Atlantic City Weekly

Share this Story:

Greetings and salutations. Rain, thunderstorms, flooding — none of it stops the partying people from hanging with the Geator on the weekends at Memories in Margate. The big news now is that we are live from Memories Friday nights on KOOL 98.3 starting at 8pm, with a fabulous food buffet from Chickie’s & Pete’s, trivia giveaways, and dancing good times. And then later on in the evening, Joey Merini continues his Friday night soiree. 
 And what a great weekend we just had. Nothing but stars. Middleweight world champion Virgil Hill made a surprise visit Saturday night, much to the delight of the fans on the dance floor. And must have been something in the air, ’cause there had to be at least a dozen folks celebrating birthdays — Sherry, Dale, Mike, plus a busload of folks who came in from Stone Harbor and Avalon. Also in attendance, the Mighty Quinn, along with his lovely wife, Mary Kate. Of course the Three Amigos, Cascia’s Bakery, and my man John from Cannulo’s and his soon-to-be bride are always a part of the fabric of Memories, along with my man Willie Jacovini. Making a late-night appearance, our favorite South Philly lawyer, Chris “the Dude.” And a great visit from my pal Dom Irrera, who was appearing at Harrah’s Resort. Don Marrandino, who’s the boss man not only at Caesars, Showboat, and Bally’s but at Harrah’s, too, caught Dom back in Vegas and flipped, and Dom will forever be playing at one of Marrandino’s locations in Atlantic City.
Back in Philly, the birthday bash for the Geator at SugarHouse was amazing. SugarHouse really knows how to take care of business when it comes to the customer. And you can hear the live broadcasts every Wednesday on Cruisin’ 92.1 and wvlt.com. But now, let’s ask the Geator.



What was the name of the club you opened in the summer (1965 or ’66 ?) in Wildwood to compete with the Starlight? I remember going but can’t remember what happened. It was only yesterday — some 45 years ago! — David Glynn



It was called the Scene, and I didn’t open it to compete with the Starlight. The Starlight was a nightclub. This was strictly dancing, and it was named after my TV show The Discophonic Scene.

The building was an old converted Acme or A&P supermarket that took up an entire block. The first artist who appeared there with me was Little Richard, and we had 5,000 kids that night. It was the summer of 1966.



A while back you mentioned a movie being made about Sal Mineo. Is anyone doing a film about Paul Newman? — L.F.



I don’t think there will be a movie about him anytime soon for the simple reason that there is no one who can come close to matching his magnetism on screen. Time is another factor — for example, only now is there going to be a film biography of Steve McQueen, more than 30 years after his death. He will be played by Jeremy Renner, who I think is going to be a very big star. I first noticed him in the movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford , which I recommend.



Hey Boss: Do you know if the book is available on Kindle? — Gerard DiPentino via Facebook



As of now it isn’t, but on amazon.com’s Web site for You Only Rock Once, there’s a link to notify the publisher, Running Press, that you want a Kindle version. I assume that when there are enough requests, they will make it available on Kindle.

Got a question for Jerry? Send it to AskTheGeator@acweekly.com or Geator Gold Radio, 626 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. For more info on Jerry’s appearances, go to www.geator.net — and keep on rocking, ’cause you only rock once!