(left to right) Arthur De Mattei, Adolph De Mattei, Silvio De Mattei, Katarina De MatteiMy dad joined the US Army at 17 years old, that’s him on the far left standing next to my Uncle Adolph. My grandfather, that’s him on the right standing next to my grandmother, had to sign for my Dad because he was a minor. Dad was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division (Buckeyes) during WWii and shipped overseas to the Battle of the Pacific (Leyte, Luzon, Baggio, Guadalcanal, etc). I grew up hearing stories of the bloody island battles, of how hitting one beachhead after another kinda a makes a guy hate going to the beach, especially after watching your friends never make it home. My dad carried a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) because as he likes to put it, “I was a big son-of-bitch.” As a child my dad was my hero, he still is. He says, “I’m no hero, Son, the heroes never came home.” If you want to read more about the 37th infantry, there’s a decent summary on Wikipedia. If you want to hear more first hand accounts of the perils of war, give my dad a call or drop by and see him. Happy Veterans Day to all Dwho served and especially my Dad.
I was not around on December 7, 1941 but my dad was and that “day of infamy” so moved him that at 17 years old, with permission from his immigrant father, he joined the Army and was immediately sent over seas to be, as he likes to put it, “a sand bag”. He didn’t return home until he was 20. My point is, unlike many other young boys, he returned home and has never let me forget those that did not. Pearl Harbor Day also reminds me that kids everywhere are still the future of this world and we adults continue to treat them as if they are sand bags. I for one want the next war to leave the kids at home and send the adults. We’ll see how fast all this insane shit stops.
I’m not religious. I attended Catholic school from first through third grades. The picture of God on the classroom wall was a caricature of an old white man with a white beard who resembled an Al Hirschfeld self-portrait. The picture opposite Him was of His Son, Jesus. The picture of Jesus looked a lot like…
LIFE WITH GUIDO A short film written by Gary De Mattei (Sound and Guido monologue begin) FADE IN: Old photograph of Guido’s Italian family; 1960s. FADE OUT: photograph FADE IN: Abrupt medium close-up of Guido holding and looking at the photograph. He is wearing a crumpled sports jacket and tieless shirt; the background is the…
FAUST by Goethe — Part 1 (first published in 1808) I’ve been rereading the David Constantine translation during these dark times and have concluded that we are being ruled by a Faustian character who has made a pact with the Devil disguised as Capitalism. Click on the audio file above and listen to me read…
(Photo: Biography from “Fiddler” Program – May 1981) My friend, Hal Grant, called me today and said, “Nehemiah Persoff passed away, he was 102.” And then Hal went back to work directing a television show in Southern California. Nehemiah used to talk about ‘The Actors Studio’, and his teachers Stella Adler and Elia Kazan. And…
The thing I dislike most is that I have to empathize with EVERYONE. It’s my job. I’m an artist. Okay, so I’ve empathized with you people who spread fear and hate. I now understand. You. Are. Scared. Well, my advice to you is to do what I do when I’m scared— dig deep and try…
Got off the JetBlue jet plane at 7:30 AM. Driving through Queens is a throwback to all of those gritty films shot in the NYC of the ’70’s. Queens was untouched by the 80’s Disneyfication of Manhattan. Queens still flaunts the rust and rawness that you’d expect to see from the window of a beat-up…
