Jay Novello (August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor.
Born in Chicago as Michael Romano, of Italian descent, Novello began his career as a radio actor, playing Jack Packard on the Hollywood version of I Love a Mystery for a brief period, circa 1944. However, he usually put his suave, cultured voice and dexterity at accents to use in supporting roles, usually ethnic, on a variety of series. He was heard regularly on Rocky Jordan, (as Cairo police captain Lt. Sam Sabaaya), the radio version of The Lone Wolf (as Jamison the butler), and the long-running serial One Man's Family (as Judge Glenn Hunter). He was also heard on Escape, Crime Classics, Lux Radio Theater, Suspense, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, among others.
In film, Novello alternated between pompous or fussy professionals and assorted ethnic roles, often as Italian or Hispanic characters. One of his earliest and more familiar film appearances is in the 1945 Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bullfighters, in which Novello plays a Latin restaurateur. Though prolific in the movies, Novello was limited mostly to bits in minor films, one of his more noteworthy assignments being the officious Spanish consul in Frank Capra's Pocketful of Miracles.
Besides several appearances on CBS's I Love Lucy, Novello guest starred on a 1952 episode of CBS's espionage drama Biff Baker, U.S.A., starring Alan Hale, Jr. He appeared too on NBC's Northwest Passage series, based on the work of Major Robert Rogers in the French and Indian War. He appeared in 1956 on NBC's western anthology series Frontier in the episode "The Texicans". About this time, he also guest starred in Brian Keith's first series, Crusader, a Cold War drama. In 1957, he guest starred in Frank Lovejoy's NBC detective series, Meet McGraw.[1]
He appeared in the syndicated crime drama, Johnny Midnight, starring Edmond O'Brien. Novello appeared twice on The Andy Griffith Show (as the main character in the episode entitled "Guest of Honor", and as an opportunist lawyer in "Otis Sues the County"), and an early guest spot on the television incarnation of Gangbusters (as famed bank robber Willie Sutton), he was a regular on McHale's Navy as the con artist Mayor Mario Lugatto of Volta Fiore, Italy.
He appeared in the episode of Climax!, Escape From Fear, and had a recurring role on Zorro as Juan Greco. Novello also appeared in several episodes of "Lawman".
He died at age 78 in 1982 and is interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.