PEORIA, AZ — He spent many of his 93 years on this planet as a "tailor to the stars," making outfits for some of the biggest icons of our time like Elvis Presley.
But for Ciro Romano's family, he'll be remembered as a loving husband, father, and grandfather who showed his family - and the world - that anything was possible.
Ciro passed away in July, so ABC15 decided to follow up with his family and talk about the legacy he left behind.
In 2022, ABC15's Nick Ciletti sat down with Ciro in Peoria, where he was living at the time, talking about what it was like to look back at old photos and see outfits he had once designed.
"Does it at least make you smile when you look back at him and see something you've designed?" Ciletti asked.
"Oh yeah!" Ciro replied.
And those smiles came for a good reason. The 93-year-old made the entire world smile, helping to dress and design for some of the biggest names in show business.
During his 2022 interview, Ciro told Nick that he would often create the vision for a piece, and then oversee each step as a team helped to create it.
"It was quite an interesting life!" explains Dominic Romano, Ciro's son, who recently spoke to ABC15.
"I got to meet Muhammad Ali when he was known as, 'The Champ' because my dad did a suit for him, which I'll always remember."
But Ciro's clothes weren't just for celebs; many times, his children also got to experience their dad's designs!
"He would make us wear these really flashy shirts and slacks that were polyester back in the 1970s," explains Dominic. "And I was the only kid in school wearing those clothes, but my father never cared about what other people were thinking or doing."
It was an ironic twist in his life; Dominic says his father grew up poor in Italy and immigrated to this country when he was 20.
"It is inspirational to a lot of us. You're talking about an individual who came from sheer poverty, living during WWII, bombed by Americans (and) then Germans, had a couple of run-ins with the Nazis...He was so hungry, he one time stole an onion out of the market and hadn't had anything to eat in a couple days. He said it burned like you would not believe, but it was the best-tasting thing he had in a long time!"
At the age of eight, he had to leave school to support his family, which is how he started developing his sewing skills.
Dominic says he may not have inherited his father's sewing skills, but there were plenty of other things this loving father was able to pass down.
Dominic says his father taught them all patience.
"And to take in every moment. Because those moments are fleeting. And never forget to say I love you."
His job was to make some of Hollywood's biggest stars shine even brighter, but in so many ways, especially for his family, Ciro was the real superstar - his passion, drive, and love lighting the way forward in the darkness, which if you think about it, isn't that the true definition of a star?
