Robert Alda
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| Robert Alda | |
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 Robert Alda's record release of Italian songs
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| Born | February 26, 1914 New York, New York, USA |
| Died | May 3, 1986 Los Angeles, California, USA |
Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo, February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an American actor and father of actor Alan Alda.
Alda, an Italian American, started out as a singer and dancer in vaudeville and burlesque. He is known for portraying George Gershwin in the 1945 film Rhapsody in Blue. He was very successful in Broadway theatre, starring in productions including Guys and Dolls (for which he won a Tony Award) and What Makes Sammy Run?.
He moved to Italy in the early 1960s and appeared in many successful European films over the next two decades, occasionally returning to the U.S. for appearances such as in the 1969 film The Girl Who Knew Too Much.
Alda's wife, Joan Brown, was crowned Miss New York in a beauty pageant; one of their children is actor Alan Alda.
Robert Alda made two guest appearances with his son on M*A*S*H. The first guest appearance was an episode entitiled "The Consultant." The second guest appearance was the episode entitled "Lend a Hand." This episode is of particular note since it also featured Alda's other son by his second wife Flora Martino, Anthony Alda, who is also an actor.
Alda died of a stroke caused by embolism on May 3, 1986, aged 72.
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Categories: American stage actors | American television actors | American film actors | Vaudeville performers | Burlesque performers | M*A*S*H actors | Italian-American actors | Roman Catholic entertainers | Tony Award winners | What's My Line panelists | Stuyvesant High School alumni | Deaths by stroke | 1914 births | 1986 deaths
