FROM THE PUBLISHER

Zuber & Cie , French , Irisé Wallpaper ; Design for Moire Silk , ca . 1825 . Mary B . Jackson Fund .

MY HERITAGE AS AN ITALIAN AMERICAN ( HALF )

is a source of great personal pride . I grew up 500 feet from my immigrant Italian grandparents ’ abode . Our world was closely aligned with theirs in all aspects of growing up .

During my twenty-eight years at the magazine , I have traveled frequently to conferences and gatherings all over North America . It was not uncommon to be greeted by , “ How ’ s Buddy ?,” referring to the late Vincent A . “ Buddy ” Cianci Jr ., two-time mayor of Providence — a beloved rogue whose exploits on both sides of the law brought , at times , unwelcome attention to our state .

There were the inevitable questions about Federal Hill and the history of organized crime , which Senior Editor Lauren Clem has documented in “ All in the Family ,” culled from a treasure trove of interviews , news reports , movies , books and local folklore .

The Crimetown podcast exemplifies new media fascination with “ the Hill ’ s ” scurrilous past . The fascination with La Cosa Nostra has also been fueled by iconic movies like The Godfather trilogy and Goodfellas .

I have watched these movies countless times , waiting for the classic lines — like Peter Clemenza ’ s ( Richard S . Castellano ) cannoli quip in The Godfather — with great anticipation . Here are some behind-the-scenes facts I found : l In The Godfather , when Don Vito Corleone ( Marlon Brando ) saw favor seekers during his daughter ’ s wedding , the cat he held in his hands was a stray they found on set — a late addition to the scene by director Francis Ford Coppola . It purred so loudly from the unexpected attention that they had to re-edit the sound to make sure Brando ’ s lines were heard . l When Sonny Corleone ( James Caan ) confronted the FBI photographer at the same wedding , his reaction — rage — and destruction of the camera were totally improvised . l During production of Goodfellas , Robert De Niro ( James Conway ) had a fake horse head placed in Ray Liotta ’ s ( Henry Hill ) trailer . l The “ F ” word or one of its many variations is said 321 times in Goodfellas . That means it ’ s heard once every 2.04 minutes during the movie ( most attributed to the iconic Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito ). l De Niro didn ’ t like using fake money , so during Goodfellas he gave the production $ 5,000 of his own money to use as props . It had to be recovered and counted every day before actors could leave the set .

True story : I have a favorite T-shirt emblazoned with “ Leave the gun , take the cannoli ,” my all-time favorite movie line . I wore it once when returning from a conference . I was sitting in the gate area in Chicago , and the guy sitting across from me said , “ I love that shirt ; you gotta be from Providence .”

“ Oh yeah ,” I said with a big smile .

To the Rhode ahead . — J . J . P .

ILLUSTRATION : CHERYL CHALMERS .

14 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I MARCH 2025