Frank Zappa
Birth Name: Frank Vincent Zappa
Date of Birth: December 21, 1940
Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Date of Death: December 4, 1993
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: Italian [Sicilian, Neapolitan]
Frank Zappa was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer.
He was the son of Rose “Rosie” Marie (Colimore) and Francis Vincent Zappa. His father was born in Partinico, Sicily. His mother was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Italian parents. All four of Frank’s grandparents and all eight of Frank’s great-grandparents were born in Italy/Siciliy. He was married to Gail Zappa (born Adelaide Gail Sloatman), until his death, with whom he had four children, rock guitarist and actor Dweezil Zappa, actress, singer, and author Moon Zappa, writer, producer, and publisher Ahmet Zappa, and artist and actress Diva Zappa.
Frank had said that he had French, Greek, and/or Arab ancestry. It is not clear if this ancestry has been verified/documented.
Frank’s paternal grandfather was named Vincenzo/Vincent Zappa.
Frank’s paternal grandmother was named Rosaria “Rosa” DeLorenzo/Di Lorenzo.
Frank’s maternal grandfather was named Charles Louis “Charlie” Colimore.
Frank’s maternal grandmother was named Theresa Fava.
Sources: Pages from the biography Zappa, 1993 – http://i50.tinypic.com
http://i50.tinypic.com
Genealogies of Frank Zappa – http://www.wargs.com
https://www.geni.com
Frank’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Frank’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
His children Moon, Dweezil, and Diva are all musicians and actors/actresses.
He said he also had a bit of French, Greek, and Arab (he never really specified that one, but it is interpreted to have been Lebanese). Maybe a bit of North African due to the Sicilian.
Yes, Zappa was of Lebanese descent.
No, he wasn’t.
Instinct and intuition is often times a better guide than official facts.
Ethnic, is there a picture, please?
no luck on that one
In his autobiography “The Real Frank Zappa”, pg. 15, he writes “My ancestry is Sicilian, Greek, Arab and French. My mother’s mother was French and Sicilian, and her dad was Italian (from Naples)… The Greek-Arab side is from my dad. He was born in a Sicilian village called Partinico, and came over on one of those immigrant boats…”