Al Parinello’s career in entertainment evolved with cable TV and eventually landed him in the world of independent films. But first, he sharpened his entrepreneurial skills as a young boy on the streets of Hoboken.
In the 1950s, he found an old chest on the street, mounted it on a carriage, and filled it with bottled soda he bought at the supermarket. He lugged it all to an ice factory in Weehawken so he could make it cold, then dragged it to Hoboken to sell for a dime a bottle.
“Opportunity abounds here,” mused Parinello, who now lives in Bergen County, last week. “All you have to do is open your eyes and look. I can’t believe what the town became. It’s a joy to be here.”
The first 1,000 people can see the ‘groundbreaking rock musical’ for free.
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Evolution
Parinello was born at St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken (now Hoboken University Medical Center) and graduated from Hoboken High School in 1966. He attended Grahm Junior College in Boston for a bit, where he studied media and met the late comedian Andy Kaufman, who became a lifelong friend.
Eventually he transferred to Jersey City State College (now NJCU) and graduated with a degree in media ecology in 1973. He filmed a show in black and white for public access TV in Hoboken, interviewing hot dog vendors and men who fed pigeons in the street.
At school, he was advised by the director of cooperative education, the late Frank Capone, for whom an advising center on campus is now named. Capone worked hard to place students in good jobs, and helped Parinello score a low-level position at ABC television.
Parinello became so interested in the TV industry that he learned everything he could about an emerging facet of it: cable TV and satellite broadcasting. He eventually became a top salesman in New Jersey, selling cable TV to subscribers in the 1970s, even though the medium didn’t offer much more than shows at Madison Square Garden.
“It was five dollars a month,” he said last week, adding jokingly, “Today I pay $200 a month and I don’t think I get much more.”
His knowledge and drive eventually landed him at RCA – and at the dawn of a revolution. He worked with Ted Turner and was involved in the start of Nickelodeon and The Movie Channel.
He also created and produced TV shows for networks and for radio, and bought a rock radio station in Atlantic City. While there, he began producing live “Broadway on the Boardwalk” shows for the Trump Organization, bringing a touch of Manhattan to New Jersey’s casino district.
From concept to musical
It was there that Parinello met Elizabeth Lucas, who directed some of the shows. Lucas told him about a musical concept she had that would intertwine stories of people dealing with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York.
“I thought, ‘I’ve done radio, I’ve done TV, I’ve done stage, I’ve done concerts,’” Parinello said. “I’ve never done a movie.”
Without an initial script – just a concept – the pair culled Broadway actors, singers, and songwriters to develop the story and write songs. What resulted is a film full of interconnected tales that were shot all over New York City.
The movie, “Clear Blue Tuesday,” opens for two weeks at the independent Quad Theater in Manhattan’s West Village this month, running through Sept. 16. Parinello is talking to distributors about a wider release after that.
The film, which has won awards at festivals from Houston to the U.K., is also being shown for free for up to 1,000 people this coming week at the producer’s alma mater, NJCU.
Free show and Q&A
The screening is open to the public. It will be held Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. in the Margaret Williams Theater of Hepburn Hall. The event will also feature a Q&A with Parinello and Lucas, as well as live performances from the musical.
According to a press release, “The independent rock musical follows the fates of 11 New Yorkers through six Septembers following 9/11 as each one comes to grips with their lives.”
The movie is described as a “rock musical.”
Parinello said last week, “It shows how human beings can evolve from a disastrous time into something significantly better.”
The event is part of a series of programs commemorating NJCU’s 80th anniversary, which will culminate on Oct. 28 with an anniversary gala at the Westin in the Newport section of Jersey City.
New projects
Meanwhile, Parinello is involved in a few new projects, picking and choosing what he is most enthusiastic about.
“I’m a retired guy in a playground,” he said. “I sit back and I look for interesting things to do. I’m at a point in my life where the first motivation is not making money. So if I can tell a story that hasn’t been told, in a unique way, I’m all about it.”
One of his projects will involve his old friend Andy Kaufman. Parinello was involved in the 1999 movie about Kaufman, “Man on the Moon,” and thinks there is more to be done about the quirky comedian’s life.
He is also working on another musical.
To see “Clear Blue Tuesday” this Tuesday, just be one of the first 1,000 to show up for the screening. The theater is located on the campus at 2039 Kennedy Blvd. in Jersey City. For more information, visit www.njcu.edu.
Caren Matzner can be reached at cmatzner@hudsonreporter.com or editorial@hudsonreporter.com.