Photo credit: Janet Donovan
“Donald has taken the air out of the room,” actor Tony Lo Bianco told Hollywood on the Potomac at Cafe Milano’s NIAF’s VIP Leadership Dinner prior to the weekend festivities celebrating NIAF’s 40th Anniversary. “He’s made us think about a lot of the issues that resonate with the people. He is also coming down from that towering position to a more civilized area plain to see; but first you’ve got to get their attention and he did. Now he’s trying to deal with the issues. He’s out with his plots and plans and they’re responding. The people are responding very well to his tax ideas, but then we have a very long, long way to go.” Pass the Ballot: Donald Trump #check?
Tony Lo Bianco and his wife Alyse Muldoon
Lo Bianco is an Italian American actor who has starred in the Academy Award-winning film The French Connection, is a Tony winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award in A View from the Bridge on Broadway, Obie Award for Yanks-3, Detroit-0, Top of the 7th and Emmy Award for his portrayal of Fiorello La Guardia in Hizzoner! In film, he has acted in 102 productions, has directed one feature and 5 television shows. Well, you get the point. We were most interested in his role in Nixon though because in Washington, it’s politics no matter what the occasion.
Being from the Bronx, we wanted to know if that was Lo Bianco’s attachment to The Donald….the hometown boy thing. “He’s so refreshing because he takes charge. He makes you feel comfortable, and he’s so anti political correctness, so it’s a breath of fresh air. Whether it’s going to last forever, I don’t know. Whether he’s the real deal that we really need, I don’t know. Whether it lasts, only God knows.”
Lisa Salibello, Ohio State Senator Capri Cafaro and CEO Corporation for Public Broadcasting Patricia de Stacy Harrison
Are all states created equal? Not really. Ohio is the big one as far as Presidential Elections are concerned ……… as Ohio goes, so goes the nation. We asked state Senator Cafaro how things looked for Ohio Governor John Kasich who is running for President of The United States. Despite being a Democrat, Cafaro had only good things to say. Here is what she told Hollywood on the Potomac. “As a Democrat I will say I’ve worked very closely with Governor Kasich on a number of issues including revamping the Economic Development Department, creating some changes in regard to how we finance our infrastructure programs, as well as Medicaid expansion. I do believe that he is honest and balanced. Even as a Democrat I don’t necessarily agree with everything that he has to say, but I certainly respect the fact that he is a straight shooter. He speaks his mind. He’s willing to do compromise. A recent poll just came out just a few days ago indicating that this is the highest approval rating that he has had in his entire tenure, over 60-some percent currently as the sitting Governor.”
He sounds like someone that can actually work with Congress. Now there’s a novel idea. “That’s right. He spent 18 years as a member of Congress, as the former Chairman of the House Committee. Now over six years as the sitting Governor of the swing state of Ohio he is turning it around economically. I think he stands alone as far as his level of experience. I think that he’s probably the biggest threat to whatever Democrat wins the nomination,” Senator Cafaro explained.
The night was not all about politics though: There was the wine, the pasta, the speeches, and the music ……”Frankie” was in the room – a.k.a. Sebastian Anzaldo.
Over the weekend as part of NIAF’s lineup of celebrities, actors Danny Aiello, Chazz Palminteri and Annabella Sciorra; singer and songwriter Giada Valenti; performer Tom Sinatra; The Washington Chorus; The Sicilian Tenors, Aaron Caruso, Elio Scaccio and Sam Vitale, joined Il Volo’s Piero Barone and Ignazio Boscetto, and Gianluca Ginoble, as part of the weekend performances.
NIAF Board Member and Emmy Award-winning Fox News Anchor and Global Markets Editor Maria Bartiromo and SNL legend, NIAF Celebrity Ambassador, actor, entertainer and radio host Joe Piscopo co-hosted one of the most popular galas in our nation’s capital. To open the weekend festivities on Friday evening, October 16, Piscopo and celebrity guests celebrated Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday and honored the legacy of Sinatra with the crooner’s celebrated melodies from his songbook.
“Unforgettable” evening:
