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Dean Brandolini

@brandoliniprior

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My Uncle Joseph J. Custock (Jockey), with partners built the Astor Hotel on Kingsway in the mid 50’s, my Mom and Dad’s wedding reception was held there. Jockey was married to Rose Pulice, my grandmother Ermie and Foncies oldest sister. After running away from his home in Ottawa Jockey found himself training race horses in Kentucky, that’s how he got his nickname - Jockey. From there he joined the Carnival racket with Conklin and Garret working as the lot boss for the next 20 years. He was responsible for laying out the lots and collecting rent from the games agents. In those days (20’s and 30’s) the games were mostly gambling games and fixed. When the law clamped down on carnival gambling in the late 30’s Jockey left the the Carny racket for good. Jockey was a gambler, he ran dice games and was a bookmaker, was once arrested in the late 30’s for operating a gambling house in Vancouver. Shortly after Jockey partnered up with my grandfather Gilley and bought the Melbourne Hotel. Jockey’s tenure as part owner of the Melbourne was short lived, sold out a few years later and moved to the Island buying in on the Gorge Hotel with Joe Politano then later the Six Mile Pub up the road from the Gorge. Mixed in all that he was one of the silent partners in Joey Iaci’s infamous Willows Hotel in Campbell River. Jockey did a couple terms as President of The BC Hotel Association then later became President of the Canadian Hotel Association. The newspaper once asked Jockey how he’d got his start in the hotel business and he responded with “I started out as a busboy at the Royal York in Toronto”. But that was a lie, he was never that. He was a Carnie Gambler but you wouldn’t tell people that. The other photos - fishing at Willows (Jockey on the right), out front of the Six Mile Pub and a group photo of the Conklin and Garret carnival staff. Jockey is back row, second in from the right. by @brandoliniprior

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3 months ago

Cheers to National Bootleggers day - January 17th! #southsider by @brandoliniprior

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9 months ago

Met some Cugini’s last night at @nonnascucinayvr on Commercial for dinner. by @brandoliniprior

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January 17th is National Bootleggers Day in the States, which is Al Capone’s birthday. Cheers!! I’ve often talked about my great grandfather Leone and his brother Santo’s forays in the bootlegging racket around Hogan’s Alley but their younger brother Antonio was in the racket as well, like everyone in that neighborhood. Antonio lived in the 400 block of Union Street for almost 40 years at houses - 448, 458 and finally at 462
Union where he was living when he passed away in 1948. Antonio’s neighbors over that span were bootleggers - the Piovesans, Blondie Wallace and Joe Celona’s top associate - Frank Turone - white slaver and gambling racketeer. First photo is of Antonio, his wife and five daughters. Second photo is of a newspaper article from 1920 where Antonio is arrested after a fire is reported coming from his basement at 448 Union where a still was discovered. Some of Antonio’s mash spontaneously combusted. Antonio was caught trying to vacate the premises with some of his homemade moonshine. 3rd photo is of a newspaper article from 1923 where Antonio is arrested once again by the same Inspector Thorburn who arrested Antonio at the same house back in 1920 - the fire article. This a great article, the story marvel’s at Antonio’s ingenious invention in trying to camouflage his still.
#nationalbootleggersday2025
#nationalbootleggersday #hogansalley #bootleggers by @brandoliniprior

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My Uncle Jim’s book has been released on Amazon “Can’t Stop Dancing” by Jim Hibbard. @jimmythetap published by @bearmanormediaofficial It tells the story of his career in tap dancing that took him from his childhood home of Boisie, Idaho to Hollywood and then to Vancouver. Some great photos and story’s from his career in Hollywood musicals. Jim has been married to my Dad’s sister Charlene for 60 + years. 2nd photo is of his star on Granville Street. 3rd photo is of Jim (on the left) working at the Number 5 Orange in the 70’s. One of Jim’s jobs at the 5 was to choreograph the strippers, lol. by @brandoliniprior

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First photo is of my great aunt Rae and her husband Arnold Bertram. Rae was a Pulice and older sister to Foncie and my grandmother Ermie. Arnold was a well known fight man in Vancouver’s boxing world back in the day, a flyweight from the East End. One of his proudest achievements was beating the legendary Jimmy McLarnin (fight result last photo). For those who don’t know, Jimmy McLarnin is arguably Vancouver’s greatest boxer of all time. McLarnin went on to become the welterweight champion, retiring with a record of 54 wins, 11 loses and 3 draws. Ring Magazine once voted McLarnin as the 5th greatest welterweight of all time. In 1938, the then retired McLarnin commented on his fight with Arnold with a tone of bitterness - “I hadn’t come under Pop Foster’s eye yet (his manager) and I didn’t know so very much about boxing,” Jimmy said. “I was fast, though and so I don’t think Arnold put a glove on me all through the fight. The crowd booed when they gave him the decision and I cried like a baby when I got home. That championship meant a lot to me.” After boxing Arnold opened up a jewellery store at 2570 Commercial Drive near Clark Park and around 1935 a couple local kids had heard he was once a boxer and so the kids asked him if he could teach them how to box. Arnold converted a room at the back of his jewellery store into a space to train some of the neighborhood kids how to box and this would eventually become the boxing powerhouse Grandview Athletic Club. In 1936, Vancouver’s next great fighter after Jimmy McLarnin, a kid named Kenny Lindsay, asked Arnold if he could teach him how to box. The partnership would last through Lindsay’s entire boxing career. Lindsay would go on to fight five world champions a total of 11 times. Arnold, along with Jack Patterson and Pat Slattery, organized Vancouver’s first ever Golden Gloves event perhaps the greatest in Arnold’s amateur career. In the B.C. Championships, Grandview AC won five of the six titles. I have nothing but fond memories of Uncle Arnold, a sweet kind man who passed away in 1994. I just wish I knew then that back in 1922 Uncle Arnold once beat Vancouver’s greatest boxer of all time - Jimmy McLarnin. by @brandoliniprior

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My grandparents Gillie and Ermie jamming in their home at 507 Prior Street, apparently it was a lively place with lots of singing and drinking. Raymond Culos sent me some transcripts of his interview with Ermie for his book - Vancouver’s Society of Italians along with a story told by Edna (Battistoni) Venturato from the Venice Bakery family on Union Street - “people would come to the bakery on a Sunday morning for the bread. On Friday nights down at Gillie and Ermie’s place (507 Prior) they would come up and get the hot bread fresh from the oven. They would fill a loaf with Salami and cheese. Oh, we recall those days. And six or seven of them would go down to Ermie’s place to visit to enjoy all of this good bread. They were good days. Beautiful,” recalled Edna. Photo was taken sometime in the early 30’s. by @brandoliniprior

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My Aunt Charlene escorted by Rene Castellani at a wedding in photo 1. In the next photo Rene Castellani is on the far right standing to the left of Gillie Brandolini in Gillies basement on Granville Street. Third photo has Rene and his wife Esther standing on the far left at my grandparents house on Granville. When talking to my Aunt Charlene about the book Murder by Milkshake by @evelazarus (last photo of book cover) perhaps the best “based in Vancouver” true crime novel ever written I suddenly became creeped out when my Aunt says “Oh, I have photos of Rene at our house on Granville!” 🤦🏼 by @brandoliniprior

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My grandmother Ermie Pulice outside Lord Strathcona School in Strathcona looking east on Keefer street from Jackson Ave with her fox fur stole with head😬. Next photo is of her and Foncie Pulice’s parents and sister Pat in the same location. The Pulice family lived across the street from where these photos were taken at 522 Keefer. The photos are from 1926 or 1927 when they lived at 522 Keefer. Ermie was working at the Royale Theatre around when this photo was taken. 3rd photo is Lord Strathcona Elementary today on the Keefer street side. Look closely with the 2nd photo and you can see not much has changed. #strathconavancouver #hogansally #historywalksvancouver #eastvan #vancouverhistory by @brandoliniprior

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My grandfather Gillie in front of the Canadian National Railway Station sometime in the twenties. It’s now called Pacific Central Station (photo 3). by @brandoliniprior

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Interesting reading this morning, lol. by @brandoliniprior

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Young Foncie Pulice (left) with his brother -in-law Gillie Brandolini. Judging by their ages the photo was taken late 1920’s. by @brandoliniprior

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