The instinct to move forward, even when the path ahead is not perfectly clear, has led Peter and Joan Giagni to a life filled with exhilarating twists and turns, all navigated together.
Joan’s journey begins with a profound family history. She is the daughter of Holocaust survivors who, during World War II, embarked on a path from Germany to San Francisco via Shanghai, China. Her parents’ love story unfolded in the midst of a large contingent of Jewish immigrants who found refuge from the Nazis in a Jewish ghetto in Shanghai.
Joan’s childhood was spent in Daly City, California, where her family moved when she was just four years old. Her recollections include her father’s emotional abuse and persistent criticism that she was not intelligent. Over the years, hearing these hurtful words from her father left her convinced that she wasn’t bright enough for school, leading her to withhold her true potential. Higher education was not a priority in her family, but when Joan’s friends started applying for college, she decided to follow suit. She enrolled at San Fernando Valley State College, later known as Cal State University Northridge, as an art major due to her natural talent in that field.
Peter, on the other hand, had a different upbringing, growing up in Baldwin, New York, on Long Island. He was a hard worker from a young age and unapologetically pursued his dreams with determination. When he and his siblings set their eyes on a go-kart in the Sears and Roebuck catalog, their parents insisted they pay for half of it. So, they collected their neighbors’ old newspapers, earning three to five cents a pound at the recycling center to save up.
Unlike his brother, who had been forbidden from having a paper route, Peter took matters into his own hands. He signed up for a paper route with a friend without asking for permission and announced his decision to his family. This spirit of independence and determination defined his early years. Later, he sought work by going door-to-door and landed a job at a butcher shop as the “kid in the back,” earning $18 a week, paid under the table, because he was still too young to work there legally.
Show Business
Growing up in a family deeply connected to show business, with his father being an award-winning choreographer, it was only natural that Peter would find his way into the entertainment industry. After completing high school in New York, Peter’s family relocated to California. He spent a year at Santa Monica City College and eventually ended up at Cal State University Northridge, where his path would intersect with Joan’s in 1973 in a campus dormitory. The initial meeting involved some playful tickling, but an accidental toe-breaking incident brought them closer together, leading to a budding relationship.
Peter soon left school to pursue a career with the William Morris Agency, where he trained as a talent agent. After two years, he ventured out on his own, knocking on doors until he found a position just one week later with a mentor, Marty Litke. Today, Peter runs his own management company, Peter Giagni Management, which he founded in 1996, and
he’s been “swinging on a trapeze without a net” ever since.
Finding Her Way
In 1975, Joan and Peter got married despite having limited financial resources. To supplement Peter’s meager income of $90 a week, Joan took a job at a bank for $500 a month. She eventually found her way into the field of design, but her true desire was to become a school counselor. Once their son, Adam, headed off to college, Joan returned to school with a clear purpose, earning two master’s degrees, and embarked on and enjoyed a 20-year career as a counselor before retiring.
Throughout his career, Peter worked with many of the rich and famous, but one actress left a lasting impression — Katherine Hepburn. After two encounters with her in the 1970s, he asked her how she had managed to recover from an accident during the filming of “Rooster Cogburn”. Her response was simple yet powerful, “Confidence. You have to have confidence.” This trait became a defining characteristic of Peter and Joan Giagni’s life, propelling them into a collection of unique and irreplaceable experiences. Upon hearing about the opportunity to preserve their stories on video with Memoria Films, they eagerly embraced it.
Last month, Peter and Joan sat down with Memoria’s founder, Sean Daigle. In recording their treasured memories of their past, they ensured that their family will have their remarkable story to cherish forever. Indeed, it is a captivating and inspiring narrative. (Pictured Below)
To capture your or your family’s legacy on film reach out to Memoria Films by scanning the QR code, visit MemoriaFilms.com, or contact Sean directly at [email protected].
