Bethpage-Tribune_1989-05-19

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Island Trees Plainedge
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Seaford Old Bethpage Plainview
VOL. 22 NO. 27 May 19-25, 1989 20 CENTS
FRED
The Olivier of Comedy", "The
Man of a Thousand Faces",
and "The Renior of Impres­sionists"
are just a few of his
nicknames. He's President Bush,
Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon^
Eddie Murphy and a host of other'
celebrities all rolled up into one supers
talented entertainer... he's Bethpage's
own Fred Travalena.
Fred Travalena was born in the
Bronx but moved to Bethpage in the
1950's where he lived on Sheridan
Avenue. He attended Powell Avenue
School and also John F. Kennedy Jr.
High School. Growing up with a
father in show business he became a
bit disoriented with the ups and downs
of such a career and wanted to become
a commercial artist. But as luck would
have it the draw of the cards was
somewhat different than Travalena
tions. The first special, 'The Many
Faces of Fred Travalena," was nom­inated
for an ACE Award along with
Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Bob
Goldthwaite. It featured Fred's
impressions of all four living Presi­dents
brought to life by the excep­tional
makei'p artistry of Tom Brum-berger.
""ihe Great Debate of '88"
again matched Fred's dead on imper­sonations
of Mike Dukakis, George
Bush, Ted Koppel, Jesse Jackson and
Mikkhail Gorbachev. His most recent
special, "Comedy in the Oval Office,"
highlighted his newest impression.
Vice President Quayle.
Travalena's repertoire of more than
IQO portrayals encompasses a wide
range of people such as Robert
DeNiro, Michael Caine, Bill Cosby,
Dustin Hoffman and Arnold
Schwartzenegger. He is also an
accomplished singer, whose three
octave voice allows him to imperson­ate
everyone from Sinatra to Spring­steen
and many 'famous pipes' in
between such as Johnny Cash and
Tom Jones.
A versatile entertainer whose star
shines particularly bright in live
performance, Fred continues to elec­trify
audiences with sanding ovation
performances in Atlantic City, Las
Vegas and New York. In fact he is
making his Long Island debut at
Westbury Music Fair on June 10.
And even with this busy and
demanding schedule Fred was very
excited about speaking with us at the
Bethpage Tribune.
"I remember my days in Bethpage
and look at them very fondly, in fact
I come back and visit every now and
then." Travalena said.
"I remember the old glass factory
by the railroad and going trick or
treating down Broadway, not to
mention the endless times my friend
Vinnie and I got in big trouble playing
down by the freight trains."
"One thing 1 will never forget is a
Christmas pageant at Si. Martin of
Tours Church. I was one of the elves,
and had to wear a beard. Well,
unfortunately the other elves used all
the glue to make the beards stick so
I decided to use cement glue to hold
my beard in place. Not a good idea-
-my doctor wasn't too happy either,
as it took him a few hours to remove
it. Safe to say I'm not taking a role
as an elf these days."
As a public figure, Fred remains
committed to finding time in his
schedule for important causes. Pres­ently,
he is National Awareness
Chairman for the National League of
Families of Missing POW's in Sou­theast
Asia, which President Reagan
has commended him for. Moreover.
(Continued on Page 6)
expected; and with a combination of
timing and experience Fred began a
career that would entertain many
people for many years to come.
In the beginning years of his career
Fred worked in his share of small
comedy shops and local night spots
but today Travalena's undeniable
abilities have earned him a high profile
in all media. He has been featured
many times on The Merv Griffin
Show, The Tongiht Show and has
performed for seven years on the Jerry
Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
' Recently he appeared on the Pat Sajak
Show, Hollywood Squares and "An
Evening at the Improv" just to -name
a few.
Fred has also enjoyed great success
with his CBN cable specials where he
has ventured into new plateaus of
perfectionism with his impersona-iry
Johnson ill Appoi
Bethpage Postmastei
Henry W. Johnson III has been
appointed Postmaster of the Beth­page,
NY Post Office by Northeast
Regional Postmaster General, Wil­liam
R. Cummings. He was appointed
in accordance with merit selection
procedures of the Postal Reorganiza­tion
Act.
He began his career in 1973 as a
distribution clerk in the Hicksville,
NY Post Office and has since served
in various post offices throughout
Nassau and Suffolk County. In 1985,
he was officer-in-charge in Bohemia,
NY. His most recent assignment was
that of Superintendent of Postal
Pktured here is Henry W. Johngon Operations in the Huntington Station,
III (L) newly appointed postmaster NY Post Office. Mr. Johnson is a
and Roger Nienaber (R) presenting a dedicated employee who takes on any
citation to Henry at a reception in his assignment or project and always
honor on May 17th. (Continued on Page 6)