Paul C. DeSavino, Jr.

Paul DeSavino was born on Christmas Day 1929 in Jersey City, NJ. He was raised and spent most of his formative years in the Woodcliff section of North Bergen, NJ. It was directly across the street from Hudson County Park, where along with his three younger brothers, Howard, Franklin, and Ronald, and their dog “Lucky,” they took full advantage of it almost every day.

Paul attended Union Hill High School where he was a varsity baseball and basketball player. He set a new record for his yearbook by being nominated in thirteen different categories. Two was the limit, so he chose Most Popular and Class Comedian. He received a standing ovation at graduation.

He married Patricia Thorne out of high school, with whom he had three sons, Thomas, David, and John. During this time, he joined the Hudson County Stage-Hands Union, Local # 59, and worked in various movie theaters, from North Bergen to Bayonne, NJ. He eventually joined his dad, who was the head stage-hand at the Hudson Burlesque Theater in Union City, NJ, where he described himself as “the happiest kid in show business.” With his playfulness and sense of humor, he thrived in this environment. He loved the comedians and families who travelled the circuit, and they all loved him. They would even put him on stage to appear in many of the skits. He said the ten years there were some of the happiest years of his life.

During the Korean war, he was drafted into the Army and served in Germany. After being honorably discharged, Paul began working in New York City at City Center for two of their traveling companies. The first was the New York City Opera. The second was the New York City Ballet Company, where he met and married the love of his life, the beautiful ballet dancer, Marlene Mesavage with whom he had two children, Christine and Paul Michael.

In 1965, when he was finally able to get his coveted union card, Paul joined Local One - IATSE and in his words, "the world opened up for him." He began working at Lincoln Center and all over Broadway, working shows such as Oliver, The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and Flora the Red Menace.

In 1969, he became head stage-hand at Madison Square Garden where he worked for 25 years. There he headed spectacular productions in music and entertainment, the Democratic Convention, Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus, and the Ice Capades; meeting everyone from the Pope to Tiny Tim. He received high praise for the success of many events but he always accredited this success to his outstanding crew. He retired in 1995.

In 2017 he was honored by Local One - IATSE for his 50 year membership. Many of the men that worked for him were at the ceremony, and this touched him deeply.

Paul brought his love of theatrics home with him, where he loved playing guitar and singing with his children who harmonized along or accompanied him on the guitar or ukulele. A lover of sports, he was constantly organizing family games of soft ball and running bases. And when he became a proud grandfather, he loved cheering on his grandkids in basketball and baseball as well as their academic endeavors.

Since 1974, his oasis from the pressures of work was his home on Long Beach Island, which brought wonderful family memories as well as dear and meaningful friendships. Throughout the years, whether at work or play, Paul’s love of life was infectious, his knack for story-telling captivating, and he was usually the quickest wit in the room.

Paul leaves behind his beloved wife, Marlene, his children Thomas (Robin), David, Christine (David), and Paul Michael, and his grandchildren David Jr., Matthew, Aidan, and Tristan.

Memorial visitation will be held on Monday, February 12, 2024 from 10am-1pm with a Celebration of Life at 1pm at Becker Funeral Home, 219 Kinderkamack Rd, Westwood, NJ 07675. Memorial contributions can be made in Paul's name to NIPD-NJ, P.O. Box 301, Oradell, NJ 07649 and NJ Friendship House Day Program, 125 Atlantic St., Hackensack, NJ 07601