www.StGeorgeTheatre.com, www.SINY.com

I got a little taste of Harry Belafonte when I first photographed him at Jules Nasso's house in 2009.
Now at the St. George Theatre (www.StGeorgeTheatre.com) on opening night of the Staten island Film Festival (www.SINY.com) there he was and this time I got a feast!

Harry Belfonte with Luanne Sorrentino, who with her mother Mrs. Rosemary Cappozalo and her sister Doreen Cugno, began a not-for-profit organization in 2004 to save this historic theatre from being torn down.  They saved this landmark and the magnificent St. George Theatre shines once again and serves Staten Island and all of New York.

 The new film "SING YOUR SONG" by Susanne Rostock and produced by Jullius R. Nasso was great!  Harry  Belafonte was more than a handsome matinee idol and platinum-selling singer ( the first artist in history to sell more than 1 million LPs) he was an activist with a conscience that placed him at the forefront of the civil rights movement (he and his best friend Sidney Poitier were followed and threatened by the KKK in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964) This movie takes us from his impoverished beginnings in Harlem and Jamaica to his status as one of the world's most successful entertainers befriending the famous and infamous including Martin Luther King Jr., Marlon Brando,
Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro and both RFK and JFK.  A lot of kids don't know who Bobby Kennedy was- A lot of kids don't know what Martin Luther King did.  In the 1960's the whole world was experiencing a new conscious...  it's like we all just said 'We're not going to take it anymore!!'

Hard to believe it was such a different world back then after all we are just talking about a few decades back...thank the lord there were good men fighting the good fight.  MLK said it isn't how long you lived- it's how well you lived...  It was the sixties and I wanted to be part of it!   

When scenes of Las Vegas from the 60's flashed on the screen my mind immediately went back to my youth and 1966 when my Mom and Dad packed up their 3 children for a cross country camping trip across America. Being a kid in that decade meant many things to me and I was constantly amazed and astounded by the events in the news.  Tired of feeling helpless but only able to witness the riots, marches, assassinations, hippies and Rock n Roll on TV.  Didn't even have a camera of my own yet.  I thought it out and brought a weapon of my choosing, a magic marker!
 

   It was the Sixties and I wanted to be part of it- Writings on walls should be inspirational and the voice of the young just like the music we were listening to.  Most of what was up was JOHN LOVES MARY and FOR A GOOD TIME CALL...   It was time for a change, this quiet boy was taking a code name which became my secret  identity and I was able to make my mark on society.  It  seems my Forth Grade Social Studies class lesson on WW 2 and KILROY WAS HERE served me well.   The rest is history!   Sheese! ...KIDS!?! What will we do next...?