Frank Puglia
Frank Puglia (born March 9, 1892 in Linguaglossa , Sicily , † October 25, 1975 in South Pasadena , California ) was an Italian - American actor.
life and career
As a member of a traveling opera group, Frank Puglia appeared on stage for the first time at the age of 13. Born in Sicily, Puglia emigrated to the USA with his family in 1907. There he initially worked as a washer, but eventually found entry into an Italian-speaking theater group in New York City . When Puglia appeared in the play The Two Orphans by Adolphe d'Ennery and Eugène Cormon about the turmoil of the French Revolution, he was discovered by star director David Wark Griffith , who was planning a film adaptation of the play. In this film version , Puglia made his film debut in the supporting role of Pierre Frochard in 1921 on the side of Lillian and Dorothy Gish . Puglia's character was originally supposed to die a film death, but the viewers in the previews were so taken with his portrayal that Griffith ultimately let her survive. Three years later Griffith and Puglia collaborated again on the socially critical melodrama Isn't life wonderful? .
After the sound film began in the late 1920s, the roles for Puglia were mostly smaller. Because of his accent, he mainly played exotic southern characters; often priests, diplomats, aristocrats or musicians. In the 1940s he had supporting roles in films such as In the Sign of Zorro , Tarzan, Conqueror of the Desert , Ali Baba and the forty robbers and letters from the afterlife . In the classic film Casablanca (1942) he made a striking brief appearance as a Moroccan carpet dealer negotiating prices with Ingrid Bergman . The character actor's larger film roles included "the scholar" in the 1942 film adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book and the zoologist Dr. Leonardo in the monster film The Beast from Space from 1957. From the 1950s, Puglia also appeared regularly in front of the camera as a guest actor in US television series such as Bonanza , A Thousand Miles of Dust , The Boss and Columbo .
A later highlight for Puglia could have been the role of the undertaker Bonasera in the opening scene of The Godfather (1972) ( "I believe in America. I got rich in America ..." ). However, Puglia had to stop filming due to illness and was replaced at short notice by Salvatore Corsitto . The actor played his last role in 1975 in the crime film What good is a beef steak for a dead dog? next to Dean Martin . He died that same year at the age of 83. In total, he had participated in almost 240 film and television productions in the course of his long career.
Frank Puglia was buried next to his wife Irene (1892–1973) in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood .
Filmography (selection)
- 1921: Two Orphans of the Storm
- 1924: Fascination
- 1924: Isn't Life Wonderful? (Isn't Life Wonderful)
- 1924: The Wedding of Florence (Romola)
- 1928: The Man Who Laughs (The Man Who Laughs)
- 1933: Dinner at Eight (Dinner at Eight)
- 1934: In golden chains (Chained)
- 1934: Men in White
- 1934: cry of the harried (Viva Villa!)
- 1935: Under the pirate flag (Captain Blood)
- 1935: City on the border (Border Town)
- 1936: The Garden of Allah (The Garden of Allah)
- 1936: Love on the Run
- 1936: Between Hate and Love (His Brother's Wife)
- 1936: His secretary (Wife vs. Secretary)
- 1937: Maienzeit (Maytime)
- 1937: Tarantella (The Firefly)
- 1937: In the seventh heaven (Seventh Heaven)
- 1937: The Bride Wore Red (The Bride Wore Red)
- 1938: Mannequin
- 1938: Dramatic School
- 1938: Burning Fire of Passion (The Shining Hour)
- 1938: Three Sisters from Montana (The Sisters)
- 1938: Pirates in Alaska (Spawn of the North)
- 1939: In Name Only (In Name Only)
- 1939: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- 1940: The Fatal Hour
- 1940: Behind the News
- 1940: Arise, My Love
- 1940: Gallop into Luck (Down Argentine Way)
- 1940: The Mark of Zorro (The Mark of Zorro)
- 1940: Charlie Chan in Panama
- 1940: Tropical Zone (Torrid Zone)
- 1941: The Last Bandit (Billy the Kid)
- 1942: Casablanca
- 1942: Journey from the Past (Now, Voyager)
- 1942: Hunted by Agents (Journey into Fear)
- 1942: In the shadow of the heart (Always in My Heart)
- 1942: The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book)
- 1943: Phantom of the Opera
- 1943: The Pilot and the Princess (Princess O'Rourke)
- 1943: Spy on the Orient Express (Background to Danger)
- 1943: Whom the Bell Tolls (For Whom the Bell Tolls)
- 1943: Action in the North Atlantic (Action in the North Atlantic)
- 1943: Tarzan, Conqueror of the Desert (Tarzan's Desert Mystery)
- 1944: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
- 1944: Brazilian Serenade (Brazil)
- 1944 dragon's (Dragon Seed)
- 1944: With rifle and lasso (Tall in the Saddle)
- 1944: Ticket to Marseille (Passage to Marseille)
- 1945: A Roughly Speaking Woman
- 1945: Espionage in the Far East (Blood on the Sun)
- 1945: Polonaise (A Song to Remember)
- 1945: Weekend at the Waldorf (Week-End at the Waldorf)
- 1947: The Road to Rio (Road to Rio)
- 1947: Letters from Beyond (The Lost Moment)
- 1947: Cell R 17 (Brute Force)
- 1947: Mexican Nights (Fiesta)
- 1947: Detective with Small Flaws (My Favorite Brunette)
- 1948: Johanna von Orleans (Joan of Arc)
- 1949: outlawed (Colorado Territory)
- 1949: The black devils of Baghdad (Baghdad)
- 1950: Captain Carey, USA
- 1950: Blood feud in New York (Black Hand)
- 1953: The Caddy
- 1954: The skirt-hunter of Venice (Casanova's Big Night)
- 1954: A new star in the sky (A Star Is Born)
- 1956: Horizon in Flames (The Burning Hills)
- 1956: The First Texan
- 1957: The Beast from Space (20 Million Miles to Earth)
- 1958: The Black Orchid (The Black Orchid)
- 1960: A Thousand Miles of Dust (TV series, 1 episode)
- 1962: Girls! Girls! Girls!
- 1965: The Sword of Ali Baba
- 1966: Bonanza (TV series, 1 episode)
- 1967: The Spy in the Green Hat
- 1970: The Boss (TV series, 1 episode)
- 1970–1971: To Rome with Love (TV series, 4 episodes)
- 1973: Columbo - Wine is thicker than blood ( Any Old Port in a Storm ; TV movie)
- 1975: What use is a beef steak to a dead dog? (Mr. Ricco)
Web links
- Frank Puglia in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Frank Puglia at Allmovie
- ↑ Frank Puglia at Find A Grave
- ↑ The Godfather Legacy by Harlan Lebo, on Google Books
- ↑ Frank Puglia at Find A Grave
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Puglia, Frank |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian-American actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 9, 1892 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Sicily , Italy |
DATE OF DEATH | October 25, 1975 |
Place of death | South Pasadena , California , United States |