When Harry Met: Nina Tenerani, 100, who left Los Angeles for Rainbow City

“What? Excuse me, what was that you just said?” I asked the woman being interviewed for this article.

She smiled sweetly and laughed as she repeated what was being told to my daughter Debbie Pope: “My husband and I attended Bob Hope’s 90th birthday party.”

Hearing that led to a couple of hours of more laughter, and a story I’m glad to share about a woman and her 100 years (as of Dec. 17) of life.

She’s a widow with a grown son who lives with her, who moved from the huge, bustling city of Los Angeles a few years ago to the shoreline of Canoe Creek in Rainbow City.

Let’s begin at the beginning: Nina Tenerani is a first-generation Italian-American, born to a father who as a teenager sang with a rich voice in the famous Metropolitan. She was an active player in several sports during her high school years, usually as the team captain.

She went to work to work for AT&T, first as a telephone switchboard operator — remember "Number, please?”  — before moving into its administrative ranks and finally retiring after 40 years on the job. She worked a few other jobs afterward and as a volunteer for certain causes.

After World War II, she met Harold (Bud) Tenerani, a young man from Vermont who was working in L.A. during the summer, and recalled that he asked her to marry him on their first date. It sparked a three-year romance that blossomed over the 2,950 miles (except for summers) between New England and Southern California, until the couple married and settled in Nina’s hometown.

Bud Tenerani enrolled at Occidental College in L.A. with the dream of becoming a publicist for one of the many Hollywood studios. After graduation, however, he learned that most new hires at any movie house were as ushers or other entry-level jobs.

Still, he submitted hundreds of sample writings and had countless interviews at different studios until his big break came. He was offered a publicity job for a new TV western — “Gunsmoke,” starring James Arness.

“He was put in charge of ... writing or overseeing other writers,” Nina recalled. “It was a special time because it was a new show, different from all the others that had been on TV,”

“Gunsmoke” would set the record for most episodes for a prime-time series, 635, during its 20-year run from 1955 to 1975, and is still being shown in reruns around the world. All the studio publicity for the show was Bud Tenerani’s handiwork.

That role for a major TV show, plus Bud Tenerani’s other film, radio and television assignments, put the couple into Hollywood’s elite society. “That’s how we got invited to Bob Hope’s 90th birthday party,” Nina said. “And there were many other such occasions, too.”

The couple had a happy married life, but Nina especially wanted a child. They made applications to become adoptive parents, but were turned down. “Time after time,” she recalled, “because of our (ages). Finally, when I was 45 years old, we were given Jimmy, a boy.”

She said the next five years — “until he started school” — were the happiest of her life, and that her son, now 54, “has never given us a minute’s trouble.”

An electrician until he was disabled by a severe back injury, he now lives with his mother, serving as her driver and yardman.

Bud Tenerani died in the late 1990s at age 65 — and his widow’s story took a turn that should interest the local Chamber of Commerce.

One day in L.A., a friend told Nina she was going to Alabama to visit someone in Rainbow City. She asked if Nina would like to go with her, and she quickly agreed.

“We got here, visited the friend and area," she said. “Everything was peaceful, so pretty and nice and quiet. It wasn’t like the noise and heavy traffic we had back home.

“I called Jimmy and asked him what he thought about us moving here,” she said. “He said, ‘OK,’ so I went house shopping and we’ve been here ever since. I really like it here.”

Since settling down in Etowah County, Nina has become known for her work as a volunteer and participant in various senior activities. She can be found every Monday morning in the Gadsden Public Library’s bookstore; Tuesday is card-playing time at the senior center downtown; on Wednesday, she meets friends at the Senior Club in Attalla; Thursday is for appointments; and Friday brings more card playing (Hand and Foot) at the Rainbow City Senior Center.

She also assists on food giveaway days at Rainbow City’s White Springs Baptist Church.

Those interested in wishing Nina a “happy birthday” for reaching the century mark can send cards to her in care of the Gadsden Public Library, 254 S. College St., Gadsden, AL 35901.

Harry D. Butler, a former broadcaster, is a motivational speaker and author of “Alabama’s First Radio Stations, 1920-1960.” Butler periodically sits down with someone of note, then brings the conversation to readers.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Harry Butler visits 100-year-old Nina Tenerani