Bum Me Out, Scotty

Like a decent number of Slice readers, I'm sure, I was saddened to learn of the death of James Doohan, a.k.a. Star Trek's "Scotty" or "Mr. Scott." I grew up watching Star Trek and enjoyed the cantankerous commander and his declarations—that he was doin' all he kin, cap'n. That she, the ship, canna take no more. As is the case here at Slice, when a beloved public figure dies, we hit the Internets and see if the dearly departed had any connection to pizza. Mr. Doohan apparently did not, but we came across this page that posits what toppings Trek...

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3 Comments | Posted by Adam Kuban, July 21, 2005 at 4:20 PM
Tagged: Celebrities, Obituaries, Pop Culture Pizza, television, TV

John Paul II and Pizza

ABOVE: The late John Paul II blesses pizzamakers during the Jubilee of Pizza Chefs on October 25, 2000. Here, gifts are delivered to Il Papa by Walter Botrugno of the Associazione Nazionale Pizzaioli E Ristoritori, Catalan Stefano of the Pizzaioli Associati Siciliani, and the owner of Naples' Starita Pizzeria, the famed location of Sofia Loren's L'Oro di Napoli. RIGHT: John Paul II at Shea Stadium on October 3, 1979. Though there's no evidence that he ate pizza during his visits to New York City, it's nice to think that he may have. I was saddened last night to hear...

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Post a Comment | Posted by Adam Kuban, April 3, 2005 at 6:45 PM
Tagged: Obituaries

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere: H.S.T. R.I.P.

[For those of you new to Slice, let me introduce E-Rock. E-Rock is our roving reporter. While the rest of the Slice staff remains safe and warm in New York City, with easy access to some of the world's best pizza, we send E-Rock out to do our dirty deeds: eating at and reporting on pizzerias in other parts of the country—and the world—that might not have the greatest pies. Most of his missions end in disappointment, but he seems to cope by viewing these crazy assignments as being more about the journey than the destination. Hunter S. Thompson has...

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3 Comments | Posted by e-rock, March 4, 2005 at 1:13 AM
Tagged: Celebrities, Colorado, Obituaries, reviews, Slice reviews, U.S.

Goodnight, Johnny

Before anyone did anything, Johnny Carson did it all. Leno, Letterman, Conan? Pfffht. They're all pickin' up on the style he laid down more than 40 years ago—the topical monologue followed by a short skit followed by celebrity interviews. And with 4,500 shows during a 30-year Tonight Show run, is it any surprise that Johnny did pizza long before Slice was but a gleam in its founders' eyes? We did some digging and found some archived 1982 footage of Johnny tossing dough with a young pizzaiolo named Barry O'Halloran. The clip, which appears on the website of Mr. O'Halloran's present-day...

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Post a Comment | Posted by Adam Kuban, January 24, 2005 at 12:10 PM
Tagged: Obituaries

Totonno's Joel Cimineri Dies

A sad bit of news to wake up to: Joel Cimineri has run out of dough for the last time.Brooklyn's legendary pizza man — who manned the oven at Totonno's in Coney Island and famously closed for the day if he ran out of dough — died this week from diabetes. He was 59.A Brooklyn legend, Cimineri not only helped keep alive a pizza-making tradition dating from the turn of the 19th century, but with every thin-crusted pizza he made, he stood up against fast-food culture."We live in a Burger King world of 'Have it your way,' " said Dick...

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Post a Comment | Posted by Adam Kuban, December 10, 2004 at 9:17 AM
Tagged: Brooklyn, Coal-Oven, Coney Island, NYC, Obituaries, Totonno's

Last Respects

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Post a Comment | Posted by Adam Kuban, October 6, 2004 at 4:06 PM
Tagged: Obituaries

Today Is A Dog Day Afternoon

words by seltzerboy .::. This item is a bit of stretch, but somehow it seems appropriate for a compendium of New York pizza—a fixture of city life—to search for a link to note the death of radio legend Scott Muni (right) earlier this week. After all, listening to his show was a slice of life here, so to speak. Very recently, I happened to watch the Sidney Lumet film Dog Day Afternoon again. The film recounts an incredible bank heist in 1972, when a couple of guys’ robbery attempt turned into an all-day affair for the employees and customers—and for all...

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2 Comments | Posted by seltzerboy, September 30, 2004 at 2:27 PM
Tagged: Obituaries