Trivia

Mayor of New York City (1933-45).

Pictured on a 14¢ US postage stamp in the Prominent Americans series, issued 24 April 1972.

Worked for the US State Department at embassies and consulates in Eastern Europe and Italy (1901-06). He came away with the ability to speak many of the major ethnic languages spoken in New York City--Italian, Serbo-Croatian, German and Yiddish. After returning to America, he had the opportunity to practice these languages as an interpreter for the city's child welfare bureau at Ellis Island (1907-10). When he ran for mayor years later, he was famous for speaking these languages at campaign rallies in the appropriate neighborhoods.

The Broadway musical "Fiorello", which opened in 1959, is based on his life. The play was awarded the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and also the Tony Award for Best Musical.

His name means "little flower" in Italian.

Served in the US Army from 1917-19, rising to the rank of major. He commanded a unit of the Army Air Service, flying the Ca.44 bomber on the Italian-Austrian front.

Tom Bosley won a Tony Award for his portrayal of LaGuardia in the musical "Fiorello".

Although LaGuardia is associated with New York (and was born there), he lived in Arizona as a child and in many ways considered himself to be a Westerner. He wore distinctive Stetson-type hats, in recognition of that.

Mentioned in Marty (1955).