I was first introduced to Fordham University Press when I came across a book of speeches by the legendary federal judge William Hughes Mulligan. This great Jesuit university was led at the time by the renowned Father Joseph O’Hare, S.J., and it now resides in the enlightened care and keeping of Father Joseph McShane, S.J., a great American educator who has built Fordham into a national treasure. I only hope my literary efforts have not tarnished or diminished their reputation.
And, closer to home, once again I also must thank the incomparable Cindy Hall Gallagher of Whitney Media, my dear friend, amanuensis, and confidante for forty years, without whom my life would resemble a seven-car pile-up. It should tell you something that when my friends—Mario Cuomo most prominently included—ring up our Westchester radio stations, they usually ask for Cindy, and most are quite disappointed when I pick up the phone.
My professional life as a community broadcaster, without which portfolio I would never have met Mario Cuomo, relies heavily on the dedication, creativity, and brilliance of several colleagues. The influential contributions of Kevin Scott Elliott are everywhere apparent in my life. His genius, loyalty, and personal devotion are great gifts that I treasure. Kevin is not alone in terms of devotion. Don Stevens, our senior vice president and chief of staff, is essential to the success of these, the last two independent community stations in the New York area. Speaking of which, WVOX and WVIP are very fortunate to enjoy the talent and wisdom of Judy Fremont, president of our Stations Division and about a two-handicap golfer. She’s also a woman of culture and the theater. Why she hangs around with me, I’ll never know. All my efforts—including this book—rely as well on Maggie Cervantes Hernandez, who is a star in the office and on the air.
One absolutely essential reason our local radio stations have survived and prevailed despite all the social and technological challenges swirling around our profession is my son David Tucker O’Shaughnessy, now our president. He’s a rising star in our profession. And I am a proud—and grateful—father. David’s mother, Ann Wharton Thayer; his brother, Matthew O’Shaughnessy; and his sister, Kate Warton O’Shaughnessy—who serve as directors—will confirm David’s standing and stature in our lives. And David himself will also second my admiration for Gregg Pavelle, Richard Littlejohn, Irma Becerra, Ahmet Alloqi, Bob Partridge, and Ralph Kragle.
And two more: Judge Jeffrey Bernbach and his estimable wife, Karen, have been fierce advocates and defenders of these stations—and yours truly—for many years. Judge Bernbach is a gifted public servant who served in the administrations of both Mario and Andrew Cuomo. But he’s always found time to watch over me and mine.
And for reasons they must know, everything I do—on the air or in print—is with the forbearance and encouragement of Michael Assaf, Alan Rosenberg, Charlie Kafferman, James O’Shea, Erwin Krasnow, and my compadre Gregorio Alvarez. Those who know this eminently decent—and loving—gentle Dominican man will agree that many of the lovely qualities I found in Mario Cuomo also exist in great abundance in Gregorio. I am capable of no greater praise.
The handsome cover of this book was designed by Rich Hendel of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. And the cover photo as well as most of the magnificent and exclusive photos in this volume are by Don Pollard, who has served both Mario and Andrew as the Cuomo family’s “chief photographer” for decades. A great guy as well as a marvelous photographer, Don is married to the estimable New York Times reporter Lisa Foderaro.
When Mario finally succumbed to the long, debilitating illness I describe in these pages, listeners—hundreds of them, in fact—who knew of my great affection and admiration for the governor called the station to inquire when (and if) we were going to do an on-air tribute to the great man. I actually started and discarded several pieces as not good enough, not worthy of him. As I said, talking—or writing—about Mario in the past tense didn’t come easy. In fact, if you must know, it was painful.
And then when the word got around that I was finally attempting a book on Mario Cuomo, we received several calls from mainstream and quite well-known publishing houses expressing considerable interest. Each inquiry was met with, “If I can summon up the resolve to do this, I’ll stick with my present publisher, Fordham, the first to encourage me and provide a forum and platform for my poor, erratic literary endeavors. Go Rams!”
INDEX
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
21 Club, xv
abortion, 39, 126; Golway on, xix; Notre Dame speech on, 9, 115; O’Connor and, 117
Abrams, Floyd, xiii
Abzug, Bella, 229
Adam and Eve, 158
Adams, Cindy, x, 185
affluence, 126, 165
Affordable Care Act, 199
African Americans, 162, 166, 269
afterlife, 9, 30; Wilson on, ix, 7
AIDS patients, O’Connor and, 118
Aiello, John, 255
Albanese, Vincent, 288
Alloqi, Ahmet, 294
Alvarez, Gregorio, 294
American culture, 40–41, 43–45; Andrew Cuomo on, 272–74
American Dream, 171, 197
Anastasi, Joseph, 238, 288
anger, 177
Angiolillo, Daniel, 70–72
anti-Semitism, 147, 149, 166
Aristotle, 126
aspiration, 49
Assaf, Michael, 294
Athens, Art, 84
Auletta, Ken, x, xvi, xxv, 8, 237, 243, 289
Babbitt, Bruce, 242–43
Bacon, Francis, 87
Baranello, Dominic, 236
Barnicle, Mike, xvi
Barrett, Wayne, xvi, 8, 246, 289
baseball, 1, 66, 124, 207–8, 219, 283
basketball, 66, 264–65
Becerra, Irma, 294
Beethoven, Ludwig von, 31, 111–12
Begun, Martin, 288
Behrens, Kathy, 245, 288
Bellacosa, Joseph, 288
Benedict XVI, pope, 213
Benenson, Joel, 288
Benjamin, Gerald, 289
Benjamin, Liz, 289
Bennett, Tony, 27–30
Bennett, William, 83
Bergoglio, Jorge Mario. See Francis, pope
Berking, Max, 8
Bernbach, Jeffrey and Karen, 294
Bernstein, Robert, 234–35, 237–38
Biaggi, Mario, 82
Biden, Joseph, 74, 256, 284
birth control, 136
Bloom, Rube, 28
Bloomberg, Michael, 74, 182, 257
The Blue Spruce (Cuomo), xxi
Boccardi, Lou, 242
Borgeson, Martha, 288
Bradford, Barbara Taylor, x
Brady, Ed, 245
Breslin, Jimmy, xi, 7, 64, 187, 213–14, 266; and Notre Dame speech, 115–16
Brooklyn, 133
Broughton, Pam, 60, 288
Brown, Willie, 242
Bruno, Joe, 246
Buckley, Rick, xxiv
bureaucracy, 262, 264
Burgos, Tonio, 231, 256, 288
Burke, David, 288
Burke, Johnny, 27–28
Bush, George H. W., 20, 59, 89, 155, 242
Bush, George W., 36–37, 189
Bush, Jonathan, 90
Bush, Prescott, 90
Bush, William “Billy,” 89–90
Caddell, Pat, 288
Calvin, John, 107
Camus, Albert, 40
Cannon, Jimmy, 64–65
capital punishment, xix, 8, 39, 136–37, 224, 231, 269
Cardone, “Cat-Killer,” 2
care, 23; O’Connor and, 117–18
Carey, Engie, 230–31
Carey, Hugh Leo, xix, 21, 95, 155, 216, 228–29, 231, 233, 259, 288
Carter, Jimmy, 188
Cathedral of St. John the D
ivine, 151–53
Catholic Church, 8–9, 12, 14, 105–9, 115, 191, 213–21, 263; and dissent, 134, 136; O’Connor and, 116–19; St. James Cathedral speech, 133–39
CBS, 228
censorship. See First Amendment
Cerbone, Will, 292
Cerf, Bennett, 234
Chaiken, Sol Chick, 93
charity, 5–6, 63; Golway on, xviii; O’Connor and, 117–18. See also Tzedekah
Charlson, John, 79
Chartock, Alan, 91, 288
Chiffolo, Anthony, 292–93
Christmas, 43, 189–91, 275–77
Chubb Fellowship Lecture, 1985, 113–15
Churchill, Winston, 7, 257
church-state separation, 10, 115, 124, 126, 136
Le Cirque, viii, 9, 80–81
Clinton, Bill, 18–19, 25, 74, 195, 203–5, 256
Clinton, Hillary, 28, 74, 192, 205–7, 256, 284
Cohen, Harvey, 235
Cohen, Steven, 288
Colavita, Tony, 156
Cole, Amanda, 282
Cole, Emily, 282
Cole, Katharine, 282
Cole, Kenneth, 116, 266, 282–83, 287
Cole, Maria Cuomo, x, xvi, 55, 116, 266, 275, 281, 287
collaboration, 5–6, 63, 204–5. See also Tikkun olam
community, 172, 178; Andrew Cuomo on, 272; as family, 5–6, 18, 110–12, 122, 130, 165, 232, 248; Golway on, xviii; Italian Americans and, 164–65; Postanik on, 73
compromise, 204–5
Conovitz, Ellen, 288
conservation, 33–36, 85–86, 245
Constantine, Thomas, 288
Constitution, 46–47, 49, 70, 127
Crockett, Steve, 256
Cronkite, Walter, x
Crotty, Jerry, 256, 288
Crotty, Mary Ann, 256
Cunningham, Jennifer, 288
Cunningham, Jim, 288
Cuomo, Andrea, xxii, 2–3, 123, 125, 135, 142, 156, 160–61, 163, 190, 196–97, 205, 232–33
Cuomo, Andrew, 37, 103, 235, 238, 245, 282, 289; on Catholic Church, 9–10; on Convention speech, 188; and D’Amato, 25; eulogy, 73, 255–70; and first inaugural address, 233; as governor, 56–57, 192–202; O’Rourke and, 208–9, 212; and portrait, 91; and sports, 66, 99; and Supreme Court, 18–19; on sweetness, 43
Cuomo, Bella, 282
Cuomo, Cara, 282
Cuomo, Carolina Regina, 282
Cuomo, Christopher, 22, 28, 66, 74–76, 129, 256, 266, 281–83
Cuomo, Cristina Greeven, 256, 266, 283
Cuomo, Immaculata Giordano, xxii, 2–5, 82, 119–20, 135, 142, 160–61, 163, 170–71, 190, 196–98, 205, 232
Cuomo, Madeline, 266, 282
Cuomo, Margaret, 55, 266, 282
Cuomo, Mariah, 282
Cuomo, Mario (grandson), 74–76, 256, 282–83
Cuomo, Mario Matthew: as author, xxi, 4–6, 29, 39–40, 57, 59–61, 64, 113, 196, 234–38, 250; background of, xv, 1–15, 252; character of, 65–66, 88–89, 91, 264; death of, xv, 53–56, 73–74, 85, 250–53; early campaigns, 223–38, 259, 261; epitaph of, 125, 159–60; legacy of, 53–76, 251–52; personal stories of, 77–101; and phrasing, 57–58, 121; portrait on, 90–91; quotes from, 121–54; tributes to, xvi, xvii–xix, 284–85; voice of, 65
Cuomo, Matilda Raffa, 6, 22, 81, 216, 245, 253, 266, 282, 284, 289; and first inaugural address, 230, 233; and Notre Dame speech, 115–16; and portrait, 91; and Supreme Court, 18
Cuomo, Michaela, 282
Cuozzo, Steve, xvi
Curran, Paul, 185
Curry, B. F., Jr., 99
Cutts, Connie, 1, 207, 277
D’Amato, Alfonse, 24–25, 82, 155
D’Arienzo, Nick, 288
Daronco, Richard, 156
Davis, Ossie, 96, 225
death penalty. See capital punishment
debate, Cuomo and, 257, 260–61
de Blasio, Bill, 74, 257
Declaration of Independence, 46–47, 49–50
Dee, Ruby, 96
de la Renta, Oscar, 284
DelBello, Al, 87, 230
DelGiudice, Michael, 256, 266, 288
Democratic National Convention keynote speech, 1984, 103–4, 113, 123, 268; Golway on, xix; twentieth anniversary of, 187–88
Democratic Party, 48, 123, 209
Dente, Matt, 1, 207–8, 277
The Diaries of Mario M. Cuomo, 234–38, 250
Dicker, Fred, 91, 246, 288
di Donato, Pietro, 65
DiMaggio, Joe, 163
DiNicola, Dan, 245
Dinkins, David, 257
Dionne, E. J., xvi
discrimination, 166
diversity, 139–44, 166, 171; Andrew Cuomo on, 272–74
Dolan, Timothy Cardinal, 10–12, 117, 283
Donahue, Phil, 56
Donald, David, 48
Donnelly, John, 280
Donovan, David, 54
Dowd, Maureen, 24
Dowling, Michael, 288
dreams, 156
Dukakis, Michael, 242
Dullea, Hank, 244
Dunleavy, Steve, 81
Dutch Treat Club, 279–81
economic issues, 170, 204
ecumenism, O’Connor and, 118
Eddison, Martha, 288
education, 62, 143, 147, 194–95
Eimicke, William, 288
elections: 1982, 223–26; 1988, 242; 1990, 247–50; 2004, 188–89; 2010, 192–202; 2012, 202–8
Elliott, Kevin Scott, 293
Ellis Island, 43–45
English language, xx, 31, 66–67; immigrants and, 142–43
environmental issues, 33–36, 85–86
E Pur Si Muove speech, 113–15
equality, 49; Andrew Cuomo on, 272–74
eulogies, 291; Andrew Cuomo for Mario, 255–70; Mario Cuomo on, 79; for Immaculata Cuomo, 119–20; for Koch, 220–21; for Newfield, 153–54; Samantha O’Donoghue for Mario, 250–53; for O’Rourke, 208–12
Europe, 168
evil, cooperation in, 147–48
excelsior, 37–38
Fairness Doctrine, 127–28
faith, 14, 38, 112; Teilhard on, 108
family, 43, 61–64, 75, 135, 207, 234, 266; children and grandchildren, 250–53, 266–67, 282–83; Church as, 134–35; community as, 5–6, 18, 110–12, 122, 130, 165, 232, 248; Golway on, xviii; Italian Americans and, 162, 164–65
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 83–84
Fermi, Enrico, 163
Ferraro, Geraldine, 288
Finnerty, Michael P. J., 96–97
First Amendment, xi, 40–43, 127–28
First Inaugural Address, 17–18, 229–34
first responders, 182–83
Fish, Hamilton, 95
Flanagan, Peter, 226–27
Florio, Jim, 249
Foderaro, Lisa, 294
Fogarty, Thomas, 290
food, 123, 167, 260
Forbes, Malcolm, 242
Ford, Gerald, 155, 279
Fordham University Press, 292–93, 295
Forest Hills Diary (Cuomo), 59–61
Forsythe, Dall, 245
Forsythe, John, 188
Four Seasons Restaurant, 81–82
Fox, Ray, 280
Francis, pope, 11, 36, 263, 283–84
Franciscans, 8, 138
Fredman, Mims, 233
Fredman, Samuel George, 8, 149, 156, 225, 228, 232–33, 245, 288
freedom, 158
Freeh, Louis B., 84
Fremont, Judy, 293–94
friendship, ix–xiv, xv–xxvi, 100, 243–50, 266, 276–77, 291
Frucher, Floss, 288
Frucher, Mayer “Sandy,” 266, 288
future, 167–70
Galileo Galilei, 114
Gallagher, Cindy Hall, 293
Gallop, Sammy, 28
Garth, David, 224, 226, 288
gay marriage, 47, 272–74
Giamatti, Bart, 115
Gillette, Anita, 279
&nb
sp; Gillibrand, Kirsten, 256
Giono, Jean, 40
Giuliani, Rudy, 246
God, 61, 63–64, 104–12, 159, 180, 185–86, 191, 217, 251, 284
Golway, Terry, xvi, xvii–xx, 289
Goodman, Roy, 246
Gordon, Al, 288
governance, 38–39, 194
government, xviii, 122, 194–95, 199, 261, 263
governorship, 17, 158–59, 184–85, 215–16; Andrew Cuomo and, 56–57, 267; O’Shaughnessy on, 223–34, 247–50
Grant, Bob, xxiv, 54
gratitude, 193, 252
Gray, Al, 242
Gray, Barry, 54
Greenberg, David, xvi
grief, 179–80
Griffin, Jim, 90
Grondahl, Paul, xvi, 288
Haddad, William, 224, 226–27, 232
Haley, Alex, 162
Halperin, Jason P. W., 288
Hamill, Pete, xi, xxiii, 8, 64, 227, 242, 266
Hanlon, Bill, 113
Hardt, Bob, xvi
Harnick, Sheldon, 279
Hart, Gary, 225
Hart, Kitty Carlisle, 280
Harvey, Paul, xi
health care, 194–95, 199, 204, 269
Helmsley, Harry, 228
Hendel, Rich, 294
Hernandez, Maggie Cervantes, 294
Hertzberg, Hendrik, xvi
Hesburgh, Theodore, 133
Hicks, David, 40
Hicks, Scott, 40
Hillel, rabbi, 14, 110
Holder, Eric, 257
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 111
Holocaust, 144–50
Holzer, Harold, 29, 39, 65, 113, 250, 288
homelessness, 10, 22, 106, 208, 211, 245
homosexuality, O’Connor and, 117–18
hope, 74, 227
Horenstein, Jack, 240
Housing for the Homeless (HELP), 208, 211, 245
Howard, John, 256
Howe, Todd, 288
Hubbard, Howard, 288
Huffington, Ariana, 53
Humbert, Marc, 288
humor, 96–101, 209–10, 251
Iacchio, John, 288
Iacocca, Lee, 82, 170–71, 197
ideology, 99, 113–15, 176–77, 194; Lincoln and, 48; O’Connor and, 118
immigrants, 2, 12, 43–45, 65, 123, 125, 128–31, 139–44, 161–63, 171–72, 197, 259; Andrew Cuomo on, 272–74; discrimination against, 166; Talese on, xvii
inclusion, 261; Andrew Cuomo on, 272; Church and, 138–39, 263
inequality, 47, 172, 268
infallibility, 214–15
infrastructure, 199, 245
Internet, 169
interviews, 155–221; first, 7–8
Iona College speech, 1984, 103–4, 116
Mario Cuomo Page 28