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OBITUARIES
A38
NATION
Jayne Meadows, the Emmynominated actress and TV personality who often teamed with
her husband, original “Tonight
Show” host Steve Allen, has
died. She was 95.
Meadows died of natural causes Sunday at her home in the Encino, California, area, spokesman
Kevin Sasaki said yesterday.
“She was not only an extraordinarily gifted actress who
could move audiences from Meadows, seen here in 2006,
laughter to tears and back again was nominated for three Emmys.
all in one scene, but she was the
greatest storyteller I have ever barely spoke English when the
known,” said her son, Bill Allen.
family moved back to the United
Though best known as the wife States. She appeared in several
of the TV host — and the sister of Broadway shows in the 1940s. She
“Honeymooners” star Audrey changed her name to Meadows
Meadows — Jayne Meadows also (borrowing an old family name)
had a solid career. In the 1940s, when she made her film debut in
she acted on Broadway and in 1946 in “Undercurrent” with
movies, before becoming a house- Katharine Hepburn.
hold name as a panelist on the TV
She met Allen in 1952 at a dingame show “I’ve Got a Secret” ner party. He sat next to her,
from 1952 until the late 1950s.
speechless, until she turned to
Meadows was born Jayne Cot- him and said, “Mr. Allen, you’re eiter to Episcopal missionary par- ther the rudest man I ever met or
ents in Wu Chang, China, and the shyest.” It was the start of
AP / PHIL MCCARTEN
The Associated Press
something big.
They married in 1954, just as
Allen was starting his run as the
first host of “The Tonight Show.”
After his death in 2000, Meadows
called him “my best friend and
my partner on stage and off for
more than 48 years.”
Meadows’ innumerable TV
guest credits include many appearances on her husband’s
shows: “Tonight,” “The Steve
Allen Show” and “The Steve
Allen Comedy Hour.”
One of her three Emmy nods
came in 1978 for her portrayal of
Florence Nightingale in “Meeting of Minds,” Allen’s 1977-81
PBS show that portrayed historical figures getting together for a
chat. She was nominated in 1987
for a guest role in the drama series “St. Elsewhere” and in 1996
for her supporting role in the sitcom “High Society.” She also
played Billy Crystal’s mother in
the 1991 movie “City Slickers”
and its 1994 sequel.
She had been largely retired
since her husband’s death.
Plans for a memorial service
were not immediately announced.
AP / BON WANDS
Actress Jayne Meadows,
wife of TV’s Steve Allen
Meadows, comedian Louis Nye and Meadows’ longtime
husband, Steve Allen, rehearse for a new TV series in 1967.
LONG ISLAND
W. Islip’s Dr. Renato Giorgini, 71, podiatrist
BY OLIVIA WINSLOW
A leader and innovator in the
field of podiatric medicine. A dedicated teacher and mentor to physicians in training. A loving family man. An esteemed colleague.
Those were some of the
ways family and friends yesterday described Dr. Renato
Giorgini, who died April 17 of
complications from liver cancer at Good Samaritan Hospital
in West Islip. He was 71.
One of his daughters, Dr.
Tara Giorgini, an orthopedic
surgeon who resides in Rome,
Italy, said her father was “extremely generous” to his family, and “dedicated” to his students, colleagues and patients.
He lived in West Islip with
his wife of nearly 50 years, Florence Giorgini, whom he met
when both attended college in
Pennsylvania. “We married in
1965 — Aug. 28. We just didn’t
FAMILY PHOTO
NEWSDAY, TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015
newsday.com
olivia.winslow@newsday.com
Dr. Renato Giorgini of West
Islip was chief of podiatry at
Good Samaritan Hospital.
make 50 years,” she said.
At the time of his death, Giorgini was chief of podiatry and program director of podiatry residency at Good Samaritan Hospital.
Lauded for his excellence in
teaching, Giorgini was also a professor at the New York College
of Podiatric Medicine in Manhattan, where he joined the faculty
in 1971, said the college’s dean
and vice president for academic
affairs, Dr. Michael Trepal.
Giorgini was chairman of the college’s department of surgery
from 1972 to 1983, and also served
as residency director. “He really
was involved with the podiatric
surgical education of four decades of students,” Trepal said.
Dr. Gino Giorgini, a retired gastroenterologist who is now medical director for care and utilization at Good Samaritan Hospital,
cited his cousin’s “standout qualities” in teaching, adding, “he
trained podiatrists all over the
place.” He added his cousin was
also “well-respected for his development and maintaining the
accreditation of the podiatric
program” at Good Samaritan.
Several of Renato Giorgini’s
former students wrote tributes to
him posted to the Podiatry Medicine website, podiatrym.com.
Dr. Philip Wrotslavsky of San
Diego wrote: “Dr. Giorgini as you
know was a leader in the podiatric world. He was an innovator, a
teacher, and a mentor to many.
He told me many times, ‘If you
want to learn, I’ll teach it to you.’ ”
Giorgini was born in Copiague.
He graduated from Copiague
High School in 1960. He earned a
bachelor’s degree in biology from
Villanova University in 1964; and
a medical degree in 1968 from
what is now known as the Temple University College of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia.
He returned to New York in
1970 and set up his practice on
South Wellwood Avenue in Lindenhurst in a building owned by
his brother, Arthur, a lawyer.
“His brother was upstairs and
gave Rennie the room downstairs,” his wife recalled. Giorgini’s brother died last year.
Giorgini later moved to a different office on the same street,
where “he practiced until the
last,” his wife said.
He lectured widely in the United States and abroad, and had
professional certifications from
the American Podiatric Medical
Association and the American
College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, his daughter said.
Other immediate survivors include another daughter, Tanya
L. Giorgini of Manhattan; a sonin-law, Dr. Michele Calderaro,
Dr. Tara Giorgini’s husband; a sister-in-law, Ada Giorgini of Amityville; and two grandchildren.
A funeral was held April 20
at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic
Church in Bay Shore; burial followed at Amityville Cemetery
in Amityville.
LEGACY
Read recent obituaries,
in memoriams.
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