Enrico Banducci (born Harry Charles Banducci; February 17, 1922 – October 9, 2007) was an American impresario. Banducci operated the hungry i nightclub in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, where he launched the careers of The Kingston Trio,[1]Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters, and Barbra Streisand, and featured Woody Allen and Dick Cavett before they were well-known, as well as countless folk singers and comedians.[2] The hungry i featured the original brick wall in the stage background, a staple for stand up comedy presentations ever since. Banducci (pronounced Ban-doo-chee) bought the hungry i from its founder, Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, in 1950. Banducci later also started the Clown Alley hamburger stand as well as Enrico's Sidewalk Cafe on Broadway, a restaurant and jazz club that has since gone out of business.
Harry Banducci was born in 1922 in Bakersfield, California to Italian Americans Fred and Meda (née Chicca) Banducci.[3] He came to San Francisco at age 13 to study under the concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony. He supported himself as a violinist early in life but always maintained that he began playing a little too late to become a truly world-class great player. He also dabbled in singing operatic music with his deep voice and changed his first name to "Enrico" after his idol Enrico Caruso. He was married five times, the first to Raimonde Verney, daughter of a symphony violinist. He began wearing a beret after a health inspector insisted he cover his hair while running a food operation, and continued the practice to hide his eventual baldness. He bought the hungry i for $800 in borrowed money in 1948. Although he once calculated that he made over $10 million from his various projects, he spent it all on his lavish lifestyle, with a yacht and incessant travel. He spent time in jail, and was involved in a number of brawls, with his friends nicknaming him "Rocky" as a result long before the Stallone movie. The hungry i went bankrupt at least once. Newspaper columnist Herb Caen frequently chronicled Banducci's adventures, and Les Crane and Ira Blue each had a live radio talk show inside the hungry i for a while circa the early '60s.
In 1988, after he lost Enrico's to one of its several closures over the years, he became a hot dog vendor also serving homecooked Italian food in Richmond, Virginia at the "hungry i hot dog stand" on land located in Shockoe Slip, the city's most upscale restaurant district, which he'd purchased for his son years earlier, much to the strenuous chagrin of the surrounding restaurateurs, who objected in vain to the presence of a small wooden one-man hot dog stand in a parking lot with a sign proclaiming "hungry i hot dog stand" amidst their deluxe multi-floored dining establishments; he moved back to San Francisco in the late 1990s.[2]
Banducci died in his sleep in South San Francisco, California at the age of 85.[5]
Banducci is portrayed by Jon Polito in a large supporting role in the 2014 film Big Eyes directed by Tim Burton and starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz, featuring Banducci in a fist-fighting scene, among other sequences.
References
^William J. Bush (2013). Greenback Dollar: The Incredible Rise of the Kingston Trio. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN9780810881921.
^Weeks, Donna Tessandori (1 January 2011). The Italians of Kern County. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN9781453572535. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via Google Books.
^"Screen: 'Hungry I Reunion' of Alumni". The New York Times. 10 February 1982.
^Peterson, Alison J. (14 October 2007). "Enrico Banducci, 85, Dies; Ran Seminal San Francisco Nightclub". The New York Times.
Duncan, Stephen Riley (2014). The Rebel Cafe: America's Nightclub Underground and the Public Sphere, 1934-1963(PDF). University of Maryland, College Park. Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Dissertation Directed by: Professor James Gilbert Department of History
Enrico Banducci, Bar School, and a Guy From Fresno, via CoastNews.com
Farewell Favorites: Enrico Banducci and the hungry i: Five Pages
Dorothy Currin at Enrico Banducci's hungry i (scroll down)
Barbra Streisand: Early Performances - Live at the hungry i
, currently running at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum
San Francisco Chronicle - Podcast Interview with Enrico Banducci
The Legendary hungry i
March 20, 2023
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Enrico Banducci born Harry Charles Banducci February 17 1922 October 9 2007 was an American impresario Banducci operated the hungry i nightclub in San Francisco s North Beach neighborhood where he launched the careers of The Kingston Trio 1 Lenny Bruce Mort Sahl Bill Cosby Jonathan Winters and Barbra Streisand and featured Woody Allen and Dick Cavett before they were well known as well as countless folk singers and comedians 2 The hungry i featured the original brick wall in the stage background a staple for stand up comedy presentations ever since Banducci pronounced Ban doo chee bought the hungry i from its founder Eric Big Daddy Nord in 1950 Banducci later also started the Clown Alley hamburger stand as well as Enrico s Sidewalk Cafe on Broadway a restaurant and jazz club that has since gone out of business Enrico BanducciBanducci outside the hungry i theater Ghirardelli Square 1969BornHarry Charles Banducci 1922 02 17 February 17 1922Bakersfield California U S DiedOctober 9 2007 2007 10 09 aged 85 South San Francisco California U S NationalityAmericanOccupationImpresarioKnown forOwner of the hungry iBiography EditHarry Banducci was born in 1922 in Bakersfield California to Italian Americans Fred and Meda nee Chicca Banducci 3 He came to San Francisco at age 13 to study under the concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony He supported himself as a violinist early in life but always maintained that he began playing a little too late to become a truly world class great player He also dabbled in singing operatic music with his deep voice and changed his first name to Enrico after his idol Enrico Caruso He was married five times the first to Raimonde Verney daughter of a symphony violinist He began wearing a beret after a health inspector insisted he cover his hair while running a food operation and continued the practice to hide his eventual baldness He bought the hungry i for 800 in borrowed money in 1948 Although he once calculated that he made over 10 million from his various projects he spent it all on his lavish lifestyle with a yacht and incessant travel He spent time in jail and was involved in a number of brawls with his friends nicknaming him Rocky as a result long before the Stallone movie The hungry i went bankrupt at least once Newspaper columnist Herb Caen frequently chronicled Banducci s adventures and Les Crane and Ira Blue each had a live radio talk show inside the hungry i for a while circa the early 60s In 1981 Mort Sahl Jonathan Winters Professor Irwin Corey Jackie Vernon Ronnie Schell and a host of others gathered to film a tribute to Banducci that was nationally televised and entitled The hungry i Reunion The film is intercut with reminiscences by Bill Cosby Maya Angelou who started at Banducci s club performing Caribbean songs and patter while imitating a Caribbean accent and Phyllis Diller 4 In 1988 after he lost Enrico s to one of its several closures over the years he became a hot dog vendor also serving homecooked Italian food in Richmond Virginia at the hungry i hot dog stand on land located in Shockoe Slip the city s most upscale restaurant district which he d purchased for his son years earlier much to the strenuous chagrin of the surrounding restaurateurs who objected in vain to the presence of a small wooden one man hot dog stand in a parking lot with a sign proclaiming hungry i hot dog stand amidst their deluxe multi floored dining establishments he moved back to San Francisco in the late 1990s 2 Banducci died in his sleep in South San Francisco California at the age of 85 5 Banducci is portrayed by Jon Polito in a large supporting role in the 2014 film Big Eyes directed by Tim Burton and starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz featuring Banducci in a fist fighting scene among other sequences References Edit William J Bush 2013 Greenback Dollar The Incredible Rise of the Kingston Trio Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 9780810881921 a b Nolte Carl 2007 10 10 The impresario of North Beach San Francisco Chronicle Weeks Donna Tessandori 1 January 2011 The Italians of Kern County Xlibris Corporation ISBN 9781453572535 Retrieved 16 April 2019 via Google Books Screen Hungry I Reunion of Alumni The New York Times 10 February 1982 Peterson Alison J 14 October 2007 Enrico Banducci 85 Dies Ran Seminal San Francisco Nightclub The New York Times External links EditEnrico Banducci at IMDb Duncan Stephen Riley 2014 The Rebel Cafe America s Nightclub Underground and the Public Sphere 1934 1963 PDF University of Maryland College Park Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Dissertation Directed by Professor James Gilbert Department of History Enrico Banducci Bar School and a Guy From Fresno via CoastNews com Farewell Favorites Enrico Banducci and the hungry i Five Pages Dorothy Currin at Enrico Banducci s hungry i scroll down Barbra Streisand Early Performances Live at the hungry i Interview about the 2007 hungry i exhibit currently running at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library amp Museum San Francisco Chronicle Podcast Interview with Enrico Banducci The Legendary hungry i Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Enrico Banducci amp oldid 1108191368, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
