Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia | |
|---|---|
 Robert Loggia in 1976 | |
| Born | Salvatore Loggia January 3, 1930 |
| Died | December 4, 2015 (aged 85) Brentwood, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Alzheimer's disease |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Wagner College |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director |
| Years active | 1951–2015 |
| Spouse(s) | Marjorie Sloan (1954–1981) Audrey O'Brien (1982–his death) |
| Children | 1 child ( and 1 stepdaughter) |
| Awards | Saturn Award (1988) |
Salvatore Loggia[1] [salvaˈtoːre ˈlɔddʒa] (January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015), known as Robert Loggia, was an American actor and director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Jagged Edge.
Early life
Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island on January 3, 1930, the son of Beniamino Loggia, a shoemaker born in Palma di Montechiaro, Agrigento, Sicily, and Elena Blandino, a homemaker born in Vittoria, Ragusa, Sicily.[2][3][4] He graduated from New Dorp High School. After studying at Wagner College and journalism at the University of Missouri (class of 1951) and serving in the U.S. Army, he began a long career as a supporting player.[citation needed]
Career
Loggia was a radio and TV anchor on the Southern Command Network in the Panama Canal Zone. Loggia first came to prominence playing the real-life American lawman Elfego Baca in a series of Walt Disney TV shows in 1958. He starred as the proverbial cat-burglar-turned-good in a short-lived series called T.H.E. Cat. In 1972, he played Frank Carver on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm.[5]
His many television credits included appearances on Overland Trail, Target: The Corruptors!, The Untouchables, The Eleventh Hour, Breaking Point, Combat!, Custer, Columbo, Ellery Queen, High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Big Valley, Rawhide, Little House on the Prairie, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files (three times as three different characters), Magnum, P.I., Quincy, M.E., Kojak, Hawaii Five-0, The Bionic Woman, Falcon Crest, Frasier, The Sopranos, Monk and Oliver Stone's miniseries Wild Palms.[1]
His film roles included Revenge of the Pink Panther, An Officer and a Gentleman, Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771, based on the Air New Zealand Flight 103 incident, Psycho II, Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Over The Top, Independence Day, Necessary Roughness, Return to Me, Armed and Dangerous and Big (for which he won a Saturn Award).[1]
In 1985, Loggia was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of crusty private detective Sam Ransom in the thriller Jagged Edge. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick Mancuso in the TV series Mancuso, FBI, a follow up to the previous year's miniseries Favorite Son. Loggia appeared as a mobster in multiple films, including; Sykes in Disney's Oliver & Company (1988), Salvatore "The Shark" Macelli in John Landis's Innocent Blood, Mr. Eddy in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997) and Don Vito Leoni in David Jablin's The Don's Analyst (1997).[1]
In 1998, Loggia appeared in a television commercial lampooning obscure celebrity endorsements. In it, a young boy names Loggia as someone he would trust to recommend Minute Maid orange-tangerine blend. Loggia instantly appears and endorses the drink, to which the boy exclaims, "Whoa, Robert Loggia!"[6] The commercial was later referenced in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle in which Loggia made a guest appearance as "Grandpa Victor" (for which he received his second Emmy nomination); Loggia drinks some orange juice, then spits it out and complains about the pulp.
Loggia also played a violent mobster named Feech La Manna on a few episodes of the series The Sopranos. In addition to his role in Oliver & Company (1988), Loggia had several other voice acting roles. A recurring role on the Adult Swim animated comedy Tom Goes to the Mayor, as crooked cop Ray Machowski in the video game Grand Theft Auto III, as Admiral Petrarch in FreeSpace 2, as the narrator of the Scarface: The World is Yours game adaptation and in the anime movie A Dog of Flanders (1997).[7]
In August 2009, Loggia appeared in one of Apple's Get a Mac advertisements. The advertisement features Loggia as a personal trainer hired by PC to get him back on top of his game.[citation needed] On October 26, 2009, TVGuide.com announced Loggia joined the cast of the TNT series Men of a Certain Age.[8] In 2012, Loggia portrayed Saint Peter during his final imprisonment in The Apostle Peter and the Last Supper.[1] Loggia partnered with Canadian entrepreneur Frank D'Angelo from 2013, appearing in three films (Real Gangsters, The Big Fat Stone, and No Depo$it), with a fourth film in production (Sicilian Vampire) at the time of his death.
Personal life and death
Loggia was married twice, to Marjorie Sloan from 1954-1981, and to Audrey O'Brien from 1982 until his death in 2015.
In 2010, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,[9] and died on December 4, 2015, of complications from the disease at his home in Brentwood, California at the age of 85.[9][10]
Honors and recognitions
In 2010, Loggia was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.[11]
On December 17, 2011, Loggia was honored by his alma mater, the University of Missouri, with an honorary degree for his career and his humanitarian efforts.[12]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Academy Award | Best Supporting Actor | Jagged Edge | Nominated | [9] |
| 1988 | Saturn Award | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor | Big | Won | [14] |
References
- ^ a b c d e Biography for Robert Loggia at IMDb
- ^ Biography at FilmReference.
- ^ Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune.
- ^ Profile, Yahoo!Movies; accessed April 12, 2015.
- ^ TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes and Noble. 2004. p. 562. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
- ^ Whoa, Robert Loggia! on YouTube
- ^ Justin Sevakis (March 6, 2008) The Dog of Flanders – Buried Treasure, animenewsnetwork.com; accessed April 12, 2015.
- ^ Adam Bryant (October 26, 2009). "Exclusive: Ray Romano's Men of a Certain Age Casts Robert Loggia". TVGuide.com.
- ^ a b c Associated Press (December 4, 2015). "'Scarface,' 'Sopranos' actor Robert Loggia dies at 85". LA Times. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ^ McNary, Dave (December 4, 2015). "Oscar-Nominated Actor Robert Loggia Dies at 85". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ^ http://engineering.nyu.edu/news/2010/05/10/president-hultin-receives-ellis-island-medal-honor
- ^ "Robert Loggia, William Least Heat-Moon to earn honorary MU degrees". Columbia Daily Tribune. December 1, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ Latest Titles With Robert Loggia. IMDb
- ^ Arar, Yardena (December 7, 1989). "`Beetlejuice` And `Roger Rabbit` Each Win 3 Awards". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
External links
- Robert Loggia at IMDb
- Robert Loggia at the Internet Broadway Database
- Please use a more specific IOBDB template. See the template documentation for available templates.
- Robert Loggia at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1930 births
- 2015 deaths
- Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
- Male actors from New York City
- Actors Studio members
- American male film actors
- Male actors of Italian descent
- American people of Sicilian descent
- American male stage actors
- American male television actors
- American television directors
- American male voice actors
- People from Staten Island
- United States Army soldiers
- University of Missouri alumni
- Wagner College alumni
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors