By Nicole Falco
"At the end of the show, the curtain closed and [Buscemi] said, 'This is what I want to do for the rest of my life,'" Riccobono recalled.
Almost 40 years later, Riccobono had a front row seat next to Buscemi's parents, John and Dorothy, as his former student became the 15th recipient of Central High School's Distinguished Alumni Award. According to Dr. Marc Bernstein, superintendent of schools, the purpose of the award is to honor alumni who've reached significance or national prominence in their chosen careers, inspire students and promote school and community pride. Buscemi, class of 1975, fits all three criteria. He accepted the honor last Friday in familiar territory - on the stage in Central's Keller Auditorium. Past recipients include former Detroit Lion Stephen Boyd ('90), Viacom/CBS president Leslie Moonves ('67), Metropolitan Opera conductor John Keenan ('81) and television newscaster Ralph Penza ('50). The award, first presented in 1989, was the idea of Jules Rabin ('44).
"This is a little bit overwhelming for me," Buscemi told the audience. "You'll have to forgive me if I stumble. ... If somebody told me 30 years ago when I went to school that someday I'd be back to accept an award, I'd say there's no way in hell I was going to be here."
Not too much has changed in the 38 years since Riccobono cast Buscemi in "The Wizard of Oz." Though he has acted in more than 70 films, been a stand-up comic, shared time on the small screen with Tony Soprano, and even told the mob boss where to go as a sometime director of the HBO show, Buscemi still gets nervous.
"I still get discouraged and insecure," he told the juniors and seniors in the audience, and the sophomores watching from their classrooms. "I was a nervous wreck before coming here today, [but] being scared is just a feeling. It won't kill you."
Before Buscemi was a sought-after character actor, he was just another student at Central. He did OK in school. There were days he couldn't motivate himself to get out of bed. He wrestled, played soccer and was a member of the Varsity Club.
His former English teacher, Mike Turner, whom Buscemi remembered fondly, joked, "He was a better wrestler than he was a student. He was the type of kid you remember, not because he was a real troublemaker, but because he was like a pebble in your shoe."
Though Buscemi may not look like a wrestler, one of his former coaches, Stan Bishop, who coached alongside the late, great Harold Earl, easily recalled one particular match in which Buscemi was victorious. "Steve gave us one of those magic moments in sports where a guy exceeds his own limitations and does something super," Bishop said. "He beat a guy he had no business beating."
Perhaps Buscemi has been exceeding his limitations his whole life. After elementary school he pretty much abandoned his acting career. "I convinced myself that acting and theater was not cool," he said. "I was dead wrong and was scared." In his senior year, Buscemi cast his jitters aside. He took the late Lynne Lavin's acting class, and appeared in Central's production of "Fiddler on the Roof."
"Senior year, I finally got involved in theater," Buscemi said. "Partly because it was my senior year and I didn't care what people thought, but also because of another great teacher [Lavin]."
Though convinced the stage was where he belonged, Buscemi once again took a detour. He attended Nassau Community College for a while. He worked at a local gas station and drove an ice cream truck for two seasons before deciding to move to Manhattan to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute. To support himself, he moved furniture and tried stand-up comedy. When odd jobs weren't enough to pay the bills, Buscemi took the firefighter's test and became a New York City firefighter, with Engine Company No. 55. He continued to act, writing and performing plays in the East Village.
In 1986, Buscemi was cast in the movie "Parting Glances," playing a rock musician dying of AIDS. It was one of the first movies to feature a lead character with the disease.
"I was in the fire department, and [for me] the real risk was not fighting fires," Buscemi said. "The real risk was when I left the fire department to pursue acting."
But other roles quickly followed. His film credits include "Reservoir Dogs," "Billy Madison," "Con Air," "Pulp Fiction," "Ghost World," "The Big Lebowski" and the upcoming "Romance and Cigarettes." Buscemi has won some awards, including the New York Film Critics Award for "Ghost World," and been nominated for others, including a best supporting actor Emmy for his portrayal of Tony Soprano's cousin in the fifth season of "The Sopranos."
Buscemi made his feature film debut as a writer and director in 1996 with "Trees Lounge," in which he also starred. Part of the film, which was dedicated to Lavin, was shot in Valley Stream in the summer of 1995. Many Valley Streamers were cast as extras in the film, including his father. Buscemi's parents still live in the community. Since "Trees Lounge," a semi-autobiographical film, Buscemi has directed two other films, 2000's "Animal Factory" and 2004's "Lonesome Jim."
Following the general assembly, Buscemi spoke to students enrolled in the high school district's Performing Arts Program. The students enjoyed an exclusive question-and-answer session with the actor. "I identified with him," said student Elizabeth Beauvil, who sat in on the Q&A. "He gave me hope that if you try hard enough, you will reach your goals."
Besides the Distinguished Alumni Award, Buscemi received gifts from the Student Council and the Central High School Alumni Association, as well as a citation from the Village of Valley Stream, presented by Mayor Ed Cahill and Judge Robert Bogle, and a certificate of recognition from the Town of Hempstead, presented by Councilman James Darcy, also a Central alumnus. Cahill also presented a citation to Buscemi on behalf of county Legislator Francis X. Becker.
Buscemi lives in Brooklyn with his wife, filmmaker Jo Andres, and teenage son, Lucian. His three brothers, Jon, Michael and Kenneth, are also Central graduates.
Arlene Hinkemeyer contributed to this story. Comments about it? NFalco@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
