Bonitatibus family feuds for the camera
October 2021 – Repertoire Magazine
They’re loud. They’re competitive. They’re close. Each one has a giant personality, and no one is afraid to show it.
They are the Bonitatibus family (pronounced bunny-totty-bus) of New York, and at press time, they were awaiting airing of the Family Feud TV show that they taped in May. Two of the Bonitatibus brothers who appeared on the show – Rocky and Nick – are account managers for CME Corp.
The patriarch of the family is Rocco, who, with his brother, Jerry, started Fradeli’s Restaurant in Yonkers, New York, more than 37 years ago. The matriarch is Lori. Originally from Philadelphia, she met Rocco in Wildwood, New Jersey. Today she works for a reinsurance company.
“She is where our competitiveness comes from,” says Rocky, who covers northern New Jersey, Westchester County/Bronx New York, and a small part of Connecticut for CME.
“Our mom is the most outgoing of all of us,” adds Nick, who covers New Hampshire and parts of Massachusetts for CME. “She has the most energy. My dad can get there, but he needs to settle in a little bit first, see what’s going on. He’s feeling the waters, but once he sees we’re all into it, he’s there.”
Growing up in a household in Yorktown, New York, with four brothers provided excellent training for the TV competition. (The other two brothers are Joey, who appeared on the TV show, and Michael, who had to miss it due to another engagement.) Like their father before them, all four boys played lacrosse growing up, and three went on to play lacrosse in college.
“Just growing up with four boys, we were always competing, sometimes to the point of tears,” recalls Rocky. Turkey Bowl football games on Thanksgiving are a tradition.
“’Competitive’ basically sums it up,” says Nick. The three older boys are about a year apart in age, with Nick following about four years after Joey, the next youngest. As the youngest, “you get picked on,” he says. “So you gotta get good at whatever is going on.”
Family Feud
For years the Bonitatibus family has enjoyed watching Family Feud on TV. The show, which is emceed by TV personality Steve Harvey, features two families competing to name the most popular answers to survey questions.
Two years ago, Lori learned that auditions were being held for the show in Stamford, Connecticut. Unbeknownst to the others, she signed up the family. In September, they auditioned along with hundreds of other families.
“It’s all about being as loud as possible, cheering your family on, and being over the top enthusiastic and excited,” says Nick. “But you also have to be good at the game! We are an extremely competitive family. We do not like to lose, and we wanted to make sure we did everything it takes to get on the show. We were able to stand out among the thousands of families who auditioned.”
Says Rocky, “We made it past the first stage of auditions and were told to go to a separate room where we were individually interviewed. We did everything we could in that interview to get them to love our family and put us on the show. I also feel like the fact that we had all boys and my mom being the only girl made for a great dynamic.
“We stood out by just being ourselves. We were very loud and obnoxious. We made fun of each other during interviews and cracked jokes, which made the producers laugh a ton.”
Two months after the audition, the Bonitatibuses got word that they would appear on the show. But because of COVID-19, the producers postponed filming in the spring of 2020. Then, shortly before the family was scheduled to do the taping in August of that year, Rocco Sr. got COVID.
“He was hospitalized for three weeks,” says Rocky. “Thankfully he made a full recovery, but we thought our FF dream was over. A few months later my mom got an email saying that they loved our family so much, they still wanted us to come on the show. They rescheduled us for May 2021.”
Bright lights
The best way to practice is to watch the show, says Nick. “I used to watch an episode almost every day leading up to our taping. We also got a board game and would play as a family when we were all together.
“What surprised me was how many moving parts and how much goes into the taping process,” he continues. “We were at the studio from 8 am to 8 pm, and they only filmed four episodes during that time span. What also surprised me was how down to earth Steve Harvey is. When sitting in the audience waiting your turn to go, it almost feels like you are at a comedy show. It was about 80% Steve Harvey comedy show, 20% Family Feud. At times you would forget you were filming a show.
“It is nerve racking when the bright lights are on you and the camera starts recording,” he says. “Luckily, we got to see other families play prior to us, and there’s a practice round without Steve Harvey when you arrive at the studio to get the jitters out and show you how it feels to be on the stage with all the cameras. That being said, once it was our turn to film, I was ready to rock and not even the slightest bit nervous.
“The most fun was interacting with Steve Harvey and creating a memory that will last forever with my family.”
Says Rocky, “I was most surprised with how much different the game is when you are under the lights. Anyone can play sitting on their couch, but can you perform when the camera is on, and Steve is standing right in front of you?
“The first couple of questions are hard, just because you need to get your nerves in check. But once we settled in, it was a breeze. Once you start playing the game, everything starts to click. It was like we were at home playing as a family.
“I just loved being around my family for an extended period. We also had a great time hearing some of the crazy answers we each came up with. Some of them will be standing jokes at family dinner for a long time.
“I learned that my family has a bond like no other, and that when we put our minds to something, we can do anything. We are resilient and will do anything it takes to win, whether that be a sport, an illness or a game show. I am super proud of my family and our performance on Family Feud, and I wouldn’t change this experience for anything in the world.”
Adds Nick, “I learned that I have an AWESOME, fun and outgoing family. I also learned we are pretty damn good at the game! All in all it was a great experience, and I wouldn’t have traded it for the world!”