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07/19/2017 08:30 AMAhead of a Friday, Sept. 22 performance at the Country House Restaurant, musician, comedian, and East Haven resident Louis “Louie Dee” DeAngelo shared stories and memories about his career from the beginning to where he’s at now.
“Louie is a lifelong friend, and no matter what my mood is at the time he can always make me laugh,” says Marianne Cesare, “He has a heart of gold and always puts others first.”
Louie’s first performance came on The Original Amateur Hour with host Ted Mack, where he sang a song for the show at just 10 years old. Before the performance started, Mack stated that Louie’s application for the show said that he could sing in both English and Italian. Mack asked which one Louie learned first, to which he replied “sort of both.”
“My mother speaks to me in English, and my dad yells at me in Italian,” a 10 year-old Louie said.
After doing the Amateur Hour, Louie went on to tour with Italian singers, and studied opera. During his high school years, he played in a band called Louie Dee and Fantasy.
He even performed in Las Vegas for a short time, and when he got back, his managers started a “very successful” Elvis tribute group in which he performed for a year and half. The drummer in the tribute group was Michael Streeto, another East Haven musician.
“It was an amazing thing,” Louie says of the process of becoming Elvis. “I had a choreographer because they had to teach me to walk in the shoes.”
Louie says he has stored away multiple letters and contract offers, one of which is from William Morris Endeavor in 1983 to be an opening act for performers including Bob Newhart and Bernadette Peters in Las Vegas. He also has a box of 177 original songs of his—many of them R&B—that are recorded and copyrighted.
Music is only part of his repertoire, however.
“The Lord gave me phenomenal talent in music, but also an incredible talent in comedy,” Louie says.
Louie recounts the story of a doctor from Europe who did a study on terminally ill patients, and after three months of being “bombarded” with comedy, found that 8 of the 20 patients went into remission.
“Laughter enhances the immune system,” Louie says, “When you laugh you heal; that’s fact.”
Louie says the comedy was always there, and that it was natural for him to write stuff, like the skit he wrote about East Haven that he will perform in September.
“That East Haven skit is hilarious,” says Cesare.
Louie now works with kids who sing songs he’s written, even recording some CDs. One of them is C.J. DiNatale, a young man from East Haven, who recorded a whole CD of Louie’s music. Another is Chelsea Morgan, who recorded a CD with six of Louie’s song. He says that both are tremendous performers.
“I’ll never give up the music. I work with kids in the music and that makes me happy,” Louie says.
Louie shares a story of one of the kids with whom he works who was into drugs and had what Louie calls a “bad life.”
“I kept telling him, ‘When you get a microphone in your hand, you will not need alcohol, you will not need a pill, because the microphone becomes your drug’; that was my drug,” Louie says.
After going into the studio with him and encouraging him to sing, Louie says that two months later “a different kid came out of him.”
“All of a sudden he smiles, all of a sudden his personality—because for the first time in his life…he found out who he was,” Louie says, “So maybe that’s why I’m supposed to work with kids.”
Louie has many records of his achievements hanging on the wall of his apartment, including his first and second record contracts, an album cover for his song that was released in England, and pictures of him from various performances over the years.
Even though Louie says he experienced a lot of heartache in the music business, he says it feels good knowing that people can hear and enjoy his music and comedy.
“It’s a lift,” Louie says.
To help lift other people’s spirit, Louie will sometimes play on the piano in a common area of the senior apartment complex where he lives. He’ll wave and say hello to fellow residents who walk by when he’s in the lobby, and says that some will even knock on his door to talk to him.
“Could you imagine they’re knocking on my door to have me counsel them?” Louie says with a laugh.
Louie DeAngelo’s performance will take place Friday, Sept. 22 at the Country House Restaurant at 990 Foxon Road in East Haven. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 203-467-3088.