“Huge hair, charisma and prowess.”  That’s all Charlie Rice saw the first time he met Joe in the summer of 1982 at the Ice Palace.  Joe Scialo, the famed and beloved owner of The Monster, made his mark on Charlie – and on Cherry Grove.  Cherry Grove residents knew and loved Joe as the legendary owner three Monsters, one of which was the Fire Island Monster which opened in 1971.  It was the premier destination restaurant in Fire Island for more than three decades.  In those years, The Monster was the place to go – for elegant dining, a great after-dinner drink at the piano bar at the back bar, or in the pounding disco called Green Lips out front.  Eventually everyone ended up at The Monster.  But we also remember him for his unflinching community spirit. 

Joe was called the “Prince of Cherry Grove” by a select group of homeowners who recognized his passion for the community. He was president of the Arts Project for two years and watched over the community alongside the Fire Department.  As Cherry Grove’s bravest fought the ferocious fire at the Copa/Sea Shack in 1980, it was Joe who stayed on the rooftops hosing down the grasses around the Monster and Grove Manor to protect them.  He loved the theater and had a (then) modern sound system installed in the Community House, as well as supported the installation of air conditioning and the red stage curtain. His Survivor Parties were a special hit and getting an invitation was an enormous honor. 

Joe also created two other Monsters, named for the carved wooden sea serpent from a Coney Island carousel –Manhattan Monster (still cookin’) and the Key West Monster.  Charlie remembers them as “heady times” studded with regulars like Tennessee Williams, Eartha Kitt, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim.   

Joseph Vincent Scialo was born on Bayard Street in Little Italy where the Scialos shared a bath with a Chinese family. He attended PS 130 on Hester Street and then Seward High along with the soon-to-be-famous Tony Curtis.  At age 8, he worked in his aunts’ speakeasy, bringing bootleg whiskey upstairs in Coke bottles for discerning patrons. In 1950 when his dad died, Joe became the family patriarch and had to support his mother and four sisters. He joined the Navy and sent $90 home each week to his mother. He was stationed in Yokohama when he was discharged, turned in by a closeted officer due to a “sexual grudge.”  Joe was devastated. 

Back in New York, Joe turned to hairdressing at the Tulip Beauty Salon where he made enough money to buy the hot spot supper club, El Chico, which catered to a celebrity clientele.  Joe renamed it The Monster. It was a roaring success from the start.  

Charlie and Joe lived together from 1987 till Joe’s death from emphysema in 2004.  They became domestic partners in 1987. 

Charlie says “Joe Scialo was one of a rare breed -- funny, talented, sexy and brilliant. Always good for a belly laugh, he could be naughty at one time, then turn serious on any subject. Joe had a positive ray of light, an aura, and he could make you feel like the only one in the room.” 

“Our lives remained charmed as we traveled the world frequently always in synch with the Mediterranean -- especially the cuisine, cultures of Italy,” Charlie remembers. “He taught me the importance of sincerity and family. Everyday I thank god for blessing me with a soul mate.” 

“Time flies, and now I understand the cycle of life a little better.  All it takes is a Cole Porter song to bring a tear to my eye or to watch Cass Elliot bring some laughter to my heart.”