I recall when Frank came aboard Dance Party; he was in the second group of Dick Stewart Regulars. His group included some ladies who were destined to become my favorite dance partners, such as, Heide Hoegg, Darlene Cendali, Linda Howey, Esther Orlando, and several others.
His group was a bit younger than we of the first group, and consequently I never really got to know him as well as I did my peers; however, I knew him as being one of our better, and more popular, dancers. I remember being aware of his popularity with the ladies in particular. He seemed to be a young charmer with a large following of fans, both on, and off, the show. Due to his young age when he started the show, he was one of the few Regulars who was on the show for almost the entire time that it was on the air.
Our common roots make us good friends; however, I have only come to really know Frank since our last reunion. It has been a pleasant journey getting to know him and his wife Jo. I have come to know Frank better and appreciate his still youthful mind, and attitude. His wife, Jo, is an excellent hostess who matches Frank in the charm, and youthfulness departments. They are more like a couple of twenty "something's" than people close to retirement.
I will let Frank tell of his remembrances of the Dance Party and his life after the show ended. - Manny Interiano
I remember that for our audition to become a Regular on Dance Party, I had to have a partner, and the only person I saw was a girl in a Mercy dress by the name of Darlene Cendali. So I asked her to be my partner in 1959, and, to this day, we are still good friends.
I went on to become a Regular, and was on the show from 1959-1962. During that time, I dated fellow Regular, Lynn Facceola for a year and a half; we also still remain friends to this day.
Some of my favorite memories on Dance Party were dancing with singer Brenda Lee,
and meeting many celebrities. I remember going to Dick Stewart's sock hops in
different cities and locations. I also remember doing a grand opening in 1960
for Macy's department store in Hillsdale Shopping Center.
Today I am a proud grandfather of 11 grand children. My wife Jo and I still enjoy dancing as often as we can. We have traveled to Italy, and go yearly to the island of Oahu. We also own a houseboat and spend many of our weekends there enjoying water sports. I visited them on their houseboat ... it is super, with 3 bedrooms, and all sorts of conveniences. I sort of felt as if I was on a cruise ship. - Manny I enjoy playing golf and I am still playing softball as well as coaching one of my grandsons in baseball. We are now raising two of our grandchildren.