Atlantic City Weekly

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Once again, greetings and salutations — and another grand celebration for Uncle Sam and Uncle Geator. 


Wow, what a party Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Of course the regular Memories merrymakers were all on hand. And this weekend also saw the return of two of my favorite people who party with the Geator — the Admiral, Jim Eastwood, and his lovely Linda. And yes, that was the ever popular John Bolaris, along with top-notch attorney, our buddy Chuck Peruto Jr. And if you needed an attorney and couldn’t find one, it’s because they all were at Memories — including Carl Poplar, Carmen Nasuti, the Canusos, and of course, in spirit, my buddy Eddie Jacobs. 


And lo and behold, he returned — Jonathan Saidel, along with Judge Maria McLaughlin and her lovely mom, Charlotte. Along came Congressman Brady with his lovely wife, Debbie. Accompanying them was my old pal Joe Vignola, who is now with the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department, along with his boss, Philadelphia’s first female Sheriff, Barbara Deeley. And would you believe it? Right on stage for the Geator’s birthday, I was sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff, even taking my oath on the air. Witnessing all this, Judge Webb Keogh, his wife Kathy, and the McDermott family — dad James McDermott was a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice. And there was another of my all-time favorite people, Joe Rizzo, former Fire Commissioner and brother to the beloved Frank Rizzo. 


To the Geator Gold guys and gals, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love and birthday wishes. And take note that for the rest of the season, we’ll be returning to Memories in Margate for our live broadcast not only on Saturday nights but on Friday nights as well. Doors will open Fridays at 8pm with a fabulous food buffet from Chickie’s & Pete’s, Barrels, and Aversa Bakery. See you there — now, let’s ask the Geator


Why isn’t American Hot Wax (the film) commercially available? I had the chance to buy the soundtrack on vinyl at my local record store but someone else beat me to it. — Vanessa Linck



The problem is that obtaining musical rights for all the classic songs featured in that film, including “Splish Splash,” “There Goes My Baby,” “Lonely Teardrops,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” and many others would cost more than the making of the entire film today. 



SO many great dances at the Die Casters Club in Pottstown, Pa. — those were the days, Jerry! — Janice Konowal



Right, Janice. I remember them very well. That was in the ’60s, when our radio show was syndicated on WPAZ and had a huge following in Pottstown and the Lehigh Valley. We would get up to the Die Casters as much as possible and bring a lot of the kids from Philly who appeared with me on my TV show. You guys up that way had the same musical taste as the kids who went to Wagner’s and the Chez Vous. 



Does the Man with the Plan have a plan for the radio show on different days of the week? On Thursdays you play streetcorner harmony, but how about the other days? — Don Juan



No, I basically go with the flow. Once I get behind my mike and shuffle through my records, I just let it go. Thursday is very special because I always want to devote two hours out of the week to the real sounds of the streets, the music that first attracted my ear that I shared with my audience from the very beginning. The reason I do it on Thursday is because Wednesday we do our live show from the SugarHouse Casino, and Friday from Chickie’s and Pete’s, and streetcorner harmony is a nice break between doing two live broadcasts back to back.

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!