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A Holiday Gift from The French Connection’s Sonny Grosso—a Wild Story from Harlem's Rao’s Restaurant three nights before Christmas 2003
How about this for a different Holiday season story: Murder at Rao’s—you know the exclusive restaurant that makes that great sauce.
And, it’s from The French Connection detective turned award-winning TV/movie producer Sonny Grosso—the man that hundreds of people in Canada owe their start in the business to.
Recently, some dear friends of the late, great Sonny, the self-confessed “ordinary man blessed to have lived an extraordinary life,” were helping to almost reverently pack up his remaining belongings at his former co-op in Manhattan.
They found one box that was a treasured collection of newspaper and magazine clippings that touch on Sonny’s life, including: how he and partner Eddie Egan’s busted The French Connection (“nabbing 60 kilos of pure heroin worth $32 million”); to ratings reviews on his debut original TV series in Canada, Night Heat, which, as alternative programming, had better late night ratings in some key markets than even The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; to that Monday night, just a couple of days before Christmas 2003, when one of Sonny’s guests, singer Rena Strober, was the reason there was a shooting inside the exclusive and famous Rao’s restaurant in Harlem.
We’re kidding, right?
No, just another extraordinary story, the likes of which are told in Harlem to Hollywood: My Real-to-Reel Life, Sonny Grosso’s riveting biography/memoir—stories that include: working with Keanu Reeves and Richard Gere, along with Oscar winning actors Sinatra, Hackman, Brando, Pacino, Nicholson and Diane Keaton, and also with award-winning directors like Friedkin, Coppola, and Spielberg; then also meeting with the likes of Presidents Clinton and Ford; and, about meeting celebrities like DiMaggio and Monroe, along with neighborhood guys like Tough Joey Rao, and Louie Lump Lump—a killer who is part of this Christmas story.
So, back to Christmas week 2003, when the massive tree was all festooned up at Rockefeller Center, when Fifth Avenue stores were in their holiday lights pomp, and Rao’s was also into the Christmas spirit.
But after that night, the dailies’ front-page headlines roared, “Murder at Rao’s: Man executed by thug at famous restaurant.”
And, retired Sonny Grosso, who still carried his police revolver and gold shield from his French Connection days, was on hand to help arrest the shooter.
Here's a link to the complete and wild story: https://www.bbntimes.com/society/a-holiday-gift-from-sonny-grosso-a-wild-story-from-rao-s-restaurant-three-nights-before-christmas-2003
#video #movies
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How about this for a different Holiday season story: Murder at Rao’s—you know the exclusive restaurant that makes that great sauce.
And, it’s from The French Connection detective turned award-winning TV/movie producer Sonny Grosso—the man that hundreds of people in Canada owe their start in the business to.
Recently, some dear friends of the late, great Sonny, the self-confessed “ordinary man blessed to have lived an extraordinary life,” were helping to almost reverently pack up his remaining belongings at his former co-op in Manhattan.
They found one box that was a treasured collection of newspaper and magazine clippings that touch on Sonny’s life, including: how he and partner Eddie Egan’s busted The French Connection (“nabbing 60 kilos of pure heroin worth $32 million”); to ratings reviews on his debut original TV series in Canada, Night Heat, which, as alternative programming, had better late night ratings in some key markets than even The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; to that Monday night, just a couple of days before Christmas 2003, when one of Sonny’s guests, singer Rena Strober, was the reason there was a shooting inside the exclusive and famous Rao’s restaurant in Harlem.
We’re kidding, right?
No, just another extraordinary story, the likes of which are told in Harlem to Hollywood: My Real-to-Reel Life, Sonny Grosso’s riveting biography/memoir—stories that include: working with Keanu Reeves and Richard Gere, along with Oscar winning actors Sinatra, Hackman, Brando, Pacino, Nicholson and Diane Keaton, and also with award-winning directors like Friedkin, Coppola, and Spielberg; then also meeting with the likes of Presidents Clinton and Ford; and, about meeting celebrities like DiMaggio and Monroe, along with neighborhood guys like Tough Joey Rao, and Louie Lump Lump—a killer who is part of this Christmas story.
So, back to Christmas week 2003, when the massive tree was all festooned up at Rockefeller Center, when Fifth Avenue stores were in their holiday lights pomp, and Rao’s was also into the Christmas spirit.
But after that night, the dailies’ front-page headlines roared, “Murder at Rao’s: Man executed by thug at famous restaurant.”
And, retired Sonny Grosso, who still carried his police revolver and gold shield from his French Connection days, was on hand to help arrest the shooter.
Here's a link to the complete and wild story: https://www.bbntimes.com/society/a-holiday-gift-from-sonny-grosso-a-wild-story-from-rao-s-restaurant-three-nights-before-christmas-2003
#video #movies
source
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