By Stephen Appezzato
MIDDLETOWN – Hometown heroes and siblings Steven and Billy Van Zandt returned to the street they grew up on for a renaming dedication April 26. To honor the brothers – one a prominent musician, the other a playwright – township officials ceremonially renamed Wilson Avenue Van Zandt Way.
Hundreds attended the event to catch a glimpse of the famous artists, including loyal fans, local politicians, media outlets and former on-air reporter and friend of the Van Zandts Brian Williams, also a Middletown native.
“Steve and I grew up so close and yet separated only by talents and personal style,” Williams joked, reflecting on their childhoods.
Aside from developing the sound of the Jersey Shore while playing guitar for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and the E Street Band, which Williams jokingly described as a “gig with a guy who grew up in Freehold, I think,” Steven is a prolific solo artist, actor and activist. He famously played Tony Soprano’s consigliere Silvio Dante on the television show “The Sopranos” and mobster Frank Tagliano on Netflix’s breakout series “Lilyhammer.”
Steven also “waged a colossal battle against apartheid in South Africa, which turned out to be the right side of history,” Williams said.
In addition to his activism, Steven created a program to bring free music resources to teachers and classrooms. “School children across this country who have never met Steve have had their lives changed… because of the music education curriculum he designed called TeachRock,” Williams said.
Steven’s younger brother, Billy, who has written over 20 full-length plays, acted and worked on countless TV shows and movies, and wrote the best-selling memoir “Get in the Car, Jane! Adventures in the TV Wasteland,” said the dedication was “overwhelming and surreal, and I love it.”
Billy thanked his classmates and teachers at Thorne Middle School and Middletown High School, who encouraged him to pursue a career in the arts.
“We had the best drama, theater and arts department in the state – I truly believe that – and they really prepared me well for the path I wanted to go down,” he said.
“My father did not want us to go into the entertainment business,” Billy reminisced. “He said everybody in the entertainment business were drunks or bums. And he wasn’t completely wrong,” he joked.
While Wilson Avenue officially retains its name, a new road sign adorned with guitar and theater mask graphics now stands alongside it to honor the Van Zandts.
To date, the township has dedicated nearly 70 streets in honor of local veterans. Mayor Tony Perry recalled that, in 2019, township administrator Tony Mercatante suggested Middletown also honor those who have had a cultural impact on the town.
“I think that we started off with Billy Van Zandt, and I said, OK, well, are we including Stevie in that too?” Perry joked.
Steven said the ceremony was “a wonderful validation that the three of us (Steven, Billy and sister Kathi) must have done something right.”
“It’s a great day for Middletown (and) a great day for the Van Zandt family. We get to honor not one but two legendary Van Zandts,” proclaimed New Jersey Hall of Fame President Steve Edwards.
The article originally appeared in the May 2 – May 8, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
