– Three-time Academy Award winner Harry Warren (1893-1981), was born Salvatore Guaragna in Brooklyn and was the son of a Calabrian boot maker. One of Hollywood’s most successful and prolific composers during the 30s, 40s and 50s, he wrote “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “I Only Have Eyes For You,” “A Love Affair to Remember,” and “That’s Amore,” among many other songs. Between 1935 and 1950, he wrote more hit songs than Cole Porter, Irving Berlin or George Gershwin, three of which earned him Academy Awards: “Lullaby of Broadway,” “You’ll Never Know,” and “Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.”

–  Frank Guida, song writer and music arranger, produced the 1960s gold records “New Orleans,” “Quarter to Three,” “Stand By Me,” and “If You Wanna Be Happy.” His “Norfolk Sound” is believed to have influenced the Beatles’ “Liverpool Sound.”

– Four-time Academy Award and 20-time Grammy and Gold Record winner Henry Mancini is remembered for his classic “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. He also wrote the scores for 80 other movies, including the Pink Panther series, The Days of Wine and Roses and Victor-Victoria. Born in 1924 in Ohio, he was a child prodigy who mastered the piccolo, flute, and piano by the time he was 12. His break came when he scored the theme music to Peter Gunn, a popular TV series of the early1960s.

– The Metropolitan Opera became one of the finest opera companies in the world under the legendary leadership of its manager, Giulio Gatti-Casazza (1869-1940) who brought to its stage a brilliant array of singers, including Enrico Caruso, Rosa Ponselle, Amelita Galli-Curci, Beniamino Gigli, and Ezio Pinza as well as the conductor Arturo Toscanini. Gatti-Casazza managed the Met from 1908 to 1935

–  Frank Sinatra, the Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-winning legend known as “The Voice” and “The Chairman of the Board,” was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1915 and died in 1998. He made more than 2,000 recordings, many movies, and numerous television and cabaret performances as well as raised millions of dollars for charities during his 60-year career.

– With a pregnant wife and only $100 in the bank, Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for Rocky in three and a half days. The screenplay found a buyer, but Stallone, age 30, refused to sign the contract unless he were allowed to play the lead. The film received an Oscar for Best Picture in 1976. Stallone is one of the highest-paid actors of all time.