The late Annette Ontell, owner of 306 Hollywood, Hillside, NJ.
Jonathan BogarÃn, 40, and his sister Elan BogarÃn, 36, loved their grandmother so much, they immortalized her on film.
The Jewish-American matriarch, Annette Ontell, passed away on April 4, 2011 at age 93 – leaving behind only memories, and artifacts, in her house at 306 Hollywood Ave. in Hillside, NJ, which she lived in for 70 years.
The house was stark white – as if predestined to become the perfect canvas for the film that would be created after her death – using the artifacts from her life as props. She was a middle class fashion designer, with a sense of humor, who loved to make dresses fit for the Rockefellers, and she’d always make a duplicate for herself to wear.
The brother and sister filmmaking duo named their award-winning film “306 Hollywood,†and its artistically mastered ethereal style, for such a weighty subject matter, landed it in Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. After successful showings in NYC, and Los Angeles, it will be screening next in theaters in Dallas, Portland and Seattle, and on Amazon next year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi_b_VdwazU
“Making the film, made it easier to let the house go – the memories that we hold, and the cultural space that it holds. I can walk in and be in a 1970’s Jewish-American family,†says Jonathan.
The idea for the film gradually developed. Elan and Jonathan started filming their grandmother 10 years before her death.
“My sister was in film school when we started filming. Since we went to [our grandmother’s] house every single week, this added to the relationship,†says Jonathan.
Filmmakers, and grandchildren of Annette Ontell, Elan BogarÃn and Jonathan BogarÃn
Elan would ask her straight forward questions you might not normally ask someone if you weren’t filming like, “Grandma are you vain?,†“Do you miss sex?,†and “Are you scared of dying?â€
She’d always respond honestly and with her extraordinary wit.
Here, Jonathan answers a few questions about the influence his grandmother had on his life:
What is your most vivid memory of your grandmother since you were a little boy?
It was more a feeling than a specific memory. She was a person who always made you feel better. She was a consistently supportive person who was always concerned for our well-being – the things she would do like make you food and made sure you ate enough.
And your most vivid memory as an adult?
It’s more of a lesson than a memory. It was her philosophy on how to live life. Despite the tragedies in her life, she’d always empathize with others. She taught us how to handle what life throws at you, and be kind and loving to others, and to find humor in situations. She did it all the time.
What is the most important piece of life advice that she might have told you, or taught you, by the way she lived?
Now I have a daughter who is 4 and a half years old. And it’s important to me to transmit the secular Jewish culture to her from my grandmother, and also the Latino culture that comes from my father. She set such an amazing example of how to keep the family together – worry about the things that are important, and not the things that are not as important.
Bob Brody speaking at his book signing for “Playing Catch with Strangers” at the Forest Hills Library on September 16, 2017. (Courtesy Bob Brody)
In “Playing Catch with Strangers,â€Â an essay published in The New York Times in 2015, Bob Brody writes that he played catch with his father only once in his life.
“That summer afternoon, I felt about as happy as I’d ever felt. That’s how it goes when you’re 8 years old and playing catch with your dad,†writes Brody. “But then my father got busy with work, too busy to play catch with me anymore, always leaving early in the morning and returning late at night, and that turned out to be that. He had to do what he had to do.â€
Although short-lived, that special day ignited a flame in Brody’s life that would never extinguish – one that would continually remind him the importance of having fun and nurturing relationships throughout his life. In addition to becoming a public relations executive and a writer, Brody, now 65, still makes it his joyous duty to play catch with anyone who is interested.
“My new book covers my whole life…It’s a celebration,†says Brody. “It’s about my struggle to overcome immaturity. I resisted responsibility for a long time…It wasn’t until I was 35 [when my daughter was born] that I developed a real hard work ethic.â€
He says his whole life he’d only wanted to be a writer.
“That ambition took shape when I was 12,†recalls Brody, who ended up writing for his junior high, high school, and then college paper. “My grandfather bought me a New York Daily News subscription so I could read about the Yankees. I appreciated the directness of the language. I really didn’t get serious about writing till I was 18 – in college. Writing for the school paper, I became infatuated with words. I was not much of a storyteller at that point. I was just looking to see what I could do with language. I used to use big words – words that I will probably never use again. I’ve come to recognize short words can be good, short sentences can be good…I like street language too.â€
He says if he had to do it all over, he really doesn’t know what else he could’ve become.
“I guess I could’ve become a lawyer, but then I would’ve written about being a lawyer,†says Brody, smiling.
Born in the Bronx, Brody lived there almost three years before migrating to the suburbs of Fair Lawn, NJ. He was always smitten with NYC, however, as he would often sleep over his grandparents’ house there, and his grandmother would take him to all the museums and concert halls, including Radio City Music Hall.
At 23, after majoring in English at Fairleigh Dickinson University, he moved to Manhattan. This momentous occasion also led to his proudest career moment at 26 – getting published in The New York Times.
“I wrote about the time I got mugged five weeks into living in New York City,†laughs Brody, who has since lived in Forest Hills, Queens for the past 40 years.
Since his big break, Brody’s work has appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, and more. He also wrote the book, “Edge Against Cancer,†which profiles 12 athletes who survived cancer and were able to return to competing in their respective sports.
He says it was when his son and daughter were born that he realized he needed to find another source of income.
“The only option I considered was public relations, because a lot of it is writing,†says Brody, who has now worked in PR for the past 26 years. “I majored in English, but I never trained for public relations. It was a tough adjustment, because for one, I was used to working on my own. I was used to being a solo act. When you work for a public relations firm, I had to learn how to be a teammate.â€
At his full-time job, he says his work partly entails writing pitches, ghost writing op-eds, white papers, or memos.
“My ideal life would be to write whatever I wanted for at least three hours a day, but I think PR is good for me,†says Brody, adding that he usually enjoys writing first thing in the morning. “If I had to write only what I wanted, I might get sick of my own voice.â€
His first love will always be writing essays though. The very first short story he wrote was about a haunted house when he about 8, and currently, he writes approximately 20 essays a year.
“I love telling a story that’s going to hit people where they live – make them smarter, or get them excited about something,†says Brody. “If I can write anything inspirational, that’s the holy grail. I also like the sense of control. It’s me and the blank screen. Me and the words, and how I want to tell the story. It’s fun to get published. I write to be read. All these years later, and I still never get tired of it.â€
He says his five year plan entails writing three more books — the first being called, “Letters to My Kids,â€Â of which he already started an online blog (where he urges others to also write journals to their children), another would be a memoir honoring his deaf parents, and the last would be a memoir about working in public relations.
“When I’ve written about something, I really feel like I’ve lived it,†says Brody about the necessity he feels to document his life with words. “I think I have much of it there in my new book– and it’s about the people closest to my heart.â€
There are two pieces of advice about life he’s learned thus far that he would’ve liked to share with his younger self:
“On family – I wish I knew years ago what family means to me now,†says Brody. “I feel I failed early on to realize the importance of family. In some respects, I’m too late and in some, I’m just on time…and work harder. You have less time than you think. The world is never going to come to you so take nothing for granted.â€
When asked for her full name, Charo is known to laugh in her cheerful manner and ask, “Do you have time?â€
The Spanish-American actress, comedian, and flamenco guitarist was born in Murcia, Spain, and her full given name is MarÃa del Rosario Mercedes Pilar MartÃnez Molina Baeza. Perhaps best known in the U.S. as the “Cuchi cuchi girl,†for her trademark expression she often says while wiggling her hips, her stage name “Charo†is a shortened form of her middle name Rosario.
The exuberant entertainer became an American sensation in the 1970’s – appearing in countless television shows, including several episodes of “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,â€Â “The Carol Burnett Show,â€Â “The Love Boat†and in the films, “Moon Over Parador†and “The Concord: Airport ’79.† Although she is now 66, Charo’s energy and charisma have not simmered down. Earlier this year, she was on the 24th season of  ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,†she will be performing in the Hollywood Bowl on August 27, and her next flamenco guitar album, “Guitar on Fire,†also drops later this month.
“I am very excited, because it was one of my dreams to go to the Hollywood Bowl,†says Charo. “When I was a little girl, I saw a movie about a little mouse dancing at the Hollywood Bowl, and it was one of the best things I ever saw. I told myself if I ever go to America, I will play at the Hollywood Bowl.â€
She calls the show a challenge, because the audience will be international and comprised of different age groups, “but I know I can do it,†she says. “The guitar is my security blanket, and the music I selected is international.â€
Charo is used to performing anywhere. She moved to the Hawaiian island of Kauaii for approximately 15 years to raise her only son, Shel Rasten, away from the Hollywood life. Although, she still kept busy performing locally and even opened a restaurant called Charo’s. Since 2000, however, she’s been living in her Beverly Hills mansion with her husband and extended family.
Ideally, Charo would start her day without an alarm clock.
“Every day for me sucks, because I don’t like to wake up,†she says, although it’s hard to imagine her not radiating a constant joie de vivre. “I’m a night person, because I’m used to performing. Waking up is torture. I wake up at 8am, not because I want to. I play the guitar a little bit, then I run two miles, take a shower, then spend three hours minimum on the phone and making decisions.â€
Although she works a lot now, she says she would never want to go back to when she was 20.
“It was work, work, work,†says Charo in a more serious tone. “My father was involved in politics, and we lost everything. There was no time to play. I grew up playing in casinos. I started performing professionally when I was 12.â€
World-renowned classical guitar master Andres Segovia taught her to play the guitar at a young age. She landed a role on the show “Villa Alegre†– Spain’s version of “Sesame Street†where she would sing “La Bamba.†When she was almost 15, the Spanish-American bandleader, Xavier Cugat, came to see the show and discovered her. Soon after, she joined his orchestra as a singer and dancer, and despite a 40-year age difference, they got married.
“He talked to my mom and father,†says Charo of Cugat, her first husband. “I was very prepared when I came to this country. I practiced the guitar three hours a night. When I’m playing the guitar, I’m in another world, not in my “cuchi cuchi†persona.â€
In addition to playing the guitar, another topic close to her heart is taking a stand against one of her native Spain’s cultural past-times, bullfighting. She even adopted a bull she named Manolo.
“I hate to watch the news, because I love people around the world,†she says. “I was born in Spain, but I consider myself a citizen of the planet Earth. I write my own comedy to cheer me up.â€
Regarding the recent terrorist attack in Barcelona, she says she is heartbroken.
“I began praying for the victims right away,†says Charo. “I am sad for Spain, a beautiful country, full of joy, music and passion. I know Barcelona and Las Ramblas very well. It is like the United Nations there. You hear all the different languages and many people, including tourists, go there for fun…It saddens me to learn of the catastrophe they have suffered. I pray it never happens again. I believe the way to achieve world peace is for us to pray. Pray for each other. Pray for the planet. Pray for peace.â€
She does seem to know how to keep peace and love in her home, as she has been married 39 years to Swedish businessman Kjell Rasten, who is also her manager and the father of her son.
“He produced the Golden Globe Awards when I was nominated with Carol Burnett. I did not win, but I got the producer,â€Â Charo jokes.
What does she say makes her long marriage successful?
“Love, loyalty and respect, and having two separate bedrooms – his and hers,†she laughs. “Because 24 hours together, and you are going to get sick and tired of each other.â€
Ivonne Coll is not a mother, or a grandmother, in real life, but she plays the role of both on television.
Coll, otherwise known as Alba, plays the matriarch of her alternate reality home on The CW’s “Jane the Virgin.† There, the Puerto Rican actor plays the Venezuelan grandmother of Jane (Gina Rodriguez), and the mother of Xiomara Villanueva (Andrea Navedo). Her main goal as head of that household is to try and steer Jane in the right direction.Â
“What I like about the show is how they portray Alba is that she is still sensual,†says Coll, adding that her character is also courageous and intelligent. “A lot of times abuelas are shown as always having an apron on and asking if you ate, but Alba is a dynamic woman who has a boyfriend and makes mistakes in life. The creators allow me to sing and dance – those are the opportunities that this show has allowed me to express.â€
In a way, the now 70-year-old actor is going back to her roots. At 20, while studying psychology at the University of Puerto Rico, Coll won the Miss Puerto Rico title, and in the same year, 1967, she represented Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe pageant – both of which required her to display her talents of acting, singing and dancing. Upon seeing her performing skills, a producer in Puerto Rico gave Coll her own variety show. But at 26, Coll decided it was time to move to Hollywood.
Ivonne Coll in 1967 (Courtesy Ivonne Coll)
“My mother couldn’t understand why I was leaving Puerto Rico, because I was so successful there, but I knew my calling was somewhere else,†says Coll. “I knew I had to study the craft of acting. I didn’t care about fame, or making it, or becoming a star, I wanted to become a working actor – that was my goal.â€
Little did she know, she says, that according to the standards of Hollywood, she was already considered “too old.â€
“But I didn’t know that, and when I was told about it, I didn’t care,†says the determined Coll. “I just thought, ‘Let me keep on growing and doing my craft.’â€
It was around this time in her life that she often didn’t have money for food or to buy bottled water, but nothing, not even not having money, would be an obstacle to accomplishing her dream. When she needed diction classes to make her spoken English clearer, she instantly thought of a creative solution.
“I would clean the room for free lessons,†says Coll, laughing at this memory. “It was joyful. I never thought that I was struggling. I never thought I was paying my dues. It was a joy to do that work to get that session.â€
Shortly after, by a chance situation, she was hired to play the “redheaded singer, Yolanda†in Francis Ford Coppola’s, “The Godfather II,†which hit theaters in 1974.
“It was around 2 or 3 in the morning, and Al Pacino came on the set to do the kissing scene, and that’s what it did it for me,†recounts Coll about the exact moment she confirmed she wanted to dedicate the rest of her life to acting. “As he walked to Fredo, watching the way he transformed. I thought, ‘How did he do that?!’â€
It was then that she started to train even harder.
“I studied acting techniques for seven years, with Lee Strasberg, David Alexander, and Lucille Ball – who gave an eight-week workshop in Hollywood,†says Coll, adding that Ball was very strict and committed as a teacher.
Throughout her career, Coll has starred on Broadway in “Goodbye Fidel,†and played Lady Macbeth in “Lady Macbeth,†and acted in the films, “Lean on Me,†and “Walking the Dead,†and has countless television credits, including “Switched at Birth,†and “Glee.†Yet no matter how many years and projects pass, she still calls her mother her biggest inspiration, role model and hero.
“It’s all for Puerto Rico and my mother,†says Coll about Rosita Mendoza who was a celebrated hairstylist in Puerto Rico. “I think I inherited all my talent from my mother…Later in her life, she would be training – her talent for teaching is my talent for coaching others. That’s my mother – I’m so lucky. The last thing she saw me in was in Puerto Rican Parade in New York City when I won the Lifetime Achievement Award [in 2015]. She saw it on TV, and a week later she died.â€
Coll admits that as her recurring role as a mom in the television series,“Switched at Birth†was dwindling down, she started thinking about gracefully bowing out of show business and returning to her island home.
“I didn’t think there would be more roles for me,†says Coll. “As I’m doing the paperwork needed to wrap up, I get the audition for this role at Jane the Virgin.â€
Not taking it seriously, she first told her agency she’s busy doing jury duty.
“I was so confused, because the role was in Spanish in English, and the audition was the next day!,†says Coll.
Once there, she asked the producers what kind of Spanish dialect they wanted. They said Venezuelan, which was a very easy transition from her native Caribbean Spanish. Â
“God decided that role was for me no matter how much I didn’t take it seriously,†says Coll. “When they called me to go to network, I turned off my phone, and I didn’t hear they cancelled the audition. So I went. And at the moment the casting director came in, and she said, ‘Abuela, we’ll see your tape.’ They didn’t answer until the next day. We were in parking lot when I got it. I was screaming in the car. It’s been a great ride.â€
She says working on “Jane the Virgin†has been one of her most special experiences, because her co-stars have become like true family.
“It’s also the first time three Latinas are in a mainstream show, and now we have it in ‘One Day at a Time,’†says Coll about the Netflix series she will soon guest star on – reuniting her with Rita Moreno, 85, who played the “Glam-ma†on “Jane the Virgin.â€
Looking back now to when she once heard she was “too old†at 27, Coll laughs.
“I just produced and co-wrote a short and I’m acting in it,†she says. “It’s about two women – one is a principal, and one is a yoga teacher and married to a Harvard professor…I want to put [Latinas] in charge like we are in real life…Producers feel it won’t sell, but it will sell, because it represents the face of North America.â€
What advice would she tell her 20-year-old self at her age now?
“I wouldn’t change anything of what I did really…Go with your gut feeling. God lives in you. I was not aware that I was doing that. Be more aware of what moves you, because that will inform how your life will be.â€
“Alba, to me, has been a gift of love from God that came at a time I was about to retire. Isn’t it incredible?,” says Coll. “You can plan, but God has other plans, and His plans are better than yours.â€
Nayeli Chavez-Geller with her father, Raymundo Chavez.
I often think about my father.
I find myself engaged in the most mundane of my daily activities, and I randomly remember some of our conversations. I treasure them like old video cassettes – worried at times that they will fade off if I think about them too much.
My parents got divorced when I was five years old, and I am the eldest of four siblings. My mother, who is from New York, met my father in Oaxaca, Mexico and returned back home after their separation – giving him sole custody over us. I don’t remember much about the days living with both of my parents. It’s as if life started one day when I was at elementary school and all my friends pointed out to me, “Nayeli, your father is outside the school waiting for you.”
Looking back, I guess we were the topic of conversation in other households – the four “gueritos” (a Mexican slang term meaning “light-skinned people”) that just by their physical appearance stood out like a needle in a haystack and were being raised by their father in a time where every kid in my classroom lived with both of their parents, and in the rarest scenario with their mother.
My father was very devoted, but an authoritarian figure who was very strict with us. He believed in what he called “an integral education.” We had to excel both academically, and in sports. He also believed it was very important to have social skills. I remember one day he hit me with a belt for something that was not my fault. At night, when I went to kiss him before bed, he actually apologized. I seized that unusual moment of understanding and asked him why he was always so harsh with us? He told me it was because he knew that as good as we seemed, we hadn’t reached our potential, and that as a father, it would be a crime not to ask for more if he truly knew we had the capacity for it.
I have been living on my own since I was 17, and I always remember that moment. I guess it’s a motor of motivation when things get too comfortable or tough.
My father was born in a village that he’d take us to often, while we were growing up, to visit my grandmother. Once there was a bull running loose on the streets, and my first instinct was to run away from it, but my father got really mad, and he told me, “How can you turn your back on it, Nayeli? In life, you must face the bull in order to see which way to run.”
I learned later that there is even a known phrase, “Grab the bull by the horns,” and hearing that for the first time reminded me of that moment.
When I feel depressed, anxious, or overwhelmed, I force myself to go out for a run. I then start hearing his voice again,”Happiness isn’t permanent, you have to fight for it. This is your life, you can make the best of it, or be a victim. There aren’t any guarantees. Be the best that you can be. Remember time goes by, don’t waste your youth. You are free. I gave you wings to fly, and the skills to survive no matter what. Go out in the world, and be happy.”
Nayeli Chavez-Geller is a reporter and correspondent for Univision television network, and she resides in New York City.
