Full Text of SR0199 103rd General Assembly
SR0199 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Robert George "Bob" Zagone of the | 4 | | Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, who passed away on | 5 | | January 7, 2023 at the age of 78; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone was raised around Halsted and North | 7 | | Avenue, attending Lane Tech High School when he was older; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone first entered the entertainment | 9 | | business as the son of two factory workers who worked in and | 10 | | around magic and novelty shops; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone met his idol, famous magician and | 12 | | Chicago native Harry Blackstone, whom he impressed with his | 13 | | budding sleight-of-hand ability; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone made a strong impression on Harry | 15 | | Blackstone, who asked if he could take him under his care and | 16 | | train him, but Bob's mother responded with a resounding "No!" | 17 | | and threatened to punch Harry Blackstone in the face; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone swore off prop magic as a teenager | 19 | | after someone in a small audience continued to yell out the | 20 | | secrets behind the tricks he was performing; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone chose to focus on close-up magic, and | 2 | | through reading books coupled with relentless practice, he | 3 | | became a master prestidigitator; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone would walk into Near North Side bars | 5 | | along Lincoln Avenue and Rush and Clark streets, performing | 6 | | magic for the patrons; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone accepted a few dollars or a drink as a | 8 | | tip, but he was not compelled by money to perform but by a love | 9 | | of his craft; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone provided for his family during the | 11 | | 1960s and 1970s by selling costumes, magic tricks, and | 12 | | numerous gag gifts at his store, Zagone's Magic and Novelty | 13 | | Shop, which opened in the Lake View neighborhood; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone's life changed one day when a | 15 | | gentleman entered the store and inquired about purchasing a | 16 | | comfortable gorilla mask; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone was able to revolutionize the mask | 18 | | industry, working with sculptors and artists to change masks | 19 | | from being rough, scratchy, and restrictive to breathing, to | 20 | | something better; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone closed his novelty shop and, with the | 2 | | help of his brother Phil, opened Be Something Studios, which | 3 | | produced several iconic masks with the help of resident | 4 | | artist, Billy Ystrom; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone added another feather to his company's | 6 | | cap after one of its masks was used in the trick-or-treating | 7 | | scene of the 1982 film "E.T. the Extraterrestrial"; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone gave the masks as hallmark Halloween | 9 | | gifts to his children's basketball coaches, family dentists, | 10 | | and teachers, as well as a yearly donation to the Misericordia | 11 | | Home; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone retired in the early 1990s, by which | 13 | | point the company had become a fully-fledged family business; | 14 | | and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone fashioned a life doing activities that | 16 | | "just tickled him", said his daughter, Dena; these activities | 17 | | included dressing up as Santa Claus for Christmas morning and | 18 | | placing a mask of his face in his bed to give the impression | 19 | | that Mr. Claus was really there; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone's lifelong pocket companions were a |
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| 1 | | cigarette, a deck of cards, and a couple of coins that | 2 | | disappeared before the eyes of anyone who answered the query | 3 | | of "Wanna see something?"; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Bob Zagone is survived by his wife, Eleanor; his | 5 | | children, Dean Zagone and Dena (Joe) Bronowich; his | 6 | | grandchildren, Terra, Tyler, Leia, Noah, and Dylan; and his | 7 | | great-grandchild, Atlantis; therefore, be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 9 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 10 | | Robert George "Bob" Zagone and extend our sincere condolences | 11 | | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be | 12 | | it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 | | presented to the family of Bob Zagone as an expression of our | 15 | | deepest sympathy.
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