Little Isidore’s inspirational story is, in fact, so fantastic that the task of separating fact from fiction often falls to singer-songwriter David Forman, a childhood acquaintance of Izzy’s who, much like Clark Kent, somehow never seems to be around when the Inquisitors make a public appearance.  With "alter ego" Forman’s help, we untangled the web of intrigue surrounding Isidore’s remarkable saga. 

"As you know", Forman began, "Little Isidore was born in occupied Tokyo in 1946 and raised from infancy in Manila by Spanish missionaries--the beautiful Sisters of the Poor.  He was airlifted to the U.S. in 1949 and adopted by Ignazio and Filomena Inguagiado of East New York, Brooklyn.  Ignazio was an organ grinder, and that’s how Isidore got his start in show business--working with the monkey." 

Even then, Forman says, Little Isidore had a tremendous feel for rhythm and blues, and, encouraged by his mother, 10-year-old Isidore auditioned for a spot on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts show.  His success there ("twenty-nine weeks in a row; not bad") led Filomena to take him to Hollywood, where the young boy began appearing on TV westerns ("Sugarfoot,"  "Bronco,"  "Cheyenne," all of them, says Forman "Except Maverick -- James Garner was kind of spooked by him").  Eventually, he landed his best known role as "Nestor, the adorable Filipino pick-pocket" on "77 Sunset Strip." 

At famous Schwab’s restaurant one day, Isidore met Johnny Stompinato Jr., and when Filomena took off with the drugstore’s counterman, the two street-smart youths began to live together.  Finding a common bond in their love of doo-wop music, singer Isidore and guitarist Stompinato tried to make good on their shared dream to becoming rock and roll stars. 

Over the next few years, songs like "I Pray For You,"  "Oceans Apart,", and the groundbreaking 6 1/2 minute masterpiece, "Go," brought Isidore and Stominato both national and international fame.  In 1963, though, sensing winds of change--Chris "Let’s Dance" Montez had tipped him off about the Beatles --Isidore disappeared without a trace. 

Meanwhile, Stompinato (who, it should be noted, bears a striking resemblance to veteran rock guitarist Johnny Gale) continued to rehearse the band twice a week, patiently awaiting his buddy’s return.  "From what they tell me, he just showed up at the studio one day in 1993, counted off the intro for ‘Whispering Bells,’ and the Inquisitors were back in business." 

Since then, two albums’ worth of newly unearthed classics by the group have been released independently, and have stirred the passions of doo-wop fans so much that Mercury records will soon be distributing them.  And as the band performs both on the oldies circuit and at clubs up and down the Eastern seaboard, the Little Isidore legend continues to grow.  "There are people who come to the shows and tell Isidore they have all his old singles back home," says Forman, who back in the late 1970s recorded several critically acclaimed solo albums. 

As for why Isidore chose the 1990s to stage his return, Forman says that he’s sure that Isidore would say that people need to be reintroduced to this wonderful music.  It’s for real, and it’s a whole lot of fun.  Maybe people have forgotten, but that’s what rock and roll used to be all about."
 

Newsday, Friday December 27, 1996