INPERSON
A Man of Many Hats
Murrysville resident Frank Catanzano celebrates his eclectic life as an artist , musician , writer and active community member .
Murrysville ’ s Frank Catanzano is truly a jack-of-alltrades . Whether it is music , sports , reading or writing , artist , musician and author Catanzano seems to have a knack for it all .
Catanzano , 71 , grew up in Edgewood and attended Edgewood School , class of 1965 . During his senior year , he was elected a co-captain of the 1965 undefeated Edgewood Vikings football squad , which was one of the smallest teams in the WPIAL at the time . “ Each player had to play both ways , due to the few numbers of boys we could field ,” he recalls . “ I was a defensive back and blocking back . The other co-captain , Fred Wickstrom , and I were recruited by Clarion University to play for the Golden Eagles football team .”
During his first year at Clarion , he was invited to play percussion in the college symphony . He took up painting in oils , which he still practices today . Nearly all of Catanzano ’ s paintings deal with musicians .
Catanzano spent two years at Clarion , majoring in English , finally earning a BA in Journalism from Point Park University , where he pursued master ’ s degree in Computer Science .
Playing the drums in local bands became important in Catanzano ’ s life because it led to meeting his wife , Murrysville resident , Shelly McTigue .
“ I met her at the Lamplighter Lounge in Delmont ,” says Catanzano . “ My band , Walker and Company , was playing three nights a week there , as well as Fridays , Saturdays and Sundays at the New Frontier after-hours club from 3 a . m . until 6 a . m .— I couldn ’ t imagine doing that today !”
The two were married and have two children , Alexis and Jon . The entire family became involved in the Murrysville
area . Shelly became cheerleading instructor for the girls in the Franklin Area Midget Football Association ( FAMFA ). Catanzano volunteered to coach the defensive backs on the Cubs squad , served on the FAMFA Board of directors and eventually on the Executive Board . He created the first sponsorship program for FAMFA , where board members would approach local businesses to invest money in the organization in return for their participation in the football program ’ s activities .
“ I grew to love Murrysville and the residents of the community ,” says Catanzano . “ Being an only child , I spent a lot of time reading and practicing my drums ,” he continues . “ I already had been studying drums and percussion with the famous local drummer , Babe Fabrizi . Since I was six , I studied paradiddles , flams , rolls and the other basic rudiments of drumming . Even though they sound like deserts , the 28 basic rudiments were important basic techniques of drumming which any serious student must learn .” He continues to play clubs like the Wooden Nickel , Johnny ’ s and Nola on the Square in Pittsburgh with The Express — a group of local musicians and vocalists . “ The guitarist and I have been playing together since 1971 !”
During his music career , he ’ s been fortunate to play prestigious venues including the Holiday House , where national acts like Tony Bennett , Dean Martin , the Letterman , Joey Hetherington , Frankie Avalon and Vic Damone appeared . In 1974 he became the drummer for the well-known singing group from Turtle Creek , PA — The Vogues . He also became a partner in his own PR and marketing firm Mangus / Catanzano for many years , and later became the PR Director for The Pittsburgh Symphony , working with favorites like James Taylor , Marvin Hamlisch and Loren Mazel .
In addition to fostering a love for music , Catanzano has been a serious reader nearly all his life . At 14 , he became interested in writing Haikus — three line poems that describe its subjects in 17 syllables . “ In retrospect , this was an excellent training device that helped me learn how to describe life with wellcrafted words ,” he says .
Catanzano is also the author of four thriller novels . His latest , “ Prey to the Lord ,” is dedicated in memory of his cousin Michael , and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to his JUST BE foundation , which raises awareness and equips adults with the tools to stop child molestation .
“ Living in Murrysville has been ideal for my family and I ,” he continues . “ Franklin High School prepared Jon and Alexis well for college . Both of them performed at a high level , and Football coach Phil Fulmer named Jon one of the outstanding student-athletes who represented Tennessee football well .”
Catanzano continues to be quite active , despite being diagnosed with Parkinson ’ s disease in 2005 . He has also served as the president of the Western PA Chapter of the Parkinson ’ s Foundation . n
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