5264 Washington Street West Roxbury, MA 02132

617-325-5555 www.salhaneyinsurance.com

AND FEEL THE POWER

BE OUR PARTNER, HELP YOUR COMMUNITY, ENJOY THE BENEFITS.

The American Arabic Benevolent Association would like to start a partnership with our Lebanese and Syrian owned businesses . Let us promote your business through our website, radio program and newsletter. Now you, as a business owner, can reach thousands of people of your own culture and background by letting AABA relay your message to the vast Arabic speaking

community. For a small fee per year , we at AABA will advertise and promote your message on our radio program, which airs weekly on 1550AM @ 10 AM on Saturdays and in our quarterly newsletter which reaches thousands of Syrian and Lebanese people. As a bonus we will add your name to our website as a sponsor of AABA, so that any person that views our site will see your business

card or any ad you wish to post for the latest information. You also will be able to change your ad weekly on our radio program and quarterly in our newsletter to offer specials to your listeners. So if your business is a restaurant, variety store, gas station, car

dealership, home business or any other business, experts will tell you to offer a coupon or a deal and watch how many new customers you will acquire. What better feeling knowing that you are bettering your business and supporting a charity that works

diligently to provide for the Arabic Community. So get started immediately by calling or texting:

Bill Seaver @ 617-590-0253 or E-mail seaver01@comcast.net

PLEASE BECOME A

SUPPORTER OF AABA

For an application or information, please contact the AABA office at 617.323.2722.

AABA NEWS AABA OFFICERS

President Louis M. Kfoury III

Executive Vice President Robert Ferris

Clerk Mary Winstanley O’connor, Esq.

Treasurer Ken Raffol

Asst. Treasurer Darya Gamel

Recording Secretary Linda Ayoub

Corresponding Secretary Sally Sabino

Board of Directors Checrallah Abichaker

Elias Audy

John Byda

Edmund Clark

Maurice Daaboul June M. David

Rose M. Dow Gabriel El Massih

David Franciosi *Marilyn Ganame

*Louis S. Hadaya

Albertina C. Hajjar, Esq. Andrew Howard

Nabil Hourani Nicole Kfoury

Robert R. Khouri II Richard Laham

Loretta Merageas

*Shelby Mudarri *Dr. Jerry Owen

Alain Pollak

Elaine Sabbag

*Michael G. Saegh Lisa Salemi

*William Salemi William Seaver

Rosanne Solomon

* Emeritus

EDITORIAL STAFF

Editor Bill Seaver

Staff David Franciosi Darya Gamel Sally Sabino

Steve Salhaney

CONTACT INFORMATION 18 Cheriton Road

West Roxbury, MA 02132 617-323-2722

E-Mail : daryag@aabausa.org

Volume 26 February 2020

More fun facts about Arab Americans and one Canadian!

Continued on page 5

Anthony Marcus Shalhoub was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His father, Joseph Shalhoub, who owned a grocery chain, emigrated from Lebanon to the United States as an orphan at age ten, later marrying Shalhoub's mother, Helen (Seroogy), who herself was born in Wisconsin, to Lebanese parents. When Tony was six, he was introduced to the theater, in a school production of "The King and I". He graduated from Green Bay East High, and then graduated with a Bachelor's degree in drama from the University of Southern Maine

before progressing to the Yale School of Drama, which he left with a Master's degree in Fine Arts. After a time in the American Repertory Theatre, he moved to Broadway where he met his future wife, Brooke Adams, whom he married in 1992. She had an adopted daughter, Josie, who was three years old at the time that Tony and Brooke married. Tony adopted Brooke's own adopted child, Josie Lynn (born 1989) when she was eight. In 1994, the couple adopted another daughter, Sophie (born 1993). Tony's first audition after arriving in Los Angeles was for Italian cabdriver Antonio Scarpacci in the long-running sitcom Wings (1990), which also starred Tim Daly and Steven Weber. Tony next had roles in Men in Black (1997), Men in Black II (2002), Galaxy Quest (1999) and Thir13en Ghosts (2001). However, his biggest break came, playing the obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk in Monk (2002). The series made him a star and earned him four straight Emmy Award nominations between 2003 and 2006, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Tony won the award in 2003, 2005 and 2006, proving how popular he has become after the success of "Monk", which has been both brilliant and popular work during all its seasons.

Kathy Najimy was born and raised in San Diego, California. She is the daughter of Samia (Massery) and Fred Najimy, a postal work-er, both of Lebanese ancestry. Kathy attended Crawford High School, and began her film career in the early 1990s, with several minor roles. Kathy got her breakthrough screen role as "Sister Mary Patrick" in Sister Act (1992). She reprised this role in 1993 in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). She is most notably known as the voice of "Peggy Hill" on King of the Hill (1997).

Kathy lives in Los Angeles with her husband, actor/singer Dan Finnerty (the Dan Band) and their daughter, Samia Najimy Finnerty.

Paul Albert Anka, (born July 30, 1941, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), Canadian-born American singer and songwriter whose wholesome pop songs first achieved wide popularity in the late 1950s and whose diverse songwriting talents produced hits for such artists as Tom Jones and Michael Jackson. Anka was born to Lebanese and Syrian parents who had immigrated to Canada and were the owners of an Ottawa restaurant that was popular with local entertainers. He taught himself to play guitar and piano as a teen and formed a vocal group called the Bobbysoxers

with friends that performed locally in Ottawa. In 1957 Anka traveled to New York, hoping to get his music recorded. He was quickly offered a recording contract after performing an original song, “Diana,” for an ABC/Paramount Records executive. “Diana” would go on to become a hit, eventually selling more than 20 million copies. Anka continued his success with a string of hits, including “Lonely Boy” (1959), “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” (1959), and “Puppy Love” (1960), which was inspired by his girlfriend Annette Funicello. Anka acted in a

CHURCH COMMUNITY NEWS

St. John of Damascus Orthodox Church Sunday, March 15th—Bishop John visits; a reception to follow. Sunday, April 5th—Lenten Dinner immediately following Liturgy Multiple Lenten Liturgical Services from March 2nd to April 19th

Sunday, May 17th—Church School BBQ For more information, please go to www.stjohnd.org

Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon Church Saturday, February 8th—St. Maron’s Hufli 6:30 PM Dinner at 7:30

Entertainment by George Maalouf & Ensemble Tickets $55 per person; Children under 12 $25 per child

Sunday, May 17th— Brunch in honor of our blessed mothers. Reserve the date.

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church - Boston Sunday, March 22nd – St. George Antiochian Women’s Lenten Luncheon 12 Noon

April 24th to 26th—St. George Weekend

Our Lady of the Annunciation Cathedral Friday, April 8th—Annual Lenten Supper at 6 PM

Tickets are $15 per person and children less than 6 years old eat for free.

St. Matthew’s Syriac Orthodox Church Friday, February 14th—Valentine’s Day Party 8 PM

Food, Drinks, Raffle $65 Adult, $15 Children 18- Live Performance by Tarek Abdelhai

Sunday, March 28 - Antiochian Women’s Diocesan Lenten Retreat, 9 AM-3:30 PM St. John of Damascus Church, Dedham

“Don’t Stop Believin” A Journey to the Kingdom of Heaven

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

A BLESSED EASTER!!

Rami Said Malek (born May 12, 1981) was born in Los Angeles, to an Egyptian Coptic Orthodox family. His late father was a tour guide in Cairo who later sold insurance. His mother is an accountant. Malek was raised in the Coptic Orthodox faith. Malek has an identical twin brother named Sami, younger by four minutes, and an older sister, Yasmine. Malek attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, where he graduated in 1999 along with actress Rachel Bilson. Malek attended high school with Kirsten Dunst, who was a grade below and shared a musical theater class with him. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2003 from the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana. In 2004, Malek began his acting career with a guest-starring role on the TV series Gilmore Girls.

That same year he voiced "additional characters" for the video game Halo 2, for which he was uncredited. In 2005, he got his Screen Actors Guild card for his work on the Steven Bochco war drama Over There, in which he appeared in two episodes. That same year, he appeared in an episode of Medium and was cast in the prominent recurring role of Kenny, on the Fox comedy series The War at Home. In the spring of 2007, he appeared on-stage as "Jamie" in the Vitality Productions theatrical presentation of Keith Bunin's The Credeaux Canvas at the Elephant Theatre in Los Angeles. He won a Critics' Choice Award and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his lead role as Elliot Alderson in the USA Network television series Mr. Robot. Malek has acted in supporting roles for other film and television series such as Night at the Museum trilogy, Fox comedy series The War at Home (2005-2007), HBO miniseries The Pacific (2010), Larry Crowne (2011), Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master (2012), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012), the independent film Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013) and the dramatic film Short Term 12 (2013). He was also in the video-game Until Dawn (2015) as Joshua "Josh" Washington. Malek portrayed musician Freddie Mercury in the biographical drama Bohemian Rhapsody(2018). Malek's performance garnered critical acclaim. He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. On March 27, 2018, Robert Downey Jr. announced that Malek would be part of the voice cast in the film Dolittle to be released in January 2020. On April 25, 2019, Malek was cast as the main villain in the James Bond film No Time to Die; he plays the "supervillain" Safin. Principal photography on the film began in April 2019 and wrapped that October. It has a release date of April 2020. In May 2019, Malek joined the cast of the crime thriller Little Things, opposite Denzel Washington and Jared Leto. Production on the film began in fall 2019.

string of movies aimed at teenage audiences, including Girls Town (1959) and Look in Any Window (1961). He played a U.S. Army Ranger in the war film The Longest Day (1962), for which he also wrote the theme music. He performed at the Copacabana in New York, the Sands in Las Vegas, and the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. Anka remained a prolific songwriter and penned the theme song for The Tonight Show, hosted by Johnny Carson, as well as classic hits for other artists, including the lyrics for the Frank Sinatra hit “My Way” (1969) and Tom Jones’s “She’s a Lady” (1971). In 1974 Anka again found success as a performer with a duet performed with Odia Coates, “You’re) Having My Baby,” . He had a hit in 1983 with “Hold Me ’Til the Mornin’ Comes,” a duet with Peter Cetera. Anka toured and continued to release compilations and concert recordings throughout the 1980s and ’90s. A successful Spanish-language album, Amigos, was released in 1996. Anka’s album A Body of Work (1998) included newly composed and remade songs, performed as solos or as duets with such artists as Céline Dion and Patti LaBelle. With the albums Rock Swings (2005) and Classic Songs: My Way (2007), Anka reimagined hit songs originally performed by other artists, ranging from Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” to Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit.” The versatility of Anka’s musical range was demonstrated in 2009 with the success of Michael Jackson’s posthumous “This Is It,” cowritten by Anka. An autobiography, My Way (cowritten with David Dalton), was published in 2013.

Wendie Malick was born in Buffalo, New York, on December 13, 1950, the daughter of Gigi, a former model, and Ken Malick, who worked in sales. Her surname Malick means "King" in Arabic. Her paternal grandfather was an Egyptian from a Coptic Christian family. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University, from which she graduated in 1972. The 5-foot, 10-inch beauty was a Wilhelmina model in the 1970s, giving it up to go to work for Buffalo-area Congressman Jack Kemp. She quickly left Washington, DC, behind to act in the theater. She starred as Judith Tupper Stone in the HBO sitcom Dream On, and as Nina Van Horn in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!, for which she was nominated for two Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe Award.

She also starred as Victoria Chase in the TV Land comedy series Hot in Cleveland. She is also known for her recurring role as Ronee Lawrence on the final season of Frasier. Malick also played many character roles in films, including Scrooged, The American President, Racing Stripes, and Confessions of a Shopaholic, has made over 50 guest appearances on television shows, primarily on comedies, starred in a number of made for television movies, and works as a voice actress.

Continued from page 1

PAINT WITH ME BOSTON DECEMBER 4, 2019

CHRISTMAS VARIETY SHOW DECEMBER 12, 2019

Happenings at

AABA VILLAGE

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2019 ROSE RAFFLE WINNERS!!!

1st Prize Winner/Diamond Pendant - Michel Sassine

2nd Prize Winner/$500 Amazon Gift Card - Theresa Mahoney

3rd Prize Winner/$250 VISA Gift Card - Marilyn Ganame

BYBLOS CHRISTMAS DINNER DECEMBER 22, 2019

NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY DECEMBER 30, 2019