Obituary of Carmen M Falconieri

Falconieri, Carmen "Meno"age 92 of Totowa at rest in Cedar Grove on January 4, 2011. Beloved husband of the former Vera E. Nieskens of Totowa. Loving Father of Ellen Dowling of Clifton and the late Thomas Falconieri. Step father of Bruce Van Wyck of North Haledon and Randall Van Wyck of Lake Hopatcong. Grandfather of Heather Mullen. Step Grandfather of Pierce and Keesa Van Wyck. Brother in Law of Margaret Giannetti of Wayne. Born in Paterson, he lived in Paterson, then in Hawthorne and Wyckoff before moving to Totowa seventeen years ago. Mr. Falconieri was a member of B.P.O.E. Lodge # 2181, Wayne. He was also a member of American Federation of Musicians Local #248, Paterson and a member of the Santa Croce Symphony. While attending Eastside High School in Paterson, he played in the Ghosts Marching Band for President Roosevelt for the annual Easter Egg hunt at the Whitehouse. Carmen was co founder of the musical group the Four Tophatters. They appeared in many nightclubs in the Metro area including Frank Daly's Meadowbrook and Jack Demsey's in New York. The Tophatters were also on a radio show from New York City and appeared on the Ernie Kovac show and Dick Clark's American Bandstand as well as many local shows. The group recorded with Candace Records and hit the Billboard Chart with Dim Dim the Lights. Another record they recorded was 45 Men in a Telephone. This was attributed to the Fifties College Craze of cramming many people in a phone booth. They appeared with many stars from the era such as Danny Thomas. They were friends of Les Paul and Carmen frequently worked in Paul's home studio in Mahwah. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a funeral service at the Festa Memorial Funeral Home, 111 Union Blvd., Totowa, on Friday at 10:00 AM. Entombment to follow at Laurel Grove Memorial Park Mausoleum, Totowa. Friends may call Thursday 2:00 - 4:00 and 7:00 - 9:00 PM. For more information, go to www.festamemorial.com.