Get Out Your Bathrobe, It's Vinny The Chin's Birthday!

Or it would be, if he were not dead.

Happy Weekend!

Today is what would have been Genovese mob boss Vincent “Vinny the Chin” Gigante’s 97th birthday, had he not died in 2005. Contrary to what you would think, the guy had a perfectly normal chin and he got his nickname because his mom called him “Chinzeeno” (a nickname for Vincenzo) when he was a kid. What was not perfectly normal about him was, well, everything else — which is why his other nickname was “The Oddfather.”

So, starting in the 1960s dude started shuffling around his neighborhood in New Jersey in a bathrobe, pajamas and slippers while mumbling to himself, in order to build up a defense to any criminal wrongdoing (sort of like a combination Howard Hughes/Hugh Hefner). When he got arrested, he’d have doctors come and say that he had schizophrenia and an IQ of like 70, and he’d get let go. Even after he became the boss of the Genovese family in the ‘80s, he had a “front boss” — Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno — pretend to be the boss while he continued his act. In fact, he continued it the rest of his life, regardless of how very, very obvious it became that he was faking.

While we obviously shouldn’t encourage anyone to fake psychological disorders or being developmentally disabled, I am always here for some bathrobe appreciation. I’d even be in favor of a day in which we can all wear our bathrobes outside of the house, in part because mine is literally the fanciest non-secondhand thing I own and I feel like a goddamned queen every time I wear it. I don’t understand non-robe people and they probably do not understand us. Alas!

Your first present this week is, sadly, not a bathrobe — but it is Bette Midler singing in a gay bath house in New York City in 1971, accompanied by Barry Manilow.

I’m actually very excited about this, because while I knew it was a thing that happened, I did not know there was an actual recording — and it’s really good and clear, too. Yay for us!

Now, I have no idea why this came up when I searched for “bath” in the r/ObscureMedia subreddit, but I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth because holy fuck it is MAGICAL.

I love this woman. She is my everything. She is my new religion. I mean, I worked in the mall in high school, so I have seen my share of mall walkers … but nothing like this absolute motherfucking queen. I want to follow her around the mall in a pith helmet every day for the rest of my life.

Have you been struck with a sudden urge to shower us with money and jewels? If so, we are on Substack now so you can just go ahead and click subscribe! Click click click!!

 Or if you’d just like to donate just once …

You can also join our Patreon, or buy our merch. Or we’re now partnered with Martie, where you can buy snacks!

You can even send us paper checks to:

Wonkette
PO Box 38273
Detroit MI 48238

Talk amongst yourselves!