WTI Magazine #9    2013 Dec, 13

Author : Paolo Battaglia      Translation by:

December 6, 1907 - The Monongah Mine disaster of Monongah, West Virginia
History is punctuated by terrible accidents that killed hundreds of miners. In Cherry, Illinois on November 13, 1909, 259 miners died; at least seventy-three were Italians.
Even a higher percentage of Italian miners died in the Monongah Mine Disaster in West Virginia, the worst in the history of the United States: out of a total of 362 dead miners, 171 were Italian.

December 7, 1910 - Birth of Louis Prima
Louis Prima was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time. His career kicked off in his hometown of New Orleans, starting with his seven-piece jazz band in the 1920s, then leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the 1950s, and a pop-rock band in the 1960s. He even sang during John F. Kennedy's inaugural address.

December 8, 1930 - Jimmy Durante appeared in the Broadway debut of Cole Porter's musical "The New Yorkers"
Jimmy Durante was born in New York to a family from Salerno (Campania) and was commemorated by the New York Times as "the Lower East Side youngster who parlayed a raspy voice, a nose [called schnozola in his famous gigs] that tickled a nation's funnybone and a talent for bringing down the house into triumph as one of America's most dearly held comedians."