Another family with musical talent all over the place is Steven Tyler’s (Steven Victor Tallarico). His dad was a very good musician in his own right. Pretty neat stuff.
Obituary for Victor Alphonse Tallarico
Victor was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Susan Ray (Blancha) Tallarico. He leaves a brother, Ernest Tallarico, of Tampa, Florida, two children, Steven and Lynda; seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many friends.
Long-time summer residents of Sunapee, Susan and Victor divided their time between their Trow Hill home and the Hunt Community, a residential community in Nashua.
Victor attended Columbia University and the Julliard Conservatory. He taught music at the Foxwood School on Long Island, at Cardinal Spellman private high school in the Bronx, and also gave private lessons.
Victor was born in Manhattan on May 14, 1916. His father Giovanni and mother Constance (Neidhart) were both musicians. Constance taught piano and Giovanni conducted and played saxophone and cello.
Victor was an accomplished pianist, whose musical career started early. At the age of 7 he began playing professionally.
As a young man, Victor played the ballrooms of the majestic old resort hotels of Sunapee – the Granliden, the Soo-Nipi, the Indian Cave Lodge, Twin Lake Villa, and the Lake Sunapee Yacht Club. Victor’s brother Ernie played saxophone with him; the duo were accompanied by Stuffy Gregory and Ray Cavicchio. Later, Victor’s son, Steven, joined the combo as drummer.
A World War Two veteran, Victor played sousaphone in the Army Band, and played piano at civilian club dates on the weekends. It was at Fort Dix that Victor met Susan Blancha, whom he married in 1945. After the War, Victor declined an offer to join the Glenn Miller Band because of his family responsibilities.
During the summers in Sunapee, Victor played a series of concerts at the Methodist Church, which extended over many years. Originally, he played these accompanied by his mother, Constance.
Victor had a longtime engagement at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York where he played with a dance band on Saturday nights for 15 years.
Among Victor’s proudest accomplishments were his offspring: Lynda, a retired teacher who resides in southern Vermont, and Steven, who, having been well launched into the music business by Victor, became famous as Steven Tyler, the lead singer of the rock band Aerosmith.
With other members of the Tallarico family, Vic and Sue ran Trow-Rico, a summer resort in Sunapee. In all, four generations of Tallaricos participated in the operation of the music camp and family resort through the decades.
Long into his retirement, Victor continued to play professionally, and at the age of 93 was still giving concerts in Nashua at the Hunt Home and performing for cocktail hour each week.
