The primary ever national gangster history convention was held outdoors Chicago on September 10, eleven and 12, 2004. I am proud to have been involved with the planning and promotion of this distinctive event. The Golden Age of Gangsters was the brainchild of Harry Lawrence, a hulking tattoo artist who looks like an enforcer for the Hell’s Angels. Harry is from Larger Cleveland and put in a tremendous quantity of effort and time to deliver his vision to life. He has a longtime interest in organized crime history and operates Mob Put on Clothes.
Harry, his spouse and his crack crew got here in two days early and did a very good job setting up the room which was full with applicable shows, whiskey barrels and old photographs. There have been about fifty vendors readily available-too many to say in this brief piece. They came from so far as Liverpool, England.
Visitors came in from surrounding states and even Canada. Many of the conventioneers were authors like Rose Keefe who simply released Guns and Roses, the story of Dion O’Banion, Patrick Downey who penned Gangster City and Chicago crime historian John Binder who wrote The Chicago Outfit. Rick Mattix, author of Public Enemies: America’s Criminal Past and Thompson Submachine Gun professional was there alongside with his wife Linda, an actual pistol. There were producers, crime specialists, lecturers and a representative from the Chicago Police Memorial Association. A tour firm was on hand providing rides to the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre location and other historic Chicago crime websites. Gangster era collectors displayed or offered memorabilia like photos and documents, Detective Journal articles, bricks from the previous Lexington Lodge where Al Capone had his headquarters and even the notorious mob boss’s scarf. Sam Giancana’s daughter Antoinette (portrayed by Susan Lucci in Mafia Princess) was readily available to sell her pasta and sauce.
The AmericanMafia.com table was throughout from the lovely Georgia Durante, former mob spouse, stunt automotive driver and creator of The corporate She Retains, and gifted artist Michael Bell, who has a sideline painting organized crime figures and mob actors. Actors on hand included John Fiore and Joe Gannascoli. John has had roles on Guiding Mild, Law and Order, Meet the Dad and mom and Sopranos. Joe at present performs Vito Spatafore on Sopranos. And Clem Caserta (A Bronx Tale) was available too. A few of the actors and producers had televisions set-up enjoying copies of movies, trailers, documentaries and biographical sketches. At occasions it appeared there was some competitors for audio area. The winner, ironically, was Jimmy Whispers’s crew with their infinitely looped copy of A Bronx Tale-the standard conjugations of the all-goal curse word slicing via the room every minute or so.
The Sopranos crew was saved busy posing for footage with company buying autographed nonetheless shots of the show. My table wasn’t as busy because the Sopranos but I did have a couple of individuals who wanted to take photos with me too. Really there was only one. Well actually the man didn’t wish to take a photo with me. He asked me to take an image of him with Georgia Durante…
And naturally how might you depart out wiseguy-turned funnyman and actor Large Frank D’Amico. Unless of course you did not have room. (Frank is larger than JoJo the Whale.) But he is received an enormous heart and introduced big laughs to our part of the room throughout the weekend. Oftentimes at my expense. (He sat directly across from me.) Frank signed copies of his new guide Stand-Up Guy and did his routine after the convention Saturday night. Frank likes to make enjoyable of mobbed-up robust guys however I am sure he was a no nonsense player in his day. Frank had a freak accident outdoors the convention resort. Some guy ran over his foot together with his tire! Big Frank pulled the offender proper out of his seat and wound up pummeling the man-damned close to to death. However once more, Frank’s received a heart. When the beating was over, he was nice sufficient to assist the guy again into his wheelchair…
I had a ball, met a couple of readers and a few more AmericanMafia.com guests and made loads of associates. sig sauer scope is already scoping out venues for the next one.