ABOUT THE SHOW: One of America's favorite entertainers, James F. Durante (1893-1980) was  born in lower Manhattan's Little Italy in 1893, the son of a barber from  Salerno, Italy. Although his formal schooling ended in the eighth grade, he learned to play piano, eschewing his father's preference for classics, he opted  instead for the popular ragtime of his day. It was as a piano player and  bandleader that he earned a living for a number of years in various unsavory  honky-tonk saloons, speakeasies, and burlesque houses in Coney Island and  Harlem. Always a likeable young man, his is the story of triumph over his  perceived ugly duckling complex, particularly his big proboscis. In time he  would turn that seeming defect of nature into a physical attribute being dubbed "Schozzola," or simply "The Nose." Playing ragtime and jazz piano enabled him to  meet with many young aspiring show business people such as Eddie Jackson and Lou  Clayton. Durante's career received a big boost when he teamed up with them in the "Clayton, Jackson, and Durante" act that became one of the most popular  nightclub acts of the 1920s. With his unique brand of comedy that he delivered  in a raspy New York accent replete with malapropisms and fracturing of polysyllabic words, Jimmy was the star of the show. In shattering the English  language Durante could be regarded as engaging in self-parody, the voice of the  immigrant mimicking himself. He also wrote a number of comedy tunes such as  "Inka Dinka Doo" and "Umbriago," and starred in Broadway's 1929 hit musical  "Show Girl." By the 1950s, after a brief decline, Jimmy Durante's career  rebounded and he had become one of the most widely respected and beloved figures  in the entertainment world. He appeared in many high-profile musicals and  Hollywood motion pictures as well as performed on radio and television. His  television success was truly phenomenal and led to prestigious awards: Peabody  Award for Entertainment and Emmy Award for "Best Comedian." It is evident that Durante's brand of humor had staying power - witness the 1993 film "Sleepless in  Seattle" - long after his death -"that featured his voice as background music.  Jimmy Durante was a much beloved, respected and generous individual, one who brought credit and honor to the Italian American community.
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