John J. Rizzo, 96, survivor of Cocoanut Grove fire
John Rizzo was a waiter in Boston’s Cocoanut Grove nightclub on Nov. 28, 1942, when he noticed a disturbance. He turned to the maître d’ to say, “ ‘Frank, look, there’s a fight,’ and as I said that, the flames were coming right over these people’s heads.”
For 74 years, Mr. Rizzo told this story — first to fire and police investigators, then to family and friends, and to reporters on milestone anniversaries of the Boston’s worst fire tragedy, when flames consumed the popular club and killed 492 people.
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