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List of Italian-American actors

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Italian American actors or must have references showing they are Italian American actors and are notable. As discussed in the 2005 book Hollywood Italians by Peter E. Bondanella, as well as numerous other sources, Italian-American actors have made a significant impact. The Guild of Italian American Actors was founded in 1937.

Background

Some Italian-American film directors of the silent film era included Robert Vignola, Gregory LaCava, Frank Borzage (Borzaga) and Frank Capra. Italian-American actors included Enrico Caruso in the cultural legitimation of American silent cinema, to Rudolph (Rodolfo) Valentino.

The American film Renaissance (New Hollywood) in the 1970s coincided with Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973) and Coppola's The Godfather (1972), Giuliana Muscio attributes this to Italian Americans becoming better educated and more affluent after World War II.

Muscio connects the prominence of Italian-American director-actors to the ' of traditional Italian theatre. Such director-actors include: Danny DeVito, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Vincent Gallo, Al Pacino, Stanley Tucci, Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Gary Sinise, Anne Bancroft, and Madonna.

List

The list is organized chronologically, listing Italian American actors by birth date periods.

1880

  • Henry Armetta (1888–1945). movie character actor who appeared in at least 150 films, starting in silents as early as 1915. In 1938, he played in Everybody Sing with Judy Garland, Allan Jones, and Fanny Brice. In 1941, he was hilarious as the father of an Italian family shopping for beds in "The Big Store" with the Marx Brothers and Tony Martin. He appeared in at least 24 films in 1934 alone, sometimes uncredited.
  • Eduardo Ciannelli (1888–1969) was an Italian baritone and character actor with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals

1890

1900s

  • Don Ameche (Amici) (1908–1993) 50% Italian, actor and director
  • Peter Brocco (1903 – 1992) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 credits, notably Spartacus (1960) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
  • Iron Eyes Cody (Espera Decorti) (1907–1999) son of Sicilian parents – actor, frequently played Native Americans
  • Jerry Colonna (1904–1986) actor, entertainer, musician
  • Russ Columbo (1908–1934) singer, violinist and actor, perhaps most famous for his signature tune, "You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love", and the legend surrounding his early death
  • Lou Costello (Cristillo) (1906–1959) 62.5% Italian, 25% Irish, and 12.5% French – actor and comedian known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello
  • Renata Vanni (1909–2004) was born in Naples, Campania, Italy

1910s

  • Robert Alda (Alfonso Roberto D'Abruzzo) (1914–1986) actor, father of Alan Alda
  • Miriam Battista (1912–1980) daughter of Italian immigrants – child actress of the silent film era
  • Ernest Borgnine (Borgnino) (1917–2012) Academy Award-winning actor
  • Adriana Caselotti (1916–1997) actress known for providing the voice behind the lead character in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Richard Conte (1910–1975) film actor
  • Ann Corio (1914–1999) burlesque stripper and actress
  • Alfred Drake (1914-1992) Born Alfred Capurro. Famous Broadway star of many hit musicals and plays.
  • Dean Martin (Crocetti) (1917–1995) actor/singer, member of the Rat Pack
  • Victor Mature (1913–1999) Italian father – film actor described as a "hunk" whose sculpted, classical features and curly hair resembled ancient Roman statues.
  • Al Molinaro (1919–2015) son of Italian parents – actor (The Odd Couple, Happy Days)
  • Vito Scotti (1918–1996), was an American character actor
  • Frank Sinatra (1915–1998) his parents' Italian heritage included a Sicilian father and a mother from Liguria in northern Italy- actor and singer who many consider to be one of the finest male popular song vocalists of all time

1920s

  • Kaye Ballard (Balotta) (1925–2019) stage and television actress
  • Billy Barty (Bertanzetti) (1924–2000) film actor
  • Tony Bennett (Benedetto) (1926–2023) popular music, standards, jazz singer and actor (The Oscar)
  • Joseph Campanella (1924–2018) actor
  • Timothy Carey (Agoglia) (1929–1994) Irish father and Italian mother – film and television character actor (Peeper)
  • Richard Crenna (1926–2003) film actor (First Blood)
  • Yvonne De Carlo (Margaret Yvonne Middleton) (1922–2007) 25% Italian
  • Linda Douglas (Mary Joanne Tarola) (1928–2017) her mother was a native of Alaska, born to Swedish immigrants, while her father was originally from Italy.
  • Vince Edwards (Zoine) (1928–1996) actor, director, and singer
  • Anthony Franciosa (Papaleo) (1928–2006) film/television actor, often billed as "Tony Franciosa"
  • Vincent Gardenia (Scognamiglia) (1922–1992) stage, film, and television actor
  • Michael V. Gazzo (1923–1995) actor and Broadway playwright
  • Mario Lanza (Alfredo Cocozza) (1921–1959) tenor and Hollywood movie star who enjoyed success in the late 1940s and 1950s
  • Al Lettieri (1928–1975) film/television actor (The Godfather)
  • Peggy Mondo (1927–1991) actress known for playing roles of overweight characters
  • Henry Silva (1926–2022) actor of Sicilian and Spanish descent

1930s

  • Danny Aiello (1933–2019) film/television actor
  • Alan Alda (born 1936) actor, writer, director and political activist – father of Italian descent
  • Anne Bancroft (Italiano) (1931–2005) Academy Award-winning actress
  • Robert Blake (Gubitosi) (1933-2023) film actor, perhaps most famous for starring in the U.S. television series Baretta, and for being found not guilty of the murder of wife Bonnie Lee Bakley
  • Joseph Bologna (1934–2017) film/television actor
  • Ruth Buzzi (1936–2025), actress, singer and comedian
  • Ron Carey (Cicenia) (1935–2007) film and television actor (Barney Miller)
  • John Cazale (1935–1978) film actor (The Godfather) – father of Italian descent
  • Dominic Chianese (born 1931) television actor (The Sopranos)
  • Mary Costa (born 1930) American singer and actress, who is best known for providing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 film, Sleeping Beauty.
  • Bobby Darin (Cassoto) (1936–1973) actor, singer and one of the most popular rock and roll American teen idols of the 1950s – maternal grandfather was of Italian ancestry, unclear who Darin's biological father was
  • James Darren (Ercolani) (1936–2024) television and film actor, television director, and singer
  • Dom DeLuise (1933–2009) comic actor
  • Connie Francis (Franconero) (1938–2025) actress and pop singer, known for her 1957 hit "Who's Sorry Now?"
  • Ben Gazzara (1930–2012) son of Sicilian parents, film/television actor
  • Joan Hackett (1934–1983) American actress of stage, television and film. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1981, Italian mother
  • Tony Lo Bianco (1936–2024) film and television actor (The French Connection)
  • Robert Loggia (1930–2015), actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Jagged Edge (1985)
  • Garry Marshall (Masciarelli) (1934–2016) Italian-American father and part Scottish mother—actor, director, and writer – brother of Penny Marshall
  • Sal Mineo (1939–1976) son of Sicilian parents – actor and theater director known for his Academy Award-nominated supporting performances in Rebel Without a Cause and Exodus
  • Tony Musante (1936–2013) stage, television, and film actor
  • Dino Natali (born 1931), stage, television, and film actor
  • Paula Prentiss (Ragusa) (born 1938) film actress – father of Italian ancestry
  • Paul Sorvino (1939–2022) actor, father of Mira Sorvino
  • Connie Stevens (Ingoglia) (born 1938) Italian father and Irish mother – actress and singer
  • Marlo Thomas (born 1937) Lebanese father and Italian mother
  • Joe Viterelli (1937-2004) actor, son of Italian immigrants

1940s

  • Tony Sirico (1942-2022) portrayed Paulie Gualtieri in The Sopranos.
  • Marc Alaimo (born 1942) television/film actor (')
  • Armand Assante (born 1949) Italian father and Irish mother – film/television actor (Mambo Kings)
  • Frankie Avalon (Avallone) (born 1940) actor and teen idol in the 1950s and early 1960s
  • Joy Behar (Josephina Ochiuto) (born 1943) actress, comedian, co-host of The View
  • Robert De Niro (born 1943) 25% Italian ancestry – two time Academy Award-winning American film actor, director, producer and founder of the Tribeca Film Festival (Goodfellas)
  • Danny DeVito (born 1944) actor, director, Oscar nominated producer (Matilda)
  • Dennis Farina (1944–2013) son of Sicilian parents – film/television actor (Get Shorty)
  • Annette Funicello (1942–2013) actress, was Walt Disney's most popular Mouseketeer
  • Bruno Kirby (Quidaciolu) (1949–2006) son of Sicilian parents – film actor (The Godfather Part II)
  • Susan Lucci (born 1946) 50% Italian and part Swedish - Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress, who has been called "Daytime's Leading Lady" and "The Queen of Daytime"
  • Patti LuPone (born 1949) singer and actress
  • Joe Mantegna (born 1947) film/television actor (The Godfather Part III)
  • Penny Marshall (Masciarelli) (1943–2018) Italian-American father and part Scottish mother – actress, producer and director, sister of Garry Marshall
  • Lynne Marta (1945–2024), was an American actress and singer.
  • Al Pacino (born 1940) son of Sicilian parents – Academy Award-winning film actor (The Godfather)
  • Vincent Pastore (born 1946) son of Sicilian parents – film/television actor, often cast as a mobster (The Sopranos)
  • Joe Pesci (born 1943) Academy Award-winning actor, comedian and singer who is often typecast as a violent mobster or funnyman (Goodfellas, Casino)
  • Bernadette Peters (Lazzara) (born 1948) actress and singer
  • Gianni Russo (born 1943) actor. He is best known for his role as Carlo Rizzi in the 1972 film The Godfather.
  • Susan Sarandon (born 1946) mother of Italian ancestry – Academy Award-winning film actress (Thelma and Louise)
  • Vincent Schiavelli (1948–2005) was an American character actor described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome in childhood.
  • Talia Shire (born 1946) film actress, sister of Francis Ford Coppola (Rocky)
  • Nancy Sinatra (born 1940) singer and actress
  • Bruce Springsteen (born 1949) 50% Italian, 25% Irish and part Dutch – singer and actor
  • Sylvester Stallone (born 1946) film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for Rocky and Rambo
  • Daniel J. Travanti (born 1940) son of Italian immigrants – film/television actor (Hill Street Blues)
  • Victoria Vetri (born 1944) model and actress

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

See also

References

  • Peter Bogdanella, Hollywood Italians: Dagos, Palookas, Romeos, Wise Guys, and Sopranos, New York: The Continuum IPG, 2004 –
  • Victoria Thomas, Hollywood's Latin Lovers: Latino, Italian, and French Men Who Make the Screen Smolder, Santa Monica: Angel City Press, 1998 –

Footnotes