Born June 12, 1936 in Indianapolis, IN

Died morning of July 16, 2022 in Southampton, NY at 86 years old.

A son of southern Italian immigrants, Luigi, as he was affectionately known, grew up in Brooklyn and led an accomplished life full of adventure, family, hard work and success. Most of all, he did it his way.

A graduate of James Madison High School in Brooklyn, NY in the mid 1950's, Louis enlisted in the Army after graduation.  He was honorably discharged from the US Army in 1957 having served in Armed Forces Radio at Schofield Barracks/Fort Shafter in O'ahu, Hawaii. Lou was fondly remembered by his platoon for rounding up folks and throwing parties he called "spaghetti-mixers" when they were on leave.

While attending the University of Hawaii for a period, he was introduced to Martial Arts in the late 1950's. After moving to San Francisco, he then made his way to Los Angeles attaining a level of brown belt in Kenpo Karate by training under and working for Ed Parker at Parker's first studio in Pasadena, CA. Louis was proud to help introduce Karate to the USA.

Louis broke into Hollywood, appearing on The Lucy Show, in "Lucy and Viv Learn Judo" (1963). He became a disc jockey in Anaheim, CA and a traveling stand-up comedian; his style of performance pushed the envelope for the times. He performed across the States, including the Vaudeville circuit, eventually finding his way back east to New York City in the mid 1960's where he began studying Yoga and later met his wife Ann in the late 1970's.

Settling in Manhattan, and later Englewood, NJ, Louis was employed for 25 years at CBS, Inc. as a radio engineer in Manhattan working with Charles Osgood, Charles Kuralt and Dallas Townsend among others.

In addition to radio work, Louis was an author and playwright.  He wrote Chiaroscuro, published by Samuel French, Inc. and produced in Equity Showcase off-Broadway (1978), TV episode "Checkmate" for Benson/ABC TV prime time (1979), and 8 self-published books over two decades starting with Homecrest Avenue: Silhouettes of an Accidental Family and concluding with Good Medicine, a series of stories initially written when attending the New School for Social Research in the West Village.

Louis created the After3Theatre Co. (1988) in Englewood, NJ where he wrote, produced and directed young children's plays for over a decade, introducing them to the world of drama arts. Later, he was proud to lecture from time to time on his experiences with Lucille Ball, Karate, CBS, as well as Old Time Radio and Vaudeville.

Eventually, after many decades and careers, including building a family, Lou returned to school in his 50's to proudly achieve his goal of receiving a BA from Fairleigh Dickinson College in NJ in the early 1990's; first of his family's generation to do so.

Sonny enjoyed travels to Europe, especially Italy where he brought his family several times and connected with his roots in Calabria. Retiring near the beach in Eastern Long Island, Louis loved to play tambourine with the Good Ground Ukulele Players of the Hampton Bays Library, and to take in the view at Tiana Beach.

Louis, a beloved father, grandfather and family member, is survived by his wife of 44 years Ann Coppola, son Christopher I. Coppola, grandson Joseph R. Coppola, aunt Josephine Beeler, sister Josephine Fallo, nieces Donna Fallo and Jeniene Stango, his brothers Frank and Richard Coppola and Richard Fallo, and his great nephews Nicholas and Matthew Stango.

Dad loved his mother dearly, Antoinette Pena Coppola. Played catch countless times with his son, and was a devoted husband and father where it mattered most. He loved his dog Scuffles who often sat happily in the passenger seat of his blue Stingray, Corvette; head out the window, tongue flapping in the wind, now riding together down the West Side Highway and into the sunset.