Memorable Manitobans: Carlo “Charlie” Mazzone (1905-1992)

Carlo Mazzone Click to enlarge

Entertainer.

Born in Bovalino Marina in the Calabria region of Italy in 1905, he emigrated to Winnipeg in 1913. He worked as a sandblaster for the Canadian National Railway from 1917, spending his spare time playing his violin. He helped organize the Orchestra Stella d’Italia in the 1920s and left it in the early 1930s to form Curly’s Music Weavers, which played at the Don Carlos Cabaret at Ellice and Donald. During the Second World War, he enlisted in the Canadian Army. After the war he opened a cabaret, the Rancho Don Carlos, on Pembina Highway. Until he sold it in 1959, the Rancho was Winnipeg’s most important nightspot, featuring some of the world’s leading entertainers, including Bob Hope, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Della Reese, Sophie Tucker, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. After some years in Edmonton, Alberta he returned to Italy where he established an automobile dealership. He died at Reggio di Calabria, Italy in April 1992.

Sources:

“Charlie Mazzone,” Winnipeg Free Press, 24 April 1992, page 48.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

We thank Darryl Resch for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 August 2022

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!