Jasper Cini (1927 - 2009)

Born 7 Oct 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Died 13 Oct 2009 at age 82 in Springfield, Bucks, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Al Martino Cini is Notable.

Al Martino Cini was a Pennsylvanian.

Al Martino Cini was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners", and also became well known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The Godfather.

Jasper "Al" Cini was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name Jasper was an anglicisation of his father's name, Gasparino. His parents were immigrants from Abruzzo, Italy, who ran a construction business, and while growing up, he worked alongside his brothers as a bricklayer. He aspired to become a singer, emulating artists such as Al Jolson and Perry Como, and by the success of a family friend, Alfredo Cocozza, who had changed his name to Mario Lanza.

After serving with the United States Navy in World War II, during which he was part of, and injured in, the Iwo Jima invasion, Cini began his singing career. Encouraged by Lanza, he adopted the stage name Al Martino—based on the name of his good friend Lorraine Cianfrani's (née Losavio) husband Alfred Martin Cianfrani—and began singing in local nightclubs. In 1948, he moved to New York City, recorded some sides for the Jubilee label, and in 1952, won first place on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts television program with a performance of Como's hit "If".

He was married to Judi. He had three children, Alison Martino, Alfred Cini, and Alana Cini; and several grandchildren.

Martino died from a heart attack on October 13, 2009, at his childhood home in Springfield, Pennsylvania, six days after his 82nd birthday. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, Los Angeles County, California.

Jasper was born in 1927. He was best known under his stage name Al Martino.

He passed away in 2009.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Martino
• https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/267067/singer-al-martino-dies-at-82
• Year: 1930; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0139; FHL microfilm: 2341858
• Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Find a Grave. Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43081707/al-martino.