Obituary of Joseph Mazzello

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Joseph F. Mazzello, Jr, a long time Hyde Park resident, died Sunday, May 13, 2018 after battling a glioblastoma diagnosis since January 2016.  He was surrounded by his loving family in Mineola, NY. 

He and his wife, Ginnie, opened JG Dance in Hyde Park, NY in 1978.  They were high school sweethearts and were married for 41 years.  At JG he guided students not just in dance and acting but also in life.  Many a student would seek out Joe to discuss their daily hardships.  He cared always that they become good people first, as well as good dancers. He would make them laugh and let them know that things would be okay.  It always seemed like a party when Joe was around.

Joe was born in Poughkeepsie, NY,  the son of Joseph “Muzzie” and Irene Mazzello.  Joe grew up on Bridge Street and attended Mt. Carmel Elementary School, Our Lady of Lourdes High School, and Fordham University.where he studied philosophy and law and graduated magna cum laude.  He was an alter boy at Mt. Carmel between the ages of 9 - 14.  At the age of 15 he appeared in the Broadway Show “Henry, Sweet, Henry”  directed by Michael Bennett.  He also made several television appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and directed several one-act plays at Fordham/Lincoln Center.  He was the first recipient of the Doctor Bascile college scholarship awarded by The Italian Center.  In addition to JG Dance he taught for one year at Holy Trinity School, and in 2010 and 2011 was assistant JV Baseball coach at Our Lady of Lourdes High School.   A devoted Catholic, he attended Mass often and was a steady customer at Starbucks where he would strike up a conversation with everyone. He was everybody’s friend.

Joe was a devoted father.  He spent a lot of time driving his daughter to NYC for television commercials when she was a child, and later, encouraging her in the career she ultimately chose, becoming a lawyer. For his oldest son, an actor, he would travel the world with him as he made movies, and drove with him across the country a dozen times for fun, enjoying their shared love of the American west. And for his youngest son, he devoted years of his life mastering all aspects of the game of baseball, to help make him the dominant player he was.  Always a comedian, his kids loved being with him.

Joe is survived by his wife, Ginnie, a daughter, Mary Mazzello, and husband, Ed Lintz, of Brooklyn;   a son, Joseph Mazzello of Los Angeles, Ca; and a son, John Mazzello and wife Diana of East Meadow, NY.  He is also survived by three grandchildren:  Matthew Mazzello, Laura LIntz, and Leah Mazzello; two sisters: Irene Mazzello, and Rosemary Mazzello and husband, Andreas Spirig; and a nephew Christian Willis and a niece, Alexandra Willis.