“Happy Birthday, Mr. President”

There is the story of a certain little Brazilian boy of Italian descent, who, after arriving in the United States and serving in the United States Army, turned out to be a great entertainer and a good friend; and this week, that little boy is celebrating his 80th birthday. Yes, his name is Nelson Sardelli.
He served in the United States Army with pride; after that he went into show business and delighted his audience with his singing and comedy routine, and decided to make Las Vegas his permanent residence.
Nelson is the creator and the force behind the ‘Starshine’ fund-raising event in Puerto Rico to raise funds for retarded children; the event later became an annual event in Atlantic City.
Later on, while slowing down in the entertainment field in order to care for his wife during the long-lasting illness that eventually took her life, he once again became active — since his usual mode is to not stand still — and became the force behind, in front of, and on both sides, of the now famous F.I.O.R.E. Club that operates from the
Italian American Club.
The F.I.O.R.E club started out as a group of well known semi-retired and active entertainers with nothing better to do than make fun of and attack each other on stage, until the club grew up to include other members of the community, including law enforcement, political and public servant personnel and personalities.
In the beginning the F.I.O.R.E. was only a “man thing,” but later on the members — all of whom are presidents of the club — opened the doors to women — all of whom are referred to as first ladies. They meet the second Thursday of every month.
Because Nelson Sardelli has slowed down in his career and because it is not too easy to make Nelson talk about himself, many don’t know his background. Here are some of the highlights of Nelson Sardelli’s show business and eighty years of existence and award-recognition:
—Atlantic City Entertainer of the year — exchange club of Atlantic City — 1983
—Atlantic City’s best variety entertainer of the year – 1983-84
National exponent Artist Award — Sao Paulo, Brazil.
—Twice recipient of the Legion of Honor Award — Certificate NYPD (For
numerous shows to raise funds for families of policemen killed in the
line of duty)
—The Angel Award — Opportunity Village Association for Retarded
citizens, Las Vegas, NV.
—The Humanitarian Award — Philadelphia Association for retarded Citizens.
—Founder of the Entertainer’s Fund for the Mentally Retarded Children
of Puerto Rico.
—Originator of The Nelson Sardelli Starshine (Fund-Raiser Event for
the mentally retarded)
—Co-Host of the New Jersey March of Dimes Telethon for 8 years.
—Man of the Year award — Atlantic City Chapter of Unico, 1986
—Outstanding Southern New Jersey Business with a positive approach
towards individuals with disabilities — Presented by the Social
Security District Manager — 1992
—Damon Citizen of the Year Award — Presented by the Nights of Pythias
Southern New Jersey Chapter — 1994
—Recipient of the Gold Metal for the City of Hope — Danny Thomas Saint
Jude’s Hospital — 1996
Cited in the 1998 Las Vegas Review-Journal’s THE BEST OF LAS VEGAS as
one of Las Vegas’ Lounge Legends
On June 8, 2008, he was awarded the Golden Award from the
International Entertainer School of Las Vegas.
Nelson has been friends with Rolando Larraz, Founder of the Las Vegas
Tribune, since the late ’60s when he first arrived in Las Vegas and
was playing at the Fabulous Flamingo Hotel.
When Larraz needed some personality to host the anniversary of the La Verdad newspaper at the Aladdin Hotel, you guessed it — Nelson Sardelli to the rescue!
He shared the stage of The Theatre for the Performing Arts at the Aladdin with the Argentine Gauchos, Shirley MacLain, George Kirby, Desi Arnaz Jr. in a three-hour spectacle that included honoring the Las Vegas Sun Newspaper’s founder, the late Hank Greenspun, with the presence of many of Nevada’s political gaming and business
personalities, including a Nevada Governor and a Supreme Court Justice.
Sardelli is also the creator of Father’s Day at the Veterans Home in Boulder City, where he and his troop of thirty or forty entertainers “invade” the home that houses all senior veterans and performs for them, thanking the group for their service to the nation.
After the earthquake in Italy, Nelson mobilized his troop and with the group effort, made a fantastic donation to the victims of his country of origin.
When well-known and very ill entertainer Norman Kay ran out of money to cover his medical bills, there again was Nelson Sardelli and his troop, orchestrating a magnificent show at a local casino to raise money for Norman. No money was taken to cover any expenses; all the money went to Norman Kaye.
We realize that this is not a singular Nelson Sardelli thing; this is a Nelson Sardelli and his group, troop, or team (whatever you want to call it, maybe even Robin Hoods), but none of them as yet have gotten to be 80 years old and none of them are celebrating their birthday on September 20th.
That young Brazilian boy of Italian heritage lives peacefully waiting for his two successful daughters, Giovanna and Pietra (we are only using one name each because the other names on their birth certificates would occupy at least half of this space) to come over to spice up his elegant estate — located on one of Las Vegas’ beautiful golf courses — during some of their fabulous improvised get-togethers that pop up often.
In the meantime, Nelson is in his carriage with binoculars looking for someone in trouble so he and his troop can go to the rescue.
Today, the Las Vegas Tribune wants to take a moment to show Nelson Sardelli how grateful we are to have him as a resident of Las Vegas, how proud we are to have such an entertainer as our neighbor, and how we appreciate his devotion to all the important events in the community. We are proud to call him a friend and honor him on his 80th
birthday.
Happy 80th Birthday, kid!