- Jilly Rizzo
Infobox Person
name = Jilly Rizzo
caption =
birth_name = Ermenigildo Rizzo
birth_date = birth date|1917|5|6|mf=y
birth_place =New York City ,New York
death_date = death date and age|1992|5|6|1917|5|6|mf=y
death_place =Rancho Mirage, California
occupation = RestaurateurTelevision personality
nationality = AmericanErmenigildo Rizzo (
May 6 ,1917 –May 6 ,1992 ), nicknamed Jilly, was an American restaurateur and entertainer. A long time friend ofFrank Sinatra , Rizzo made cameo appearances in several of his films. He was also a frequent guest on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In ", where he would recite one liners in hismonotone New York accent . During the 1970s, his night-club was torn down and replaced withDean Martin 's restaurant,Dino's .On
May 6 ,1992 , Rizzo was killed in a car accident when he was hit by a drunk driver on his 75th birthday inRancho Mirage, California . [cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1D6163FF934A35756C0A964958260|title=Jilly Rizzo, Close Aide To Sinatra, Killed at 75|date=1992-05-07|publisher="New York Times"|accessdate=2008-07-21] He is buried near Sinatra in the Desert Memorial Park in Palm Springs, California.Trivia
Frank Sinatra mentions Jilly in a number of his recordings:
*Jilly's Restaurant is mentioned twice in his andSammy Davis Jr. 's song "Me and My Shadow ".
*At the beginning of the album "Sinatra at the Sands ", Frank jokingly welcomes his Las Vegas audience to "Jilly's West."
*In his cover version of "Mrs. Robinson ", he changes the name "Jesus" to "Jilly."
*In the 1969 song "Star!", Frank sings, "If they've got a drink with her name in Jilly's Bar, the chances are, the lady's a Star!"
*Actor/comedianBrad Garrett told some funny stories about beingFrank Sinatra 's opening act, and how Jilly temporarily fired him for allegedly making a bad joke about Frank. Jilly allegedly sent him, as a punishment, to open forLiza Minnelli .
* Jilly appears as a bartender in "The Manchurian Candidate" where one of his stories sets offLaurence Harvey into a hypnotic trance.References
External links
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*Persondata
NAME= Rizzo, Jilly
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Rizzo, Ermenigildo
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Restaurateur,Television personality
DATE OF BIRTH=May 6 ,1917
PLACE OF BIRTH=New York City ,New York
DATE OF DEATH=May 6 ,1992
PLACE OF DEATH=Rancho Mirage, California
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