‘Late great’ Vinnie Carr feted as city’s posthumous Italian American of 2025
WEST HAVEN, Oct. 14, 2025 — Mayor Dorinda Borer and the West Haven Italian Heritage Committee honored the late great Vinnie Carr as the city’s posthumous Italian American of the Year at the 26th annual Italian Heritage Celebration on Friday.
Carr’s widow, Denise LaMonica Carr, and their children, Vinnie Carr Jr., 32, and Daniella Carr, 28, accepted the Italian American of the Year award on his behalf during a midday ceremony on the front steps of City Hall.
The award is bestowed annually on an Italian resident or couple who personifies service in West Haven’s close-knit Italian community.
Carr, the grandson of emigrant grandparents from Naples, Italy, was known around West Haven for entertaining audiences as the dynamic leader of Vinnie Carr and the Party Band and the Vinnie Carr Orchestra and for serving as a musical ambassador of his proud Italian ancestry.
Borer and longtime committee member Paul M. Frosolone tapped Carr for this year’s honor during a July visit at the retired performer’s West Shore home.
Sadly, less than a month later, on Aug. 26, Carr died at age 78 after a long illness.
At the half-hour cultural event, Denise Carr paid tribute to her late husband’s Italian lineage and musical career with dozens of friends and loved ones, including her parents, Benedict and Barbara LaMonica, her brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Sue LaMonica, and her brother-in-law, Pat Carfora, all of West Haven.
The Carrs, along with descendants of folks from the old country, were joined by an array of city employees, residents and officials, including former Mayor Edward M. O’Brien.
“While this honor comes too late for Vinnie to accept in person, his legacy is everywhere,” Borer told the crowd, some donning red, white and green. “We feel it in the music that still echoes in our memories from the West Haven Green and boardwalk. And we hear it in the heartfelt stories told by our seniors, who danced to his music for decades.
“Vinnie wasn’t just a performer; he was the soundtrack of our community.”
Denise Carr told the crowd she was grateful for her husband’s posthumous recognition, saying, “He was so honored and excited about this.”
“This is a perfect setting,” she said. “Vinnie loved to be in front of an audience — the more people, the happier he was. He had a gift to read a crowd and entertain. No matter what event he was playing at, Vinnie took the time to acknowledge people and make them feel special. He used his humor and music to bring joy and laughter, whether he was playing at a nursing home, senior center, or outdoor concert or festival. This was his life.
“I will always be grateful to both Mayor Borer and Paul Frosolone for taking the time to come over to our house and telling Vinnie of this award.”
Borer read and presented Denise Carr with a glass-framed citation for her husband’s civic-minded good works. The mayor also read and presented her with a Congressional Record statement from Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3.
“Vinnie touched so many people with his talent,” Borer said. “A virtuoso keyboardist and a brilliant bandleader, he was one of the most popular local entertainers of our time, captivating audiences from all walks of life. For more than a half-century, his commitment to performing and to preserving Italian traditions enriched the lives of our residents and the diversity of our city.
“We are honored to recognize Vinnie Carr as an outstanding representative of what Italian culture stands for: hard work, kindness, charitable spirit and devotion to family.”
Carr Jr. said: “My father’s love for the West Haven community grew over the decades. He worked with countless community members and civic associations throughout West Haven, and most notably, the West Haven Italian American Club.
“When my father wasn’t working, you would find him home in the kitchen preparing his favorite Italian dishes, such as pasta fagioli. Traditions meant a lot to my dad. Thanks to him, I have learned to appreciate and carry on those Italian American values that his parents passed along to him. I hope to be able to pass these same traditions on to my future family.”
Daniella Carr added: “My dad loved his music and his family. He was a family man with a heart of gold, and he lived for the human connection. He was a lover at heart. And how truly loved he was in return as evidenced by this heartwarming recognition — your attendance here today — as well as the overwhelming amount of outreach we have received since dad’s passing.
“It is a true testament to the man he was and the man he will always be remembered as. On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you all for keeping my father’s legacy alive and keeping him so near and dear to your hearts. It is truly an honor to stand here today on these steps, as he has many times before, to accept my father’s award for West Haven’s 2025 Italian American of the Year.”
Denise Carr also received an Italian flag from Borer and Frosolone, the president of the West Haven Italian American Civic Association.
The program included congratulatory remarks by Frosolone, the master of ceremonies. Before a blessing by Deacon Dean Macchio of St. John XXIII Parish, West Haven’s own Elizabeth Levy sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the Italian national anthem, “II Canto degli Italiani.”
“Vinnie meant a lot to me and the residents of West Haven and was honored to receive this award,” Frosolone said.
In his blessing, Macchio called his friend Carr “a remarkable man” and “an esteemed Italian American of the Year.” Carr was also known for his comedic talent, said the deacon, who mixed in some humor as well.
In observance of Italian American Heritage Month, West Haven recognizes the unique and vibrant traditions of Americans of Italian descent and celebrates the story of generations of Italian sons and daughters who came to the United States seeking hope and opportunity to reach for the American dream.
Vinnie Carr’s paternal and maternal grandparents left their home on the western coast of southern Italy and came to America for a better future, settling in New Haven.
In the daring spirit of Italians who charted a course for millions of immigrants who followed their crossing to America, Carr and his grandparents are a testament to the diversity and promise of the United States.
Carr was born Vincent Stephen Carfora in New Haven in 1947 to Pasquale and Julia Parillo Carfora.
A 1965 graduate of Wilbur Cross High School, Carr served in the Army before becoming a New Haven police officer. He later focused his attention on his popular band, playing the keyboard and performing music from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s.
According to Denise Carr, the Vinnie Carr Orchestra performed for countless occasions back in the day, playing two to three shows a day in lounges, dance halls and senior centers.
Vinnie Carr also served as the West Haven Senior Center’s resident musician for more than 40 years and received a city citation at the center’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2018, thanking him “for all the memories.”
He regularly headlined the West Haven Green and boardwalk and provided the Italian music at the city’s heritage events.
Denise Carr said that one of her husband’s fondest memories was performing for “a sea of people” at the 1975 Italian festival in New Haven’s Wooster Square.
“Playing music for live audiences and watching them dance and sing in response to his music made Vinnie happiest,” she said.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Carr served as then-Mayor H. Richard Borer Jr.’s one-man house band and sidekick on “The Mayor’s Office,” Borer’s public access TV show at the time.
In his private life, Carr loved to travel and vacation with his family.
“When not traveling, he would relax at home, tanning in the sun and enjoying a cigar,” Denise Carr said.
See the photo gallery here.
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