I walk into this oh-so-hot restaurant called Columbus on the Upper West Side, and I swear, you couldn’t throw a dinner roll without hitting a celebrity.
But nobody is hotter than the guy we’re there to meet, the bigger-than-life Danny Aiello. He’s just been nominated for Best Supporting Actor in “Do The Right Thing,” and we’re hoping he’ll want to play the grandfather in the screenplay based on my novel “Shepherd Avenue.”
“If Danny wins the Oscar and agrees to play the part, the movie will get made!” says Andrew Gati, my screenwriting partner.
Well, Danny greets me with a handshake that feels like a bear hug. He loves the screenplay, and from then on, it’s like being with one of my uncles in my grandmother’s basement for Sunday dinner, except when Ben Stiller drops by to say hello, and Paul Sorvino wows the table with his spot-on imitation of Jackie Wilson.
It’s a magical night, and like all such nights, it has to come to an end.
Or so I think as I’m saying goodbye to Danny outside Columbus.
“How you getting home, Charlie?” Danny asks.
“Subway.”
“This time o’ night? Forget it. Where do you live, downtown?”
“Yeah.”
“Get in my car.”
“Danny, you don’t have to - “
“Hey, I’m goin’ to Jersey, it’s on my way to the tunnel. Come on, get in.”
The car is like a living room on wheels. Danny pops a tape into the cassette player.
“I think you’ll enjoy this, Charlie,” he says, and the sound of Danny singing show tunes fills the night. I actually have to lean back, shut my eyes and silently tell myself what’s happening:
I’m riding downtown with Oscar nominee Danny Aiello as my chauffeur, listening to him sing show tunes, hoping he’ll star in my movie…doesn’t get any better than this!!!
Well, it didn’t. The Oscar goes to Denzel Washington that year for “Glory,” “Shepherd Avenue” doesn’t get made, and now Danny has passed away at age 86.
Maybe director Frank Rainone put it best about his good friend Danny Aiello, who starred in Frank’s film “A Brooklyn State Of Mind.”
“He was,” says Frank, “a regular guy.”
Yes. A regular guy who drove me right to my door and waved goodbye before heading to Jersey.
So we never got to work together, but that’s okay. I’ll always have my ride with Danny.
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