These Broadway portraits were stolen from Sardis…
It’s not simple being inexperienced.
Of the practically 1,000 superstar caricatures on the partitions of iconic theater-district establishment Sardi’s, the one pilfered probably the most, oddly, is Kermit the Frog.
“Kermit was stolen three times. And then we screwed him up to the wall,” Johnny Felidi, longtime maître d’ at the 100-year-old eatery, instructed The Post forward of Sunday’s Tony Awards.
Another superstar who had to be screwed at the beloved West forty fourth Street restaurant: Barbra Streisand.
After her authentic 1963 portrait was purloined, it took the “Funny Girl” 55 years to agree to one other caricature.
Kermit the Frog, who filmed a scene at Sardi’s for “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” had his caricature stolen 3 times. J.C. Rice
“And you’re gonna love what she wrote on it — ‘Don’t steal this one,’” mentioned Felidi, who has labored at Sardi’s for 26 years.
“Julie Andrews was another one that went missing for a long time and then it was allegedly found at an auction,” added receptionist Lydia DeLuca, who spent final summer time updating the binder that lists every celeb’s title and their location on three flooring of the four-story restaurant.
Barbra Streisand also had her caricature taken off the wall, so she wrote “Don’t steal this one!” on her second portrait. Jeremy Wagner
Bob Hope’s was looted as properly — and his thief, who was consuming at the bar, was captured on their security cameras.
“So we got their credit card information, called them up . . . and of course they get belligerent. And we said, ‘We don’t want to have law enforcement involved, so just return the caricature.’ And they did,” recalled Felidi, a native of Parma, Italy, who grew up in the Bronx.
Maître d Johnny Felidi has been at Sardi’s for 26 years. J.C. Rice
Due to all the star-snatching, the priceless portraits adorning the partitions of Sardi’s — where the thought for the Tonys was conceived over lunch — are now duplicates of the originals, that are saved in a secure.
It wasn’t until 1986, after the death of James Cagney, that founder Vincent Sardi determined to begin utilizing dupes.
“The night he died, they stole his caricature, never to be seen again,” mentioned Felidi.
George Clooney, who made his Broadway debut this yr in “Good Night, and Good Luck” had his Sardi’s portrait unveiled in April. J.C. Rice
The time-honored custom began when Sardi employed Russian immigrant Alex Gard to create the portraits in the fledgling restaurant in exchange for meals in an attempt to “drum up business.”
Brooklyn native Richard Baratz, a former engraver for the treasury division, is now the artist behind the boldfaced names.
“That’s why now you see tiny little lines in his work,” Felidi famous.
Denzel Washington, pictured right here with his “Othello” co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, had his Sardi’s portrait revealed proper before the Tony Awards. Getty Images
This season, Baratz sketched the portraits of Broadway A-listers Nick Jonas, Jake Gyllenhaal, Denzel Washington and George Clooney — nominated for a Tony for his debut on the Great White Way in “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has six Tonys and is nominated for one other for “Sunset Boulevard,” also went up this yr, after a decade-long wait.
“We’ve had his caricature ready and drawn. It was scheduling conflicts and so we never had our paths crossed enough to do it until recently,” DeLuca defined.
Sardi’s receptionist Lydia DeLuca spent final summer time updating the binder that incorporates every celeb’s title and their portrait’s location. J.C. Rice
To make room for the newcomers, present proprietor Max Klimavicius chooses which of them to take away and places them into their storage facility, which incorporates around 500 portraits. About 230 others have been donated to the New York Public Library.
Many of the well-known faces are purposefully positioned — and superstar {couples} such as Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson and Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward are nestled aspect by aspect.
“We have Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster together — they’re dating,” Felidi mentioned of Broadway’s latest it couple.
“When Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith got divorced, we separated them. We have Richard Burton up there, we have Liz Taylor down here so they don’t fight.”
When Tony Danza starred in “Chicago,” he bought his portrait carried out — but only agreed to it under one situation.
“He said, ‘Please put me next to Sammy Davis Jr. And never take me away.’”
Celebrity {couples}, like Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman, are positioned aspect by aspect. J.C. Rice
Two former workers — who labored at Sardi’s before they bought well-known — also had their photographs drawn.
“Martin Sheen worked here as a busboy in the 1960s,” Felidi mentioned, pointing to the image of Sheen on the back wall of the first-floor eating room.
However, Chevy Chase, who labored there as a doorman in the ’70s, still hasn’t gotten his hung.
Sardi’s, situated at 234 West forty fourth Street, opened in 1927. J.C. Rice
“Every time he comes here he goes, ‘Where’s my caricature?’ And I tell him, ‘Chevy, it’s in the office, we’re waiting for you to sign it.’ And he says, ‘Okay, after I finish my meal, I’m gonna sign it.’ And he always forgets.”
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