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Robert Alda

Robert Alda

Birthday: 1914-02-26 | Place of Birth: New York City, New York, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Alda (February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an American theatrical and film actor and father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. A singer and dancer, Alda was featured in a number of Broadway productions before moving to Italy during the early 1960s. He appeared in many European films over the next two decades, occasionally returning to the U.S. for film appearances such as The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969). Alda, an American of Italian descent, was born Alphonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo in New York, New York, the son of Frances (née Tumillo) and Antonio D'Abruzzo, a barber born in Sant'Agata de' Goti, Benevento, Campania, Italy. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York in 1930. He began as a singer and dancer in vaudeville after winning a talent contest, and moved on to burlesque. Alda is known for portraying George Gershwin in the biopic Rhapsody in Blue (1945) as well as the talent agent in the Douglas Sirk classic Imitation of Life (1959). He was very successful on Broadway, starring in Guys and Dolls (1950), for which he won a Tony Award, and in What Makes Sammy Run? (1964). He was also the host of the short-lived DuMont TV version of the game show What's Your Bid? (May–June 1953). Alda's first wife, and mother of actor Alan Alda, Joan Browne, was a homemaker and former beauty pageant winner. Alda was married to his second wife, Flora Marino, an Italian actress whom he met in Rome, until his death. Alda made two guest appearances with his son Alan on M*A*S*H, in the episodes "The Consultant" (January 1975) and "Lend a Hand" (February 1980). The latter episode also featured Antony Alda (1956–2009), his younger son by his second wife. Alda appeared in an episode of The Feather and Father Gang in 1977. Alda died on May 3, 1986, aged 72, after a long illness following a stroke.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1979
Holiday Hookers

as    Client

1978
The Squeeze

as    Captain Donati

1978
Spider-Man Strikes Back

as    Mr. White

1976
I Will, I Will...For Now

as    Dr. Magnus

1976
The House of Exorcism

as    Father Michael

1973
The Serpent

as    Polygraph interrogator

1962
Musketeers of the Sea

as    Vice Governatore Gomez

1961
The Devil's Hand

as    Rick Turner

1959
Imitation of Life

as    Allen Loomis

1955
Beautiful but Dangerous

as    Maestro Doria

1950
Tarzan and the Slave Girl

as    Neil

1948
April Showers

as    Billy Shay

1947
The Beast with Five Fingers

as    Bruce Conrad [Conrad Ryler in on-screen end credits]

1947
Nora Prentiss

as    Phil Dinardo, Cafe Owner

1946
Cloak and Dagger

as    Pinkie

1946
Cinderella Jones

as    Tommy Coles

1945
Rhapsody in Blue

as    George Gershwin