28 January 2012 - English Speaking Club. Today’s session at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) started with a cross-cultural topic about “Prominent Italian Americans”. This topic was illustrated with a colorful book display about US entertainment celebrities and included documents about Madonna, S.Stallone, L.Di Caprio and others. The slide show introduced famous American directors of Italian background. The movies by these directors from the WOA collection were presented to the club members.

1. PROMINENT
ITALIAN
AMERICANS
Window on America center
Dnipropetrovs’k
Ukraine
2012

2. HISTORY
 History tells us that
about 5 million Italians
immigrated to the U.S
since 1800.
 Nowadays, Italian
Americans have gained
success and esteem in all
fields.

3. AMERICA’S EXPLORERS
 Christopher
Columbus is perhaps
the most famous
Italian explorer
 In all, Christophoro
Colombo (1451-1506)
made four voyages to the
New World.
 On his third trip in 1498,
he landed in Venezuela. It
was the first time he
actually set foot on the
South American continent.

4. AMERICA’S EXPLORERS
 The New World was named
"America" for Amerigo
Vespucci(1451-1512), the
Florentine explorer and
geographer who was a friend to
Columbus.
 He sailed to the New World in
1499, landing in what is now
Brazil.
 Vespucci was the first to
advance the belief that the land
discovered by Columbus was
not India, but a new continent.
 European cartographers
named the New World in his
honor.

5. INNOVATORS
 Italian Americans
created many of the
familiar items we
enjoy every day.
 The Jacuzzi hot tub and
spa were invented by the
Jacuzzi family s came
to America in 1907.
 In 1926, they developed
the deep well (jet) water
pump that led to the
famous whirlpool bath.

6. SPORTSMEN
 Rocky Marciano is the
only undefeated
heavyweight boxing
champion in history.
 He retired in 1956 with a
49-0 record that counted
43 knockouts.
 His real name was Rocco
Marchegiano.

7. SPORTSMEN
 In hockey, brothers
Phil and Tony
Esposito have set
records.
 Phil once scored 76
netted goals in a single
season.
 They played for the
Chicago Blackhawks,
Boston Bruins and New
York Rangers

8. ANIMATED CARTOONS
Italian American
cartoonists have
created some of the
world's most popular
animated characters.
 Donald Duck, by Alfred
Tagliafero;
 WoodyWoodpecker, by
Walter Lantz, (born
"Lanza");
 Casper, the Friendly
Ghost, by Joseph Oriolo.

9. ANIMATED CARTOONS
 The man behind Tom and
Jerry, Yogi Bear, The
Flintstones, The Jetsons, The
Smurfs and Scooby-Doo is
Joseph Barbera, director,
producer, and co-founder of
Hanna-Barbera Film Studios.
 A banker and free-lance
cartoonist, he met Bill Hanna
at MGM in 1937.
 In 1957, they started their
own animation studio and
went on to win seven Oscars
during their long
collaboration.

10. DESIGN
 Hollywood's famous Walk
of Fame holds nearly 400
stars imbedded in the
pavement.
 The stars are created by
Bill Paternostro, a
terrazzo artist.
 He takes about two days to
make a star, composed of
thick colored concrete with
tiny marble chips and the
name of the star, which is
in brass.

11. SINGERS
 Born Alfred Cucozza in
Philadelphia in 1921,
Mario Lanza, took his
mother's name as his stage
name and became the first
vocalist to sell 2.5 million
albums and the first singer
to receive a gold disc for his
recording of "Be My Love.“
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieT
purj3tCU&feature=related

12. SINGERS
 Frank Sinatra, the Oscar,
Emmy and Grammy-
winning legend known as
"The Voice" and "The
Chairman of the Board,"
was born in, New Jersey in
1915 and died in 1998.
 He made more than 2,000
recordings, many movies,
and numerous television
and cabaret performances
 He raised millions of
dollars for charities during
his 60-year career

13. SINGERS
 Liza Minnelli

14. SINGERS
 Jon Bon Jovi

15. SINGERS
 Madonna – Madonna
Louise Ciccone

16. SINGERS
 Lady Gaga-Stefani
Joanne Angelina
Germanotta born
March 28, 1986), is an
American singer and
songwriter. Born and
raised in New York City

17. FILM PRODUCERS
 The producer of all but
one of the first 17 James
Bond movies was Albert
R. "Cubby" Broccoli.
 Broccoli launched the 007
film series in 1962 His last
film was "Golden Eye" in
1995.
 His ancestors developed
and named the popular
vegetable in Italy in the
19th century.

18. FILM PRODUCERS
 The legendary father-and-
son team of Carmine and
Francis Ford Coppola,
who won four Oscars in
1975 for The Godfather,
Part II.
 Carmine, who was a flautist
for Arturo Toscanini,
composed the soundtrack
and Francis, who first won
an Oscar for Patton,
directed the film.

19. FILM PRODUCERS
 Quentin
Tarantino

20. FILM PRODUCERS
 Martin Scorsese is hailed
as one of the most
significant and
influential American
filmmakers of all time,
directing landmark films
such as “Mean
Streets”,”Taxi driver”,
“Raging Bulls”,
“Goodfellas”

21. POLITICIANS
 Rudolph Giuliani served
two terms as Mayor of New
York City
 Giuliani gained
international attention for
his leadership during and
after the
 September11, 2001 attacks
on the WTC. For those
actions, he received an
honorary knighthood from
Queen Elisabeth II in 2002

22. MOVIE ACTORS
 HOW
MANY
CAN
YOU NAME?