N E W S J U L Y 9 L E H A V R E Rosetta BENTZ WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM | JULY 2015 | LEHAVRE COURIER 9 Bentz’s accomplishments outside art could be considered a career in and of themselves. He started singing at an early age, and as a teen, hung out with members of Count Basie’s band. He also once came in second on a radio contest sponsored by WNEW. “I had sent them a demo and forgotten about it,” Bentz explains. “Then I was driving in my Cadillac convertible with the top down, one day, and heard myself on the radio. Listeners judged and called in their votes. This was around the time when singers like Sinatra—my style— were waning and Rock ’n’ Roll was becoming popular. So I lost.” Later, he performed as a part of a group founded by former Woody Herman band member, Chubby Jackson, and continues to perform occasional singing gigs today. Bentz is also a 6th-degree black belt in Karate, and teaches at two area schools. “Martial Arts is about being a better person,” he says, “and about smiling a lot. My former Master told me, ‘If you can’t smile, you can’t do Karate.’” A trained pilot and aerobatics enthusiast, Bentz’s career nearly came to an end in the 60s when his plane crashed while flying with a client from Bayer Aspirin, a horrific accident that made the New York Times and evening news telecasts. Fortunately, he and his passenger survived the crash, though he suffered a broken back and the lower half of his face was ripped off. Once the proud owner of 10 performance planes, he recently sold the last one, but he continues to fly and perform aerobatics today. Still, painting is Bentz’s passion. Although he never went to college, he took extensive classes in anatomy, 17th-Century painting and design at the Art Students League, and painted as a hobby throughout his life. In 2013 and 2014, he came in third at the prestigious Fort Totten Art Show, held annually by the Bayside Historical Society. His rotating works on display at Logan’s feature some of his favorite subjects: seascapes, New Mexico and Nantucket. Like her husband, Rosetta is an accomplished artist, though one with more formal art training. Born in Calabria, Italy, she came to this country as an infant and settled in Long Island City with her family. She’s studied painting and collage construction at the Art Students League, paper-making at the Deui Donne Paper Mill, Sumi-e painting with Koho Yamamoto, and sculpture at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
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