Jeanine is the beloved daughter of Mary C. "May" nee Cullen and Theodore "Teddy" G. Napoleon Sr.
She is the dear sister of Matthew "Mattie" and Theodore Jr. "Teddy" Jr. She is a fondly remembered cousin of the five Cullen boys.
Her dad is American-Italian (Sicilian ancestry) and her mother American-Irish (Irish Free State, i.e., Republic of Ireland ancestry). While Jeanine's grandparents are immigrants, both Teddy Sr. and Mae were born in New York, as were Jeanine and her brothers Matthew "Mattie" and Teddy Jr., the youngest. Thus, Jeanine is "second generation".
In short, c. 1936-1937, Mae, a dancer, married jazz pianist Teddy Napoleon [01/23/1914 - 07/05/1964). They lived at 2837 Harway Avenue (around the corner from Bay 59th Street), in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn bordered by Bensonhurst to the west, Parkville to the north, Coney Island to the south, and bounded by Sheepshead Bay and Mildwood to the east. Teddy's family lived at 149 Bay 47th Street.
Her Dad, Teddy Napoleon Sr. is a well know jazz pianist with the Gene Krupa Trio. The Napoleons come from a family blessed with musical talents, including trumpeter Phil Napoleon and Teddy Sr.'s youngest brother Marty, jazz pianist to greats such as Louie Armstrong, and an acknowledged great in his own right. Teddy Sr.'s next youngest brother, Andy, was a drummer and their two sisters, Margie and Josephine, were vocalists.
Jeanine's youngest brother Teddy Jr. was a drummer. Her brother Mattie played the guitar when we were kids. He later went on to earn a livelihood as a graphic designer. Jeanine was already in her teens when her cousins, the five Cullen boys, were still attending St. Teresa's Grammar School, in Woodside, Queens, NY.
I, as well as my older brother Jimmy, remember her with black hair and shapely (we were little boys, but we still had "eyes"!). Her brother Mattie and Teddy had blondish hair, Aunt Mae had blonde hair (Mae's brother Sonny light red) and Uncle Teddy had light brown, wavy hair. Boy, I remember Jeanine running across a field during an outing to Tenafly, NJ from one of the bus trips our Dad use to organize from his bar on Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens, NY. It's still a memory from my "wonder years". Her brother Mattie was strumming the guitar, sitting atop a picnic table at the corner, right foot on the bench, and my older girl cousins were all gaga. Maybe they were having their own "Oh, my heart be still" moments or whatever that stuff is that girls do! Maybe he was their Ricky Nelson.
The families experienced numerous family deaths (parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles) starting c. 1959 and ending in 1964, becoming scattered and losing ties with each other. These deaths included the Cullen boys' parents and Jeanine's dad, Uncle Teddy.
From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, Jeanine frequently performed as a featured vocalist at the Playboy Club in Chicago, IL [116 E. Walton St. (950N, 100E), Chicago, IL 60611] which operated from 1960 to c. 1978 at this location. It was the first Playboy Club to open back on 29 February 1960 - Leap Year Day. However, in 1978, the four story building was demolished and the One Magnificent Mile Building was erected at the site, finished 1983. As an aside, the Playboy chain of clubs went defunct in 1991; since 2006 they're being revived.
By the summer of 1981, Jeanine, who also played piano, continued as a vocalist performing in Las Vegas, Nevada for fifteen years before a short five year retirement and her death at the end of January of 2000 at the age of 62 form Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Note that Jeanine's grave marker has the incorrect year of her birth, id est, 1935 rather than the correct 1938. Ironically, when Jeanine moved out to Vegas from Chicago, she put her birth year as 1948 - a woman's prerogative!!
She is the dear sister of Matthew "Mattie" and Theodore Jr. "Teddy" Jr. She is a fondly remembered cousin of the five Cullen boys.
Her dad is American-Italian (Sicilian ancestry) and her mother American-Irish (Irish Free State, i.e., Republic of Ireland ancestry). While Jeanine's grandparents are immigrants, both Teddy Sr. and Mae were born in New York, as were Jeanine and her brothers Matthew "Mattie" and Teddy Jr., the youngest. Thus, Jeanine is "second generation".
In short, c. 1936-1937, Mae, a dancer, married jazz pianist Teddy Napoleon [01/23/1914 - 07/05/1964). They lived at 2837 Harway Avenue (around the corner from Bay 59th Street), in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn bordered by Bensonhurst to the west, Parkville to the north, Coney Island to the south, and bounded by Sheepshead Bay and Mildwood to the east. Teddy's family lived at 149 Bay 47th Street.
Her Dad, Teddy Napoleon Sr. is a well know jazz pianist with the Gene Krupa Trio. The Napoleons come from a family blessed with musical talents, including trumpeter Phil Napoleon and Teddy Sr.'s youngest brother Marty, jazz pianist to greats such as Louie Armstrong, and an acknowledged great in his own right. Teddy Sr.'s next youngest brother, Andy, was a drummer and their two sisters, Margie and Josephine, were vocalists.
Jeanine's youngest brother Teddy Jr. was a drummer. Her brother Mattie played the guitar when we were kids. He later went on to earn a livelihood as a graphic designer. Jeanine was already in her teens when her cousins, the five Cullen boys, were still attending St. Teresa's Grammar School, in Woodside, Queens, NY.
I, as well as my older brother Jimmy, remember her with black hair and shapely (we were little boys, but we still had "eyes"!). Her brother Mattie and Teddy had blondish hair, Aunt Mae had blonde hair (Mae's brother Sonny light red) and Uncle Teddy had light brown, wavy hair. Boy, I remember Jeanine running across a field during an outing to Tenafly, NJ from one of the bus trips our Dad use to organize from his bar on Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens, NY. It's still a memory from my "wonder years". Her brother Mattie was strumming the guitar, sitting atop a picnic table at the corner, right foot on the bench, and my older girl cousins were all gaga. Maybe they were having their own "Oh, my heart be still" moments or whatever that stuff is that girls do! Maybe he was their Ricky Nelson.
The families experienced numerous family deaths (parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles) starting c. 1959 and ending in 1964, becoming scattered and losing ties with each other. These deaths included the Cullen boys' parents and Jeanine's dad, Uncle Teddy.
From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, Jeanine frequently performed as a featured vocalist at the Playboy Club in Chicago, IL [116 E. Walton St. (950N, 100E), Chicago, IL 60611] which operated from 1960 to c. 1978 at this location. It was the first Playboy Club to open back on 29 February 1960 - Leap Year Day. However, in 1978, the four story building was demolished and the One Magnificent Mile Building was erected at the site, finished 1983. As an aside, the Playboy chain of clubs went defunct in 1991; since 2006 they're being revived.
By the summer of 1981, Jeanine, who also played piano, continued as a vocalist performing in Las Vegas, Nevada for fifteen years before a short five year retirement and her death at the end of January of 2000 at the age of 62 form Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Note that Jeanine's grave marker has the incorrect year of her birth, id est, 1935 rather than the correct 1938. Ironically, when Jeanine moved out to Vegas from Chicago, she put her birth year as 1948 - a woman's prerogative!!
Jeanine is the beloved daughter of Mary C. "May" nee Cullen and Theodore "Teddy" G. Napoleon Sr.
She is the dear sister of Matthew "Mattie" and Theodore Jr. "Teddy" Jr. She is a fondly remembered cousin of the five Cullen boys.
Her dad is American-Italian (Sicilian ancestry) and her mother American-Irish (Irish Free State, i.e., Republic of Ireland ancestry). While Jeanine's grandparents are immigrants, both Teddy Sr. and Mae were born in New York, as were Jeanine and her brothers Matthew "Mattie" and Teddy Jr., the youngest. Thus, Jeanine is "second generation".
In short, c. 1936-1937, Mae, a dancer, married jazz pianist Teddy Napoleon [01/23/1914 - 07/05/1964). They lived at 2837 Harway Avenue (around the corner from Bay 59th Street), in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn bordered by Bensonhurst to the west, Parkville to the north, Coney Island to the south, and bounded by Sheepshead Bay and Mildwood to the east. Teddy's family lived at 149 Bay 47th Street.
Her Dad, Teddy Napoleon Sr. is a well know jazz pianist with the Gene Krupa Trio. The Napoleons come from a family blessed with musical talents, including trumpeter Phil Napoleon and Teddy Sr.'s youngest brother Marty, jazz pianist to greats such as Louie Armstrong, and an acknowledged great in his own right. Teddy Sr.'s next youngest brother, Andy, was a drummer and their two sisters, Margie and Josephine, were vocalists.
Jeanine's youngest brother Teddy Jr. was a drummer. Her brother Mattie played the guitar when we were kids. He later went on to earn a livelihood as a graphic designer. Jeanine was already in her teens when her cousins, the five Cullen boys, were still attending St. Teresa's Grammar School, in Woodside, Queens, NY.
I, as well as my older brother Jimmy, remember her with black hair and shapely (we were little boys, but we still had "eyes"!). Her brother Mattie and Teddy had blondish hair, Aunt Mae had blonde hair (Mae's brother Sonny light red) and Uncle Teddy had light brown, wavy hair. Boy, I remember Jeanine running across a field during an outing to Tenafly, NJ from one of the bus trips our Dad use to organize from his bar on Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens, NY. It's still a memory from my "wonder years". Her brother Mattie was strumming the guitar, sitting atop a picnic table at the corner, right foot on the bench, and my older girl cousins were all gaga. Maybe they were having their own "Oh, my heart be still" moments or whatever that stuff is that girls do! Maybe he was their Ricky Nelson.
The families experienced numerous family deaths (parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles) starting c. 1959 and ending in 1964, becoming scattered and losing ties with each other. These deaths included the Cullen boys' parents and Jeanine's dad, Uncle Teddy.
From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, Jeanine frequently performed as a featured vocalist at the Playboy Club in Chicago, IL [116 E. Walton St. (950N, 100E), Chicago, IL 60611] which operated from 1960 to c. 1978 at this location. It was the first Playboy Club to open back on 29 February 1960 - Leap Year Day. However, in 1978, the four story building was demolished and the One Magnificent Mile Building was erected at the site, finished 1983. As an aside, the Playboy chain of clubs went defunct in 1991; since 2006 they're being revived.
By the summer of 1981, Jeanine, who also played piano, continued as a vocalist performing in Las Vegas, Nevada for fifteen years before a short five year retirement and her death at the end of January of 2000 at the age of 62 form Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Note that Jeanine's grave marker has the incorrect year of her birth, id est, 1935 rather than the correct 1938. Ironically, when Jeanine moved out to Vegas from Chicago, she put her birth year as 1948 - a woman's prerogative!!
She is the dear sister of Matthew "Mattie" and Theodore Jr. "Teddy" Jr. She is a fondly remembered cousin of the five Cullen boys.
Her dad is American-Italian (Sicilian ancestry) and her mother American-Irish (Irish Free State, i.e., Republic of Ireland ancestry). While Jeanine's grandparents are immigrants, both Teddy Sr. and Mae were born in New York, as were Jeanine and her brothers Matthew "Mattie" and Teddy Jr., the youngest. Thus, Jeanine is "second generation".
In short, c. 1936-1937, Mae, a dancer, married jazz pianist Teddy Napoleon [01/23/1914 - 07/05/1964). They lived at 2837 Harway Avenue (around the corner from Bay 59th Street), in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn bordered by Bensonhurst to the west, Parkville to the north, Coney Island to the south, and bounded by Sheepshead Bay and Mildwood to the east. Teddy's family lived at 149 Bay 47th Street.
Her Dad, Teddy Napoleon Sr. is a well know jazz pianist with the Gene Krupa Trio. The Napoleons come from a family blessed with musical talents, including trumpeter Phil Napoleon and Teddy Sr.'s youngest brother Marty, jazz pianist to greats such as Louie Armstrong, and an acknowledged great in his own right. Teddy Sr.'s next youngest brother, Andy, was a drummer and their two sisters, Margie and Josephine, were vocalists.
Jeanine's youngest brother Teddy Jr. was a drummer. Her brother Mattie played the guitar when we were kids. He later went on to earn a livelihood as a graphic designer. Jeanine was already in her teens when her cousins, the five Cullen boys, were still attending St. Teresa's Grammar School, in Woodside, Queens, NY.
I, as well as my older brother Jimmy, remember her with black hair and shapely (we were little boys, but we still had "eyes"!). Her brother Mattie and Teddy had blondish hair, Aunt Mae had blonde hair (Mae's brother Sonny light red) and Uncle Teddy had light brown, wavy hair. Boy, I remember Jeanine running across a field during an outing to Tenafly, NJ from one of the bus trips our Dad use to organize from his bar on Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens, NY. It's still a memory from my "wonder years". Her brother Mattie was strumming the guitar, sitting atop a picnic table at the corner, right foot on the bench, and my older girl cousins were all gaga. Maybe they were having their own "Oh, my heart be still" moments or whatever that stuff is that girls do! Maybe he was their Ricky Nelson.
The families experienced numerous family deaths (parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles) starting c. 1959 and ending in 1964, becoming scattered and losing ties with each other. These deaths included the Cullen boys' parents and Jeanine's dad, Uncle Teddy.
From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, Jeanine frequently performed as a featured vocalist at the Playboy Club in Chicago, IL [116 E. Walton St. (950N, 100E), Chicago, IL 60611] which operated from 1960 to c. 1978 at this location. It was the first Playboy Club to open back on 29 February 1960 - Leap Year Day. However, in 1978, the four story building was demolished and the One Magnificent Mile Building was erected at the site, finished 1983. As an aside, the Playboy chain of clubs went defunct in 1991; since 2006 they're being revived.
By the summer of 1981, Jeanine, who also played piano, continued as a vocalist performing in Las Vegas, Nevada for fifteen years before a short five year retirement and her death at the end of January of 2000 at the age of 62 form Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Note that Jeanine's grave marker has the incorrect year of her birth, id est, 1935 rather than the correct 1938. Ironically, when Jeanine moved out to Vegas from Chicago, she put her birth year as 1948 - a woman's prerogative!!
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