Henry Armetta

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Henry Armetta (* 4. July 1888 in Palermo , Sicily as Enrico Armetta ; † 21st October 1945 in San Diego , California ) was an Italian - American actor. From 1915 until the end of his life he worked in more than 160 film productions, mainly in small supporting roles.

life and career

Enrico Armetta immigrated to the United States from Italy as a youth in 1902. He changed his first name from Enrico to Henry so that it sounded more American. He initially practiced manual trades until he was hired as a servant and costume sewer at the Lambs Club, a New York club for actors. He made friends with the then Broadway star Raymond Hitchcock, who gave Armetta a small role in his play A Yankee Consul . From then on he worked as an actor in numerous plays. Armetta made his first film The Nigger in 1915, and in the following years he made a few silent films. The corpulent, mustached character actor moved to Hollywood in 1923 and worked there as an actor in almost 170 films until his death. The transition from silent film to sound film at the end of the 1920s was easy for him.

Henry Armetta made a name for himself in Hollywood as the actor of mostly funny and likeable Italians; often in stereotypical roles as landlord, restaurant owner, barber or trader. Most of his appearances were brief but striking. Occasionally he also received leading roles, including in the film Let's Sing Again (1936) with the child actor Bobby Breen . He also played the main character Tony in a number of short film comedies in the early 1930s . Armetta had one of his best-known roles as an exasperated hostel owner in the Laurel and Hardy film Hands Up - Or Not (1933), which tried unsuccessfully all night to try Stan's little skill game, knees, ears, and nose . He also played the father of a large Italian family in The Big Store (1941) with the Marx Brothers who want to buy beds.

Henry Armetta died suddenly of a heart attack in 1945 at the age of 57. He was married to his wife Iole from 1920 until his death and they had three children. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City , California.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Henry Armetta | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved March 14, 2018 .
  2. ^ "Let's Sing Again" at the Internet Movie Database
  3. ^ Henry Armetta | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved March 14, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Armetta, Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Armetta, Enrico (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH 4th July 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Palermo , Sicily
DATE OF DEATH October 21, 1945
Place of death San Diego , California , United States