Ralph Manza

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Ralph Manza (born December 1, 1921 in San Francisco , California , † January 31, 2000 in Encinitas , California) was an American actor .

Life

Manza was studying at the University of California, Berkeley when he was drafted into military service during World War II . During his military service as a medic he discovered his passion for acting and began a career as a character actor in small roles from the mid-1950s. At first he played only minor supporting roles in film and television, sometimes without naming his name in the credits, such as in The Beast and Duel in the Atlantic .

Manza was able to draw attention for the first time in 1959 as one of the leading actors in the crime series The DA's Man produced by Jack Webb . However, the NBC series was canceled after the first season with 26 episodes. Between 1963 and 1965 he was seen in the recurring role of Mike Costello in the soap opera General Hospital . The German-speaking audience could see him from 1973 in the crime series Banacek broadcast on ARD as chauffeur Jay Drury at the side of George Peppard . In 1978 Manza was given another lead role in a series; the Emmy- nominated A.ES Hudson Street hospital series was discontinued after only five episodes produced. From 1985 to 1990 he played the recurring role of Bud on the sitcom Newhart .

Although his film roles were mostly very short, there is a role that film fans may have remembered. In Roland Emmerich's science fiction - Horror - Thriller Godzilla from the 1998 he played a lonely fisherman who hopes to catch a fish on the pier. His big catch then turns out to be Godzilla rising from the ocean. The scene was also used as the first film trailer .

His oeuvre includes more than 175 film and television productions, the last time he appeared as an actor in 2000.

Manza died in hospital from the effects of a heart attack , the spending three weeks earlier to a record while Budweiser - commercial had suffered. He left behind his wife, with whom he was married for 52 years, as well as four children and three grandchildren.

Filmography (selection)

Movie

watch TV

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ralph Manza; Television, Film Character Actor in the Los Angeles Times (English)
  2. ^ Harris M. Lentz III: Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000 , McFarland 2001, ISBN 978-0786410248
personal data
SURNAME Manza, Ralph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 1, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH San Francisco , California
DATE OF DEATH January 31, 2000
Place of death Encinitas , California