12/25 William McDonald, Frank Pellegrino

William McDonald - Editor "OBITS" New York Times

Did you know Steve Jobs (page 69) had a long-lost sister? Or that Loretta Young and Clark Gable had a love child (Judy Lewis, page 125). Or that Stalin’s daughter, Lana Peters (page 119) - the “little Princess of the Kremlin”—ended up in a cabin in northern Wisconsin? It’s little-known facts like these that make "The Obits 2012 "- the best of the New York Time's obituaries from the past year - such a compelling read!!  This year’s collection features the obituaries of 144 wild characters, renegades, and innovators: from Ralph J. Lomma (page 33), who helped make miniature golf one of America’s most famous pastimes, to Arch West (page 44), the inventor of Doritos, to William Hamilton (page 233), the theologian who asked, “Is God dead?”  Where else will you find the story of Robert de la Rochfoucauld (page 293), a reckless French spy who once posed as a nun, between those of the Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (page 290) and the beloved children’s book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak (page 295)?  And, of course, Nancy Wake, the socialite of the book’s title, who parachuted into France during World War II to hide weapons and ammunition in preparation for D-Day—and, by her own account, strangled a German sentry with her bare hands.   William McDonald is editor of THE OBITS: THE NEW YORK TIMES ANNUAL 2012 and has been obituaries editor at the TIMES since 2006. He started at the newspaper in 1988 and has held a number of editing positions there on its Metro, National, and Culture desks. He was part of the team that won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for the series “How Race Is Lived in America” and has edited several other major TIMES projects. Bill began his newspaper career as a reporter and editor in Connecticut at the GREENWICH TIME and was an editor at Newsday on Long Island before moving to the TIMES.


Frank Pellegrino – Roa’s Restaurant

Born in East Harlem, Pellegrino has often acted in law and gangster-themed film and television productions. He was a member of an early 1960s singing group called the Holidaes. There is a rare recording of a song called "Never" that appears on FOUND IN THE BASEMENT VOL. 1. Notable roles of his include Johnny Dio in GoodFellas, assorted appearances on Law & Order, and FBI Chief Frank Cubitoso on The Sopranos. Pellegrino is a co-owner of the restaurant Rao's in New York City. Books written by Pellegrino include Rao's Cookbook, Rao's Recipes from the Neighborhood and Rao's on the Grill. He also produced the CD An Evening at Rao's, featuring music from Rao's jukebox.