L.A.’s ‘Yinzer power couple’ pay visit to hometowns
Well, doesn’t that take the cake?
Actress Caitlin O’Connor, a Uniontown native, surprised her boyfriend, actor, producer, director and, perhaps most importantly, lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan Joe Mangianello with Steelers-themed birthday cakes for his 48th birthday last month.
It’s no secret that Mangianello, who was raised in Mt. Lebanon and is host and executive producer of the hit reality show “Deal or No Deal Island” on NBC, loves the Black and Gold.
So when O’Connor, who also is a die-hard Steelers fan, was planning a birthday celebration at the Carousel Restaurant in Glendale, Calif. – a nod to Mangianello’s Armenian heritage – she knew the Steelers cakes, baked by Cake and Art Bakery in West Hollywood, would provide the perfect sweet treat.
“One was a jersey with his last name on it and the number 00 because Joe plays Mr. Zero on the TV show, ‘One Piece,’ for Netflix,” she said in an email. “The second cake was a helmet cake.”
The jersey cake was lemon, and the helmet cake was chocolate with mocha filling.
Mangianello, who has starred in dozens of television series and films since his breakout role in the horror series “True Blood,” appeared on the Jimmy Fallon Show and talked about the Steelers cakes.
He also discussed his love for the Steelers, noting, “When you’re born (in Pittsburgh), it’s a religion.” And he shared with Fallon his excitement of running through the tunnel at Acrisure Stadium waving a Terrible Towel and leading the team on to the field before a recent game.
O’Connor’s and Mangianello’s first meeting, it turns out, included a conversation about the Pittsburgh Steelers and high school mascots.
“He asked me what my high school mascot was, and I said the Red Raiders, that my high school was in Uniontown, and he said he played football and basketball against us,” said O’Connor. “And he did ask who my favorite Steeler was and I told him it was Troy Polamalu. The Steelers definitely came up in conversation when we met.”
O’Connor, a 2007 graduate of Uniontown High School, grew up rooting for the Steelers and watched the Black and Gold on Sundays with her family. But she didn’t attend her first Steelers game until this year, with Mangianello.
Mangianello and O’Connor – who has been wearing some Steelers pieces from designer Kiya Tomlin, wife of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin – recently enjoyed a dinner hosted by Ben Roethlisberger and his wife, at the Roethlisberger home, after Mangianello appeared as a guest on Roethlisberger’s podcast, Footbahlin.
“We were hoping for better results in the playoffs, but it was a fun season and we were happy to be a part of it,” said O’Connor.
O’Connor and Mangianello – who good-naturedly accept their unofficial title as a “Yinzer power couple” – visit the Pittsburgh area as often as they can.
In August, O’Connor, who played the role of Dyan Cannon in HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” which was nominated for five Emmys, returned to Uniontown, where she was inducted into her alma mater’s Hall of Fame in the arts category for her work as an actress, host, and producer.
“I was honored to be inducted into my school’s Hall of Fame; it means a lot to me,” said O’Connor, who also attended a Uniontown Red Raiders football game and the Hall of Fame brunch.
While in town, she and Mangianello also visited UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where Mangianello played a game of “Deal or No Deal” with the children.
The pair have been traveling extensively in recent months, including trips to Finland, Paris, Colorado and Panama, where Mangianello was filming “Deal or No Deal Island,” and, most recently, to the Caribbean.
O’Connor and Mangianello were returning from New York City to their home in the Los Angeles suburb of Venice Beach on the day the Pacific Palisades wildfires broke out, and O’Connor said the destruction caused by the series of fires has been devastating.
“It’s heartbreaking to be in L.A. and to know people who have lost everything. We have had many friends who lost everything they’ve worked for, including some of my college friends from UCLA,” said O’Connor. “The fires spread so quickly, they didn’t have time to go back for anything. People had to leave pets behind; they grabbed what they could and left.”
In a phone interview, O’Connor’s voice was raspy – which she attributes to the toxic mix of substances in the air from the burning buildings, vehicles, electronics, batteries, plastics, and other components.
“The air quality has been very poor and it has affected my respiratory system, leaving me with a hoarse voice,” she said, noting Bubbles, the couple’s 11-year-old rescue Chihuahua, has been frightened by the conditions.
The couple took a brief trip to Palm Springs to escape the poor air, and since they returned have been trying to help out by making financial donations and giving gift cards to a variety of organizations and GoFundMe pages.
“The devastation in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and L.A. is the worst you could ever witness. Over 40,000 acres burned, two entire cities wiped off the map, (tens of thousands) of people still displaced, and it will be a long road to rebuilding Los Angeles,” said O’Connor, who also noted COVID-19 and two recent strikes in the entertainment industry have impacted the city. “It really looks like the city could be forever changed.”