Portraits depict different sides of Lon Chaney

At Sterling Opera House in Derby

Heather and her portraits of Lon Chaney

By Steve DiRienzo

Vice President

Valley Arts Council

Painter and craft artist Heather Dailey-Mezzacappa created a series of three striking portraits of Lon Chaney Sr. for the Valley Arts Council's Sterling Opera House Portrait Project. 
Her paintings feature him in character as the famous “Phantom of the Opera” and as the tragic clown in “He Who Gets Slapped”.  

The third and largest of the three is of the famous “Man of a Thousand Faces” as himself, in a seldom seen moment out of character.

Together the three portraits, done in acrylic on canvas, fill the window space and are quite eye-catching.
“I’m a huge fan of the classic horror genre,” Dailey-Mezzacappa said. “What drew me to the character the most was the fact that he literally suffered for his art.”


That is a nod to the fact the Senior Chaney endured grueling hours under heavy prosthetics and makeup, which contorted his features causing great discomfort and pain, all for the sake of his audience, she said.

“Ironically, most of the characters he played were grotesque, flawed creatures on the outside, but yet very human and genuine beings on the inside,” Dailey-Mezzacappa added.

“Another little known fact is that both of his parents were deaf,” she said. “This aided his acting abilities in the silent films of the era because he knew the art of communicating without speaking.”

All of these traits added up to make the actor just as interesting as the roles he played, she said.

Sterling stars

I snapped a quick photo of Harry, Amelia, and Enrico the other day as I was walking across the Derby Green.


They are part of the Sterling Opera House Portrait Project. Houdini was painted by Greg Karas of Ansonia, Earhart was created by Susan Carden-Flicker of Shelton and Caruso was painted by Rich DiCarlo of Derby.


Stay tuned for more information about the artists and their work. 

These portraits are Sterling

Works featuring famous visitors to opera house evoke simpler time

By Steve DiRienzo

Vice President

Valley Arts Council

DERBY - This is a continuation in our series of interviews with our group of very talented artists who contributed to the Sterling Opera House Portrait Project.

Jerry Mulcahy and Hope

Shelton artist Jerry Mulcahy, who chose Bob Hope as his subject and created him in the style of Shepard Fairey’s “Obama Hope Poster”, said he was “struck by boyhood memories of “seeing Hope on television and in vaudeville style comedy skits.”


He added that as he got older he developed a sense of “pride in seeing Hope perform for the Troops on multiple USO Tours!", which was something he felt was a “selfless act on the part of a big celebrity”.

His brightly colored acrylic rendering captures Hope's famous likeness.

Deneen Datcher and "Uncle Miltie"

Local painter Deneen Datcher created a striking black and white portrait of Milton Berle.

Her connection to Berle also came from her childhood days spent at her grandmother’s house where everyone gathered around the TV to watch “this really funny guy.”

“Uncle Miltie” became somewhat of a fixture and to this day evokes fond memories of her grandmother, Datcher said. “I captured his likeness in-between … not quite young and not quite old,” she said. "It’s the way I remember him.”

Deneen also says she was “excited and enthusiastic” to take part in the project. “I love the fact that this will hopefully help others learn more about this part of history.”

Karen Loprete and Gracie

Karen Loprete of Shelton created a beautiful fiber art rendering of Gracie Allen. She said she has always admired Allen for being a “powerful woman” for her time and one who really “stood up to her man.”

She also pointed out that Gracie Allen seemed to “always be smiling” and that even after the breakup of the “Burns & Allen” act, she still managed to “attract great recognition on her own.”




Editor's note: See previous posts about the Sterling Opera House Portrait Project here and here. 
Check back for more features on the remaining portraits.

Gracie graces window of opera house

Gracie Allen, created by fiber artist Karen Loprete

I was outside the Sterling Opera House in Derby, Ct. yesterday and was able to get a close-up of the window featuring Gracie Allen, the "better half" of the popular Burns and Allen comedy team of yesteryear.
The couple appeared at the Sterling Opera House back in the vaudeville days.

It's the only one of the 12 incredible portraits recently installed in the windows of the historic building that was created out of material instead of paint.

Kudos to fiber artist Karen Loprete of Shelton on this amazing piece of art work.

Portraits paint story of Sterling Opera House

Editor's note: I posted the information below earlier this week on the New Haven Register's View from the Valley blog.




On Derby Day last Saturday members of the Valley Arts Council unveiled a dozen portraits of some of the stars who performed at the stately Sterling Opera House on Elizabeth Street in Derby. The building, built in 1889, was used as a theater until 1945.
The portraits now grace the windows facing Elizabeth Street and the Green, as well as those on side doors that face a walkway.


A $1,000 grant from the Valley Community Foundation funded the project.

Here Valley Arts Council vice president Steve DiRienzo of Derby stands next to his creation, an oil and acrylic painting of the legendary band leader John Philip Sousa, who wrote several patriotic marches, including "Stars and Stripes Forever."
His band played at the opera house in the early 1900s.


DiRienzo said Sousa, garbed in a bright red band uniform, may have been the inspiration for the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper character on the cover of their 1967 album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
He said the tuba-like musical instrument called the sousaphone was named after Sousa, and the person who may have been the first to manufacture the sousaphone was named J.W. Pepper. Coincidence? Who knows?


DiRienzo said, "It's an open-ended exhibit geared to draw attention to the building." He said he'd like "to eventually have (the portraits) in the gallery, and have a reception for the artists." 

Shelton artist Len Grayeck stands next to his painting of the legendary comedian George Burns, who performed on the opera house stage in the glory days of vaudeville.
Behind him is a fabulous fiber-art portrait of Burns' beloved wife, Gracie Allen, created by Shelton fiber artist Karen Loprete.


Grayeck said Burns' round eyeglass frames and cigar "are almost iconic." He said he chose to capture Burns' look from the 1980s.
"I like the fact that he did it all," Grayeck said. "He started in vaudeville, went to radio, and then did TV and films." 


The project took about six months, from concept to installation last week, DiRienzo said. 


These 12 portraits created by 11 artists (council president Rich DiCarlo who came up with the original idea created two) are truly outstanding.


They're definitely worth a trip to downtown Derby to see!
This exhibit almost makes me want to get some paints and try my hand at dabbling on canvas. Almost.


Since the artwork will be up for awhile, I plan to photograph the rest of the photos and share them here at a future date. Stay tuned.