Short, stocky character player whose furrowed brow, hawk nose and hearty manner made him an instantly recognizable figure on stage, screen and TV from the late 1950s. Starting as a professional actor in his mid-30s, Gardenia played supporting roles on Broadway in "Volpone" (1957), "Only in America" (1959) and "Seidman and Son" (1962) and in films including "The Hustler" (1961, playing a bartender) and "Mad Dog Coll" (1961, playing Dutch Schultz). He won a Tony for his performance in Neil Simon's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" in 1972 and earned a New York Film Critics Award and his first Oscar nomination as the baseball team manager in "Bang the Drum Slowly" (1973). His second nomination came as Cher's philandering father in "Moonstruck" (1987). Gardenia appeared in many other Simon plays including "God's Favorite", in a role written specially for him by the playwright. He is perhaps best known as Archie Bunker's loquacious, ever-singing, culinary buff neighbor Frank Lorenzo on the CBS perennial, "All in the Family".
Gardenia spent a considerable portion of his career playing huffy but good-hearted police officers, detectives, and station captains in TV movies including "Cops" (1973), "Muggable Mary: Street Cop" (1982), "The Dark Mirror" (1984) and "Brass" (1985), and films such as "Heaven Can Wait" (1978). His final film appearance was as the father of Joe Pesci in "The Super" (1991).
Profession(s):
Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
Vincente Scognamiglio
Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special "Age-Old Friends" 1989 - 1990
New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actor "Bang the Drum Slowly" 1973
Tony Actor, Supporting or Featured (Dramatic) "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" 1972
OBIE Award Distinguished Performance "Passing Through Exotic Places" 1969 - 1970
OBIE Award Distinguished Performance (Actor) "Machinal" 1959 - 1960
1992 Was appearing onstage in "Breaking Legs" in Philadelphia at the time of his death
1987 Was featured as Cher's father in "Moonstruck"
1983 Played J. Edgar Hoover in the NBC mini-series, "Kennedy"
1958 Returned to feature films; played first notable film role in "Cop Hater"
1958 First acted on Broadway in "The Visit"
1956 Enjoyed a career breakthrough with the role of Piggy in the off-Broadway production of "The Man with the Golden Arm"
1945 Appeared in a bit part as one of the trainee spies in "The House on 92nd Street"; uncredited
1927 Played first (amateur) stage role at age five at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Brooklyn, a shoeshine boy in "Shoe Shine"
1924 Family emigrated to the US when Gardenia was two; settled in Brooklyn (date approximate)
Served as a private in the US Army
Was active as a nonprofessional in New York's Italian-language theatre
Portrayed Frank Lorenzo on popular CBS sitcom, "All in the Family"
Played Ray Stohler on the ABC comedy drama, "Breaking Away" (based on the film of the same name)