Joe De Santis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Vito DeSantis (born June 15, 1909 in New York City, New York) was an American radio, television, movie and theatrical actor and sculptor.
[edit] Biography
Joe DeSantis was born Joseph Vito Marcello DeSantis on 15 June 1909, to Italian immigrant parents in New York City. His father, Pasquale DeSantis, was a tailor; his mother, Maria Paoli, worked in a paper flower factory. He worked his way through New York University studying sculpture and drama, his first performances being in Italian. After obtaining a part in a play at Hunter College, he secured work as an actor for three seasons with the Walter Hampden Repertory Company, which marked the beginning of his performances in English. His career in broadcasting began in May of 1940 with Pepper Young's Family, and continued with major network shows including Mr. District Attorney, March of Time, Gangbusters, Kate Smith, and many others. One of his most important contributions to the industry was his narration of Norman Corwin's On a Note of Triumph , broadcast nationwide at the conclusion of World War II. He was inducted into the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters'[1] Diamond Circle in 1985. During his early years he also did numerous Italian-language broadcasts. Joe also made several contributions to "Remember Radio", a column in one of the trade publications of the day.
With the advent of television, Joe became known as a skilled character actor who could play convincing dialect characters, mugs, suave heavies and emotional leads. He was extremely active in early television, taking featured roles on several Playhouse 90 and Studio One productions, and appearing regularly on the Red Buttons, Martha Raye and Sid Caesar shows. In addition to many single performances on other TV series, Joe had a recurring presence in such shows as The Untouchables, 77 Sunset Strip, Gunsmoke and Bonanza. One of his choicest moments came while playing a role with Frank Sinatra, a performer whom he greatly admired, on a made-for-TV movie, Contract on Cherry Street. At one point during the filming, Mr. Sinatra remarked to Joe, "You should have played the Godfather." Joe cherished this comment to the end of his days.
Joe also played in numerous movies. The high point of his career came in 1962 with Cold Wind in August, and he also featured in I Want to Live, Al Capone, and The Brotherhood, to name a few. Joe was an active member of the Players' Club in New York, and the Masquers' Club in Los Angeles.
In 1935 Joe married Miriam Moss, an actress; they had one son, David, and later divorced. In 1949 he married Margaret Draper, also an actress, whom he met while both were playing parts on Pepper Young's Family. They had one son, Christopher, and divorced in 1956, at which time Joe moved to California to pursue his work in television and films. In 1959 he married Wanda Slye who preceded him in death in 1977.
Joe retired in Provo, Utah in 1978 to be close to family, and resided there until his death in 1989. Along with sculpting, he contributed regularly to the activities of the Provo Eldred Center. Joe was a heavy smoker for much of his life and suffered from chronic bronchitis and borderline emphysema; he died in 1989 of chronic obstructive lung disease at the age of 80.
Offbeat Trivia: In the liner notes to Frank Zappa's first album, Freak Out, one finds "These People Have Contributed Materially in Many Ways to Make Our Music What it is. Please Do Not Hold it Against them." Joe's name is listed along with many others. The only clue I have found to his being the recipient of this dubious honor is found in an interview [2] with Carl Franzoni, a vocalist for whom the first song on that album, Hungry Freaks, Daddy was written. Franzoni and Zappa were acquainted with Vito Paulekas, a sculptor and dancer and the L.A. freak scene guru in the early sixties. Apparently certain movie stars, Joe included, would come to Vito's studio to sculpt, and somehow something about Joe stuck in Zappa's mind.
