Randy Profeta

Randy Profeta is the great grandson of Harry Wildman, who was Coney Island's premier sign painter from the 1890s until he died in 1930, after which his sons Lester and Sidney continued the business through the 1950s.  Profeta shares family stories of his grandmother Beatrice, Harry's daughter, and her romance with his grandfather, Vito Onorato, who worked as a plumber in Steeplechase Park. Vito was the older brother of the park's longtime manager Jimmy Onorato, and Profeta's mother, Frances Onorato, got to ride the Parachute Jump hundreds of times growing up. Born in Brooklyn, Randy Profeta spent his early boyhood living in Sheepshead Bay and fondly recalls being taken by his parents to Steeplechase Park and Nathan's. 

Researching his family history, Profeta learned that Harry Wildman did sign work for Feltmans, Nathan's, Steeplechase Park, Luna Park, and numerous other businesses. Family lore credits Harry with the creation of the Steeplechase Face, the park's grinning logo. "A lot of what we have is, in essence, anecdotal." says Profeta. "I mean it's information that has passed from generation to generation." Additional sources are newspaper clippings, Michael Onorato's 1992 interview with his grandmother, and Lloyd Handwerker's 2016 book Famous Nathan. The book cites Harry Wildman's design of the logo for Nathan's when the store opened in 1916 and Wildman & Son's creation of a wooden billboard atop the store in 1925, saying "Wildman's iconic work has survived, with a few modifications, to this day."