Hepcats and kittens chasing the California dream
What originally brought Monte di Monti to California in June of 1955 cannot be confirmed. His previous known whereabouts was in the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ where he hustled money playing billiards at a pool hall owned by local hood “Fat Vinny” Giancala. By June di Monti resided in an apartment in San Francisco’s North Beach and commuted to his job at the El Rey Burlesk across the bay in Oakland. It’s believed he made the connection for the theater job while still in Newark through someone he met at the pool…
Secrets behind the “underground” legend.
Editor’s note: This interview conducted in 1976 contains much contradictory information pertaining to the life of Monte di Monti. Fact checking it is an impossible task as much of his life is shrouded in mystery and several of the principals mentioned in the article are deceased including “East Side Al”. Also please note that the racist terminology, homophobic references, offensive language, and politically incorrect attitude of Al’s expressed in this interview has been unedited. It’s exactly as he said it in 1976. East Side Al’s viewpoints and perspectives are products of his era and we wish for this controversial interview…
Show Biz, the Mafia, and Exotic Dancers in 1960s South Beach
The staff refers to him respectfully as Señor Pérez. The silver haired man wearing a white guayabera shirt, brown polyester slacks, and white patent leather loafers moves slowly around the room saying hello to some lady friends who are watching television. He makes his way out to the patio where he sits down under a canopy and watches a group of elderly men play dominoes at a table. Slowly, he pulls a pencil out of his pocket and scribbles on his small note pad while reading a copy of the Miami Herald to learn about that day’s horse races. He’s…
Wanna be Starlets, The Playboy Mansion, and Washed Up Actors. 1968–1972 Los Angeles.
Following his misadventures in Texas during the early sixties, Monte di Monti’s whereabouts for the years 1964–1968 are unknown. There are reports that he was employed at the Balinese Room in Galveston, Texas in 1967, but the evidence of this is unconfirmed. There have also been reports that he was living in Las Vegas around 1967 while under the employment of Howard Hughes. It can be speculated that di Monti’s motivation for keeping a low profile during these years was his association with several known players (including Lee Harvey Oswald) in the JFK assassination conspiracy. After the assassination and throughout…
Recent evidence concludes that di Monti may have been a co-conspirator of Ruby, Oswald, and Travanty.
Dallas, Texas in the early 1960s was a city of many faces. On one hand, it was known as the “Buckle on the Bible Belt” and was the home to many churches and centers of Christian life. The high society of the city resided in the Highland Park enclave and everyone supported the new pro football team, the Cowboys. However, like many American cities of the era, Dallas had a dark side. The line between law enforcement and criminals was often a blurry one…
