirage, CA on his 75th birthday, May 6, 1992.[2][3] He is buried in Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.[2]

Filmography

More information Year, Title ...
More information Year, Title ...

See also


References

  1. Talese, Gay (April 1966). "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold". Esquire. No. Wikipedia describes the article here. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  2. "Jilly Rizzo, Close Aide To Sinatra, Killed at 75". The New York Times. 7 May 1992. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  3. Kraft, Scott (17 July 2010). "Parole battle pits Sinatra family against killer of singer's right-hand man". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 May 2022.



Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Jilly_Rizzo, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.