CARL ASARO: One Day, a Speaking
Part
When
Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead died in 1995, Carl
Asaro was devastated. A self-proclaimed Deadhead, Mr.
Asaro held a memorial service and barbecue in honor of
Mr. Garcia in his backyard, complete with 50 guests,
candles and the band's T-shirts hung along the side of
the deck.
When his wife and six children realized that Mr.
Asaro, a 39-year-old firefighter at the Ninth Battalion
in Manhattan, was not coming home to Middletown, N.Y.,
they decorated his memorial service with some of the
band's paraphernalia: T-shirts, Christmas ornaments,
pictures. Songs like "Touch of Gray" and "Friend of the
Devil" were played. It was a fitting tribute, they said,
to his love for music. Mr. Asaro played the piano, the
guitar and the piccolo.
A firefighter since 1987, Mr. Asaro also enjoyed
playing one on television. He was an extra in several
movies including "15 Minutes," "The Siege" and
"Frequency." He played a paramedic on "The Sopranos,"
"Law and Order" and "Third Watch."
He dreamed of having a speaking part. "He always said
one day he might go to Hollywood and be famous," said
Heloiza Asaro, his wife. "And I said, `Yes, you go to
Hollywood and leave me here with all the kids.' He said
no, I would be his agent."
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