Robert Alda

MAIN

Recommend (0)

•

Comments (0)

BIRTHDAY

February 26, 1914

New York City, NY

DIED

May 03, 1986

RECENT CREDITS

Bittersweet Love (FILM) Oct. 1, 1976

The House of Exorcism (FILM) Apr. 2, 1975

Cagliostro (FILM) Feb. 21, 1975

Night Flight from Moscow (FILM) Apr. 7, 1973

The Girl Who Knew Too Much (FILM) Jan. 1, 1969

View all Robert Alda Credits

BIOGRAPHY

Expand Full Bio

Actor Robert Alda studied architecture at NYU, briefly working in this field until choosing show business. He started performing in vaudeville, and in burlesque as a tenor and straight man; by 1934, he was well established on radio. He made a spectacular film debut in Warner Bros.' 1945 biopic Rhapsody in Blue (1945), essaying the role of George Gershwin over the objections of director Irving Rapper, who'd wanted to hold off production until Tyrone Power was available. Alda did as good a job as possible, given the banalities of the scripts, though his piano-playing sequences are obviously faked and tricked up. Alda's starring career faded out rather quickly; he was more successful with second leads and villainous roles, and in the early 1960s became a fixture of Italian sword-and-sandal and spy films. Returning to Broadway in 1950, Alda created the role of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, winning a Tony Award in the process. In 1954, he starred in the syndicated TV series Secret File USA. Robert Alda was the father of Alan Alda, with whom he appeared in a poignant MASH TV episode of the late 1970s.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Collapse Full Bio

Headlines

'Now, Voyager' Director Dies

Dec. 30, 1999

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 29, 1999 -- Filmmaker Irving Rapper, one of the last survivors of Hollywood's golden era and the director of the 1942 Bette Davis Oscar-winning classic "Now, Voyager," died Dec. 20 at the Motion Picture and Television Fund home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 101.Best known for his professional alliance with Davis, Rapper first made his mark with the...

Read Story

View all Robert Alda Headlines