With All of my Heart ~~ THANK YOU!
On his 96th Birthday, at the end of a long day, Sammy is grateful to be released from the hospital and enjoys the company of his wife Shirley & diane estelle watching the sunset.
Dear Friends of Sammy:
As some of you may have seen the FaceBook post on Sammy’s birthday, it was not quite as we had planned it, as we spent most of the day in the emergency room! I am so happy to report that in the end, it was but a minor detour.
While we waited for the results, his documentarian diane estelle Vicari sat by our side reading the many wishes you sent his way. They came from all around the world and needless to say, he was so moved to hear from all of You. He is always so surprised that he has touched so many lives through music. It so lifted his spirit, particularly on that day! He was released by 4:00 pm and requested a baked potato! diane estelle & I fulfilled his wish and drove him by the ocean to watch the sunset to end his birthday on a happier note.
On behalf of Sammy and diane estelle, I wish to express my gratitude to All of you for all of your good wishes and the support you have shown and continue to show Sammy. You will never know how much it means to him and I.
FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY GIFT - A BIG SHOUT OUT TO:
Jim J., Claire C., Frank G., Rick M., John B., Melinda G., Thomas M., Mark M.,
Todd S. Paul N., Gennadiy M., Michael C., David H., Dawn R., Gary P., Gene C., Gregg F., Jeannette P., Patricia G., Joel S., John W., Joseph A., June B., Richard N., Robert T., Susan K., Yoshhio, Satoru, Anthony, Shingo, Kazuko, KS B., Matt L., Lawrence W., John H., Amanda B., Louise H., Walter B., Larry P., Christopher K., Eric E., Russel W., Richard D., Edward K., David S., Roger S., Susan V., Susan M., Richard W., Deborah C., Jeffrey S., Jeffrey L., Laird H., Jill K., Keith G., Michael M., Julie B., Luman H., Marc B., Greg M.
For your records, all of your donations to the film’s fiscal sponsor From The Heart Productions are fully tax-deductible under ***IRS # 95-444-5418 ***
UPDATE: diane estelle was just invited to do a presentation about Sammy and his contribution to “Swing,” as a feature exhibition is opening in April 2020 at the Dennison Depot Museum in Ohio. Just last week, she sat with Sammy focusing their discussion on the five years he spent weekly at Capitol studio A, working for Time Life Corporation with the great Billy May. Time Life’s goal was to resurrect the old mono Swing Era recordings into stereo versions. Billy commissioned Sammy to transcribe & arrange the 78 rpm recordings from the 30’s through Post-War of The Swing Era. Five years later, 630 tunes on 63 vinyl recordings, the SWING ERA Collection was created.
Again, many, many, many thank you’s from the bottom of my heart. Continue spreading the word, share the stories if you can and together we can reach the finishing line. As I wrote, what a present it would be for Sammy to see his life story completed on film.
With all my heart,
Shirley Nestico