Friday, May 7, 2004 | 3:43 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION
May 8 - 9, 2004
Who: "The Scintas."
When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays through Wednesdays, dark Thursdays.
Where: The Rio's Scintas Showroom.
Tickets: $59.95.
Information: 252-7777.
What: "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding."
When: 7 p.m. nightly.
Where: The Rio.
Tickets: $77.
Information: 252-7777.
The Scintas have skyrocketed to success in the Las Vegas entertainment stratosphere.
The family of performers (including brothers Joe and Frank, little sister Christine and honorary Scinta Peter O'Donnell) debuted at the Hilton in April 2000.
In a few short months the troupe of impressionists and musicians were headlining at The Rio, and in a few more short months the venue's showroom was named after them.
They have a legion of fans -- none more loyal than their mother, Mary Scinta, who moved to Las Vegas from her native Buffalo, N.Y., two years ago.
Scinta recently discussed her life and her children for a Mother's Day interview in the Las Vegas Sun.
Las Vegas Sun: What's it like being the mother of one of Las Vegas' most popular acts?
Mary Scinta: It's the most beautiful feeling in the world to have kids like I have, so respectful and talented. They take good care of me, my children, my daughters-in-law, my son-in-law. I am a lucky lady to see my kids make people happy every night.
It's a wonderful feeling. I feel so blessed.
Sun: Did you always feel so blessed?
MS: They could be devils. They were a handful, mischievous, but never bad. They never did anything really bad, just annoying things, like the time Frank flooded the school library.
He wanted to feed the turtle. He turned the water on and forgot to shut it off. It was a Friday afternoon, so the water ran Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. It was winter and the whole basement was full of steam and water.
Sun: How did you punish them when they misbehaved?
MS: They were disciplined. We spanked them when they needed to be spanked, and loved them when they needed to be loved.
Sun: How did your children develop into entertainers?
MS: My father-in-law and mother-in-law had 27 grandchildren. When my father-in-law passed away, he had two guitars. My mother-in-law gave one to Frank and one to Joe. Frank was 4 and Joe was 9. Why she gave them to my sons instead of any of the other grandchildren, I don't know. But Frank and Joe just started playing.
They used to go into their bedrooms and listen to Beatles songs, or whatever, and practice -- learning the different chords. They never had formal lessons. It was an inborn talent. Neither my husband or I were musical.
Sun: Did they perform around the house?
MS: Yes, Frank, especially. Anyone who would come into house, he'd ask, "Do you want to hear me play the guitar?"
Then they found a banjo in someone's attic and Frank started playing the banjo, Joe did imitations of Johnny Ray. They just loved performing. Chrissi, Frankie and Joe loved to watch the old Al Jolson movies.
Frankie, at 8 or 9, was performing at Kiwanis Clubs, singing Al Jolson songs and playing guitar. Then he started teaching Chrissi the Jolson songs and he would bring her onstage at the club dates. She was only 3 or 4.
Sun: When did they graduate from the Kiwanis circuit?
MS: Frank was on the Jerry Lewis telethon when he was 10, and the Merv Griffin show at 11.
Sun: Did you envision that one day three of your children would achieve stardom?
MS: I had no idea they would end up where they are. I knew they loved performing, and wherever they went they got a lot of applause. They just loved the applause, the recognition. They loved entertaining.
I traveled with them quite a bit when Chrissi was underage.
Sun: What was life like around the Scinta household?
MS: We used to do a lot of singing around the house -- gospel, country. We loved to sing harmony.
Sun: Tell us about yourself. Where are you from?
MS: I was born and raised in Buffalo.
When I was 16 years old I had my first date, an afternoon date to go to a movie with an 18-year-old fella I had met at the skating rink. My mother met him and when he brought me back from the show, she asked him in broken English, "You like my daughter? You got to marry her right away." And he said, "OK."
Joe and I had been married 49 years when he passed away. He was a gem. Thank God it worked out. I wouldn't recommend that kind of courtship for anyone else. I only knew him six months before we married. He was in the Marines -- I met him in October, we were engaged in December and married in April. We had a wonderful, wonderful relationship.
Sun: How do you occupy your time since moving to Las Vegas?
MS: I used to attend almost all of the Scintas' performances. But now I'm in "Tony and Tina's Wedding" at The Rio. I play Grandma Nuncio. The casting director approached me last year to do it, just two nights a week. But I'm not an actress. I said, "I can't do that." But then she said, "Please," and I said, "OK, I'll try it." I tried it and I'm loving it. I'm having the time of my life.
Sun: What else do you do?
MS: I baby-sit. I do a lot of walking with my dog every morning.
Sun: You have another son, Tony. What does he do?
MS: Tony retired from the police department in Buffalo. He was a homicide detective. He lives here now, and he's doing our marketing.
Sun: What are you going to do for Mother's Day?
MS: We usually get together and go out to dinner. I used to cook, but nobody wants to cook anymore, not on Mother's Day. There will be no cooking for me.
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