Sciolla

FRANK Passed away Wed., Sept. 24, 2008. Owner of Sciolla's Supper Club in North Philadelphia, a renowned staple of area nightlife from the 1940s through the 1970s. Mr. Sciolla served honorably in the U.S. Army Air Force. For 58 years Mr. Sciolla was married to Bernice Sciolla (nee Slomkowski) deceased. Mr. Sciolla is survived by his children, Frank Sciolla, Jr. and wife Ann Marie of Ivyland, PA; Gregory Sciolla, Esq. and wife Carol Ann of Moorestown, NJ; Guy Sciolla, Esq., Blue Bell, PA; Joseph Sciolla, and wife Joanne Rossi of Medfield, MA; Gabriel Sciolla, Blue Bell, PA; Michael Sciolla and wife Donna of Cape May Courthouse, NJ; Anne Sciolla and fiancé Frederick Hall of Newtown Square, PA. Grandchildren, Angelina Sciolla, Philadelphia, PA; Frank Sciolla, III and wife Amanda and their children Ava and Dante, Fairless Hills, PA; Christopher Sciolla and Thomas Sciolla, Moorestown, NJ; Joseph Sciolla, Scottsdale, AZ; Kaitlyn Sciolla, Boston, MA; Shannon Sciolla, Hollywood, CA; Jake McCampbell and Brett McCampbell, Medfield, MA; Kristina Sciolla, West Palm Beach, FL and Jeffrey Sciolla, Cape May Courthouse, NJ; Julian Sciolla and wife Melissa, Drackett, MA; Alex Sciolla, North Andover, MA; Celeste Sciolla, Venice Beach, CA and Janice Sciolla, mother of Julian, Alex and Celeste. He is also survived by a brother, Ralph. The viewing and Life Celebration will be held Sunday, September 28, 2008 from 5 P.M. to 10 P.M. and Monday, September 29, 2008 9-10 A.M. at SNOVER/GIVNISH OF CINNAMINSON, 1200 Route 130 North. His Mass of Christian will follow at 11 AM. St. John Neumann Church, 560 Walton Avenue, Mount Laurel, NJ, 08055. Interment will take place at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Doylestown, PA. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to be made in Mr. Sciolla's name to: The Veterans of Foreign Wars, 406 W. 34th St., Kansas City, MO. 64111 or The University of the Arts, School of Music, c/o Marc Dicciani, Director, 320 S. Broad St., Phila., PA 19102.

Frank Sciolla, 92, retired club owner
By Sally A. Downey
Inquirer Staff Writer

Frank Sciolla, 92, of Mount Laurel, who with his family operated a popular North Philadelphia nightclub for more than 35 years, died of heart failure Wednesday at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden.

Mr. Sciolla grew up working in the grocery and butcher shop his Italian immigrant parents, Gaetano and Angelina Sciolla, owned in Philadelphia's Feltonville section. After Prohibition, the business became Sciolla's Supper Club.

During World War II, Mr. Sciolla served in the Pacific as an Army Air Force radio operator with a bomber squadron.
After his discharge, he rejoined his parents and younger brother Anthony running the supper club, which became a venue for Tony Bennett, Fats Domino, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Darin, and other popular entertainers.

Mr. Sciolla was also a partner in the BR Club, a private social club in Olney. In the early 1960s, the Sciollas opened Gene's on the Boulevard, which his brother took over.

In 1970, Mr. Sciolla renamed the Feltonville establishment Club Exodus and featured acts including Grover Washington Jr., Patti LaBelle, and the O'Jays. His children all helped at the club while in school.

"My father ruled with a velvet-gloved iron hand," his son Guy said.

After closing Club Exodus in the late 1970s, Mr. Sciolla retired and become a mentor and cheerleader for his children and grandchildren. He read three or four books a week and emphasized the importance of education, his son, a lawyer, said.

Though too modest to play at his club, Mr. Sciolla was an accomplished guitarist, pianist and saxophonist. He won the sax and 10 music lessons in a poker game while in the military.
He enjoyed classical music and jazz and had his children take music lessons. He was particularly proud of his daughter, Anne, an opera singer and educator.

He took pleasure in all of his children's and grandchildren's athletic and academic accomplishments, his son said, and encouraged them to "stay in the box and keep swinging."
Mr. Sciolla enjoyed travel abroad and cooking his mother's Italian specialties.

In addition to his son and daughter, he is survived by sons Frank Jr., Gregory, Joseph, Gabriel, and Michael; a brother, Ralph, 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His wife of 58 years, Bernice Slomkowski Sciolla, died in 1999.

Friends may call from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday and from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday at Snover/Givnish Funeral Home, 1200 Route 130 North, Cinnaminson. A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m Monday at St. John Neumann Church, 560 Walton Ave., Mount Laurel. Burial will be in Our Lady of Czestochowa Cemetery, Doylestown.

Memorial donations may be made to the University of the Arts, School of Music, 320 S. Broad St., Philadelphia 19102.
Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or sdowney@phillynews.com.