Richard Jeni – Italian American Comedian

Richard Jeni – Italian American Comedian

by | Oct 1, 2020 | Blog, Comedy, Television

Richard John Colangelo, better known by his stage name Richard Jeni, was born in 1957. Jeni was raised in an Italian-American Roman Catholic family in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He graduated with honors from Hunter College, earning a bachelor’s degree in comparative politics. After graduating, Jeni went on to do public relations work, but was let go from five different firms in two years before doing an open-mic night in Brooklyn and deciding to pursue standup comedy as a career in 1982.

Jeni first received recognition through a series of Showtime stand-up specials and frequent appearances on The Tonight Show. After making his The Tonight Show debut in 1988 with Johnny Carson, Jeni would return often and later made appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, with more appearances than any other stand-up comedian. In 1989, he won Comedy USA’s Best Nightclub Comedian, as voted by comedy club owners and comedians, and his first Showtime special Richard Jeni: The Boy From New York City won a CableACE Award.

Top executives at HBO picked up his first appearance on The HBO Comedy Hour in 1992, titled Richard Jeni: Platypus Man. The show was well received, and Jeni returned for two more shows, going on to receive another CableACE Award for one of his HBO specials. Jeni starred in the short-lived 1995 UPN sitcom Platypus Man and appeared in the Jim Carrey film The Mask. He appeared in The Aristocrats, Dad’s Week Off, An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, and Chasing Robert. 

In 2004, Jeni was ranked #57 on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. Jeni passed away on March 10, 2007.

Beverly D’Angelo – Italian American Actress

Beverly D’Angelo – Italian American Actress

by | Sep 30, 2020 | Blog, Film, Television

Beverly Heather D’Angelo was born in 1951 in Columbus, Ohio. Her parents were Priscilla and Eugene Constantino “Gene” D’Angelo, a bass player and television station manager at WBNS-TV in Columbus. 

D’Angelo worked as an illustrator at Hanna-Barbera Studios and as a singer before pursuing acting. While living for a period in Canada, she was a backup singer for American-born rockabilly singer Rompin’ Ronnie Hawkins’ band The Hawks. After going out on their own they became The Band.

D’Angelo began acting in the theatre, appearing on Broadway in 1976 in Rockabye Hamlet, a musical based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. She made her television debut in the first three episodes of the TV mini-series Captains and the Kings in 1976.

After gaining a minor role in Annie Hall in 1977, D’Angelo appeared in a string of hit movies in the late 1970s including Every Which Way But Loose, Hair, and Coal Miner’s Daughter, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Patsy Cline. 

Her biggest break came in 1983 starring with Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s Vacation in the role of Ellen Griswold. She reprised this role in four Vacation sequels and a short film between 1985 and 2015. In the 1980s she starred in many other major comedy films; in the mid-1990s she acted primarily in independent movies. In 1994 D’Angelo returned to the stage and won a Theatre World Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway play Simpatico.

She received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Stella Kowalski in the 1984 TV movie version of A Streetcar Named Desire. From 2005–11 D’Angelo appeared in the HBO series Entourage playing the role of agent Barbara “Babs” Miller. 

Burt Young – Italian American Actor

Burt Young – Italian American Actor

by | Sep 29, 2020 | Blog, Film, Television

Gerald Tommaso DeLouise was born in Queens, New York, the son of Josephine and Michael, both of Italian descent. DeLouise served a tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps from 1957 to 1959. While in the Marine Corps, he won 32 of 34 boxing bouts. He later turned pro and compiled a 17–0 record under three different aliases. 

DeLouise went by his stage name, Burt Young, and made his name playing rough-edged working class Italian-American characters, the best-known example being his signature role as Rocky Balboa’s friend (and future brother-in-law) Paulie in Rocky (1976), for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He is one of four actors (the other three being Sylvester Stallone, Stu Nahan and Tony Burton) who have appeared in all of the first six Rocky films. 

He has played similar roles in Chinatown, Convoy, Back to School, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Once Upon a Time in America, Last Exit to Brooklyn, and Downtown: A Street Tale. Young has also appeared in many television programs, including The Rockford Files, Baretta, Law & Order, Walker, Texas Ranger, and M*A*S*H. 

In 2017, Burt Young returned to the stage as an aged mob boss in The Last Vig, a play written by Dave Varriale. The show ran from January 14 to February 19, 2017, in Los Angeles. 

Young is also a painter; his art has been displayed in galleries throughout the world. As an artist, he has collaborated with the writer Gabriele Tinti, for whom he designed the cover for the poetry collection All Over, as well as contributing the illustrations for the art book A Man.

Young is also a published author whose works include two filmed screenplays and a 400-page historical novel called Endings. Young is a widower and has one daughter and one grandson. He lives in Port Washington, New York.

Cyndi Lauper – Italian American Musician

Cyndi Lauper – Italian American Musician

by | Sep 27, 2020 | Blog, Musicians

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper was born on June 22, 1953. Her mother, Catrine Gallo, is an Italian American whose family is from Sicily. She dropped out of high school and moved out on her own when she was 17. She began singing in local cover bands and working odd jobs to make ends meet. In 1977, she damaged her vocal chords and was told that she would never be able to sing again. She ignored her doctor’s warnings and sought help from opera singer Katherine Agresta who was able to train and help Cyndi sing again.

In 1983, Cyndi released her first solo album: She’s So Unusual. The album became an international hit, selling over 5 million copies in the U.S. alone and snagging a Grammy for new solo artist. She also became the first female artist to have four Top 5 singles on a debut album (with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “She Bop,” and “All Through the Night”).

Following her success in the 80s, Cyndi branched out into acting. She met actor David Thornton on the set of one of her films and the two married in November 1991. In 1995, Cyndi won an Emmy Award for her role in the television series Mad About You. During the 90s, she would also go on to release several more records. Cyndi also wrote the music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical Kinky Boots. In 2013, the musical won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. She has also co-founded several charities and regularly works with nonprofits.

SOURCES: CYNDI LAUPER OFFICIAL SITE, ROLLING STONE, THE NEW YORK TIMES, OSIA