Lil’ John brings book and laughter to Warren
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WHAT: Book signing and talk by Lil' John Rinaldi and C.R. Hendrix II, authors of "Lil' John: Laughing My Way Through Life!," with music by Take II
WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Friday.
WHERE: CharBenay's Wine on the River, 220 W. Market St., Warren
HOW MUCH: Admission is free. For more information, call 234-806-4913.
For years people have been asking Lil' John Rinaldi when he was going to write about his life and his memories of co-hosting the "Big Chuck & Lil' John Show."
He always gave the same answer.
"I said, 'I’ll never write a book ever,'" Rinaldi said.
That changed when he met Carl R. Hendrix II. Hendrix was working on a history of "Big Chuck & Lil' John," which aired from 1979 to 2007 on WJW-TV in Cleveland and is remembered more for the comedy sketches performed by Chuck Schodowski, Rinaldi and a cast of regulars than for the B movies they hosted. Rinaldi did a phone interview with Hendrix and then asked him to send whatever he ended up writing.
"I read it, and I said to my wife, 'You know, this guy writes like I talk. I like this. Maybe I’ll write a book with the guy,'" Rinaldi said. "I’m retired now. I got nothing to do -- which is just a lie, I have a lot to do -- but it just seemed fun to me."
Hendrix, who is a financial adviser, told Rinaldi he isn't an author; he's just a big fan of "Big Chuck & Lil' John." Rinaldi's publisher encouraged him to find an experienced author. His old boss at WJW told him the same.
Rinaldi insisted on Hendrix, and the result is "Lil' John: Laughing My Way Through Life!" Rinaldi and Hendrix will sign copies of the book from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at CharBenay's Wine on the River in Warren.
Rinaldi had specific ideas of how they would work together.
"We’re not going to be sitting in each other’s basement and talking," Rinaldi said. "You’re going to go out with me. You’re going to follow me. You’re going to see how I live. I meet the guy, and I find out he’s 57 years old. I’m 80, so it’s a big age difference. But we’re friends now, and we do a lot of things together. That’s how the book started."
Rinaldi didn't set out to be an entertainer. The jewelry business had been his passion since 1968, and he and his wife Sherry opened Rinaldi Jewelry in downtown Cleveland in 1980, which moved to Solon in 2004 and closed in 2017, when Rinaldi semi-retired.
Rinaldi started out appearing in sketches on "The Hoolihan and Big Chuck Show" after one of his customers recommended him to Schodowski. When Bob "Hoolihan" Wells left the show, Rinaldi was offered the co-hosting gig. He already had a full-time job in the jewelry business, but he didn't hesitate to say yes.
"It was fun because it was two happy jobs," he said. "The jewelry store was happy. It’s a happy business, people getting engagement rings or wedding rings, whatever. They’re buying gifts. And the other was this fun show to do, so it was no big deal for me to work 70, 75 hours a week."
Thanks to WJW's strong signal and its availability on cable systems at the time, "Big Chuck & Lil' John" had a large following in the Mahoning Valley. Schodowski, who died Jan. 19, 2025, and Rinaldi made many public appearances in the area. Rinaldi said when he drinks wine at his Florida home, where he spends half the year, he drinks it out of a National Packard Museum wine glass.
The duo Take II, featuring Dr. Robert Walton and Elle Kovell, will perform at CharBenay's for the event. Rinaldi said he won't be doing a show on Friday but will be happy to answer questions and tell stories about his life and career.
One of his favorite parts about doing the book has been the opportunity to interact with the show's fans again.
"I enjoy meeting people," he said. "I like being out in the public. I like being live. When we did the show and had a studio audience, it was OK, but when we didn’t have a studio audience, it was sort of boring, just Chuck and I sitting there talking. I like people. My goal every day is to make somebody laugh."