Frank Silvestri

[Derek McGovern]

Purely by chance, I came across a 1980 article today on Frank Silvestri in the Sarasota Journal:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19801017&id=n3QjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=f44EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6590,2358865

Silvestri, of course, was Lanza's personal physician at the time of his death, and was the last person to see him alive. (Two photos [#262 and #265] of Silvestri with Betty at Mario's funeral in Rome can be seen in Armando's book.)

According to the above article, the Pittsburgh-born-and-raised Silvestri went on to become quite the celebrity doctor in Rome, but nothing is mentioned here about Lanza having been among his patients. Hardly surprising! Every attempt to get Silvestri to speak about Lanza---by Armando in 1977 and 2002, and more recently in 2009 by Dr. Philip Mackowiak for this fascinating article that he co-authored with Armando---failed. (Armando came close, though, in 1977; Silvestri agreed to speak to him, but then changed his mind the next day.)

I've often wondered if Silvestri's refusal to discuss Lanza had something to do with Sam Steinman's claim that he (Silvestri) was still a medical student at the time he was treating Mario. "Frank was not a doctor then," Steinman told Armando in 1977. "He was practicing medicine when he shouldn’t have been, [and] I have to take his word for it that nothing [untoward] happened."

(Tellingly perhaps, the 1980 article above mentions no date as to when Silvestri completed his medical studies at the University of Rome.) 

Silvestri maintained to Steinman that Mario's death was due to a heart attack, but as Steinman pointed out, "There was no proof of that." 

Sadly, it's now too late to ask Silvestri to break his silence. Out of curiosity, I did a search on his name straight after reading the 1980 article, and found an obituary for him. He died just six months ago!

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/postgazette/obituary.aspx?pid=169758560

Silvestri was older than I thought he would have been: 91 at the time of his death. Remarkably, he was still practicing medicine in Rome as recently as 2009. 

It's sad that the one person who could have enlightened us regarding Lanza's last days (and elaborated, in particular, on the medical treatment he was receiving) has left us...   

[Armando]

Interesting, Derek. That would make Silvestri about 37 years old in 1959, which means that although he was a qualified MD in the US he was studying in order to be able to practice medicine in Italy.  

I have never understood why he stubbornly refused to talk about the circumstances that led to Lanza’s death at the Valle Giulia Clinic, after all it was the head of the clinic, Moricca, who was responsible for treating Lanza. Moricca certainly had something to hide judging from his wife’s panicked reaction when I asked to speak to her husband about Lanza’s death. But Silvestri,what was he afraid of ?

We will never know unless, that is, he left some sort of written account of his friendship and dealings with Lanza.

 

 

[Barnabas Nemeth]

What is obvious for me, there was a kind of mistreatment at many ways. Can it be said?

Barnabas

[Derek McGovern]

All I can say is: it would be unthinkable today---and should have been unthinkable back then---not to conduct an autopsy on a deceased patient of Lanza's young age (let alone someone of his celebrity). I dearly wish that someone in the family had had the presence of mind to insist that an autopsy be performed. I'm also amazed that newspapers all dutifully reported that Lanza had died of a heart attack when there was no proof that he had.

The fact that Lanza died in a clinic during what was supposed to be a properly supervised period of rest and dieting also should have aroused some journalistic investigation. As it turned out, the only person who raised the alarm about possible medical negligence at the Valle Giulia was Dr. Frederic Fruhwein, but by then it was too late to conduct an autopsy (and the brave Dr. Fruhwein paid a high price for speaking out). Even so, Fruhwein's concerns should have been followed up, and one would think that journalists, at least, would have been interested in getting to the bottom of it all. 

I know that Mario's parents were terribly distracted at the time---and of course Maria Cocozza did claim a decade later that medical malpractice had killed her son---but there really needed to be an investigation in 1959.

To me, Silvestri's refusal to speak on the topic indicates that, if nothing else, he was uncomfortable with the treatment that Lanza received at the Clinic. But if so, did he share his concerns with anyone? As Armando mentioned above, it would be nice to think that Silvestri left behind some sort of written account. A heck of a long shot, I know, but still....

I wonder if Silvestri ever read Armando's book? If he did, it must surely have unsettled his conscience.

[Derek McGovern]

A P.S. to the above: according to the Google translation I just read now of an article published in the German newspaper Der Spiegel on 25 November 1959, the Italian tabloids, at least, printed rumours of a "forced" slimming cure being the cause of Lanza's death:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-42623407.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dfrederic%2Bfruhwein%2Bmario%2Blanza%26newwindow%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D955

And here's the original article for our German-speaking readers. This mainly concerns Dr. Frederic Fruhwein:

http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-42623407.html  

[Derek McGovern]

Armando has sent me a translation of another article (this time from a French magazine) concerning Dr. Fruhwein's statements about Lanza's treatment at Valle Giulia---and the subsequent reprimand of the doctor.

[Derek McGovern]

Lee Ann has uncovered some interesting bits and pieces about Frank Silvestri:

First, a couple of articles from 1951 explaining why he went to Rome for his medical studies:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mHxIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pWoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1493%2C5326418 (Part One)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mXxIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pWoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1669%2C5676510 (Part Two)

A 1956 gossip column linking him romantically with Ava Gardner: 

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=auchAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6GQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7157%2C4153845

(This one has him working at the US Embassy in Rome, and there's no mention of his medical studies) 

And a very unflattering description of Silvestri's character and behaviour in this gossipy 1975 account of a custody battle with his ex-wife:

http://www.leagle.com/decision/1975338309So2d29_1312.xml/SILVESTRI%20v.%20SILVESTRI

[Nick Barbaro]

I knew Frank Silvestri back in the 1950s-60s; he was a friend of my father's.  Sorry, nothing much else to add – he seemed like a nice guy, and I''ll always remember admiring the way he and my dad would converse mixing Italian and English without seeming to even think about it.  By 1959 I think he was pretty much established as the doctor to the stars in Rome, but I think that was more due to his social skills and industry connections than necessarily medical skills.

[Derek McGovern]

Nick: Belated thanks for your post. Your observation that Frank Silvestri's reputation "as the doctor to the stars in Rome ...  was more due to his social skills and industry connections than necessarily medical skills" certainly rings true!

Did Silvestri ever make any comments on Lanza to your father (that you're aware of)---or to you?     

Derek