By Dana Williams
With a smile on his face, Nahas said he was delighted that his family has been in business for 80 years, and he hopes that its legacy will continue with the next generation. ³My father moved his rug business here in West Hempstead in 1950, and it feels great to have been in this community for such a long time,² Nahas said. ³A lot of nice people have come inside this store, and my family is very happy to have continued my father¹s success for all these years.²
Franklin Square resident Brian Barry hosted a tribute to Nahas last Thursday. Barry, 30, became friends with Nahas after Nahas donated $800 to help Barry purchase a headstone for his friend Josh Brandon, who died in November 2005 without any life insurance.
Barry, an academic advisor at West Hempstead High School, needed $1,200 for the headstone, and had raised about $400 when Nahas read a story about the two friends in the Herald. Nahas donated the difference, so that Brandon, who died of an apparent heart attack at age 50 and who outlived all of his next of kin, could receive a proper burial with the addition of a headstone at the Nassau Knolls Cemetery in Port Washington. His burial costs were absorbed by Fred Sorrentino of the Barnes and Sorrentino Funeral Home in West Hempstead in 2005.
³George donated the money that I needed to help my friend Josh, which I¹m very grateful for, and I¹m very happy to be here today to congratulate George on his lifetime of achievements,² Barry said. ³We really struck gold with each other, and we really hit it off, and we have been friends since.²
The 80th anniversary celebration included a tribute to Nahas¹s career as a film producer. In 1957, Nahas helped the late American actor and director Timothy Carey produce Carey¹s cult film ³The World¹s Greatest Sinner.² This year marks the 50th anniversary of the film¹s first release in Brooklyn, Nahas said.
Members of the Long Island Motion Picture Arts Center and Museum attended the event, and showed a movie memorabilia exhibit. While customers inside the rug store took advantage of the sales on custom carpeting and area rugs, they learned about the museum¹s historic film collection. The motion picture-themed items ranged from articles of wardrobe from movies such as Francis Ford Coppola¹s ³The Godfather² to original Mitchell cameras.
³We¹re happy to be here for the celebration today, and we have brought a lot of our collection from the film industry to add to today¹s event,² said the museum¹s co-chairman, Ralph Ciardulli, adding that the museum¹s board of directors is currently raising money to establish a host facility for the museum.
Nahas said he also enjoyed the celebration because he was featured in a new documentary film that Barry has written and is currently directing. Tentatively titled ³Brooklynites to L.A.,² the film is about ³film producers in the 1950s who transitioned from the film industry in New York to the film industry in Los Angeles during the 1960s,² Barry explained.
³We interviewed George on camera today for the film, and shot scenes for the film, and it went great,² Barry added. ³We hope to be finishing this film up by the end of the year.²
Many West Hempstead residents who came to the celebration expressed their admiration for Nahas¹s longevity in the West Hempstead community. ³George has been here for years, and I¹ve stopped in here throughout the years, and my daughter has come here to purchase rugs from here,² said resident William Lutz. ³This is what you¹ll find here in West Hempstead ‹ people like him and me who have been here for ages, but it¹s a good thing.²
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
