BloG
Stories & Articles about Italian Americans who have contributed to the entertainment industry.
Dennis Farina – Italian American Actor
Dennis Farina was born in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood, the fourth son and youngest of the seven children of Joseph and Yolanda Farina. Farina's father, who was from Villalba, Sicily, was a Chicago-area doctor, and his mother a homemaker. The Farinas raised their...
Buddy Valastro – Italian American TV Personality
Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro Jr. was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, and grew up there and in Little Ferry, New Jersey. His mother was born in Altamura, Italy, and is the daughter of Italian-American immigrants who moved to New Jersey when she was six years old. His father,...
John Turturro – Italian American Actor
John Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Katherine Incerella and Nicholas Turturro. His mother was born in the U.S., to Italian parents with roots in Sicily, and was an amateur jazz singer, who had worked in a naval yard during World War II. His father...
Bobby Cannavale – Italian American Actor
Robert Michael Cannavale was born and raised in Union City, New Jersey, the son of Isabel and Salvatore "Sal" Cannavale. His father is of Italian descent, while his mother is Cuban and moved to the U.S. in 1960. He was raised Catholic and attended St. Michael's...
Suzi Quatro – Italian American Musician
Susan Kay Quatro[ was born and raised in Detroit. Her paternal grandfather was an Italian immigrant to the U.S.. Her family name of "Quattrocchi" ("four eyes", meaning "bespectacled") was shortened to Quatro. She was influenced at the age of six by seeing Elvis...
Lou Ferrigno – Italian American Actor
Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Victoria and Matt Ferrigno, a police lieutenant. He is of Italian descent. Soon after he was born, Ferrigno says he believes he suffered a series of ear infections and lost 75 to 80% of his hearing, though his...
Vince Guaraldi – Italian American Musician
On July 17, 1928, Vincent Anthony Dellaglio was born in San Francisco, CA. Vince changed his last name when he was a child to match that of his adoptive father. He attended Lincoln High School and San Francisco State College. During his time in high school and...
Vince Edwards – Italian American Actor
Vince Edward Zoine was born in 1928 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York, to Julia and Vincento Zoine, an Italian-American bricklayer. He and his twin brother, Anthony, were the youngest of seven children. He studied aviation mechanics at East New York...
Jose Greco – Italian American Dancer
José Greco was born in Montorio nei Frentani, Italy of parents, Paolo Emilio Greco and Maria Carmela Bucci. His real name was Costanzo Greco but he later changed it to José Greco. When he was 10 years old, Greco and his family moved to New York City. He began dancing...
Ernest Borgnine – Italian American Actor
Ermes Effron Borgnino was born on January 24, 1917, in Hamden, Connecticut, the son of Italian immigrants. His mother, Anna Boselli hailed from Carpi, near Modena, while his father Camillo Borgnino was a native of Ottiglio near Alessandria. Borgnine's parents...
David Chase – Italian American Director & Producer
David Henry Chase was born into a working-class Italian American family in Mount Vernon, New York. His father Henry Chase, a hardware store owner, had changed his surname from "DeCesare" to "Chase" well before his son was born. He was an only child and grew up in a...
Bob Montana – Italian American Artist
Robert William Montana was born in 1920 in Stockton, California, to Italian American parents Roberta Pandolfini and Ray Montana. Both were in show business: Roberta had been a Ziegfeld girl, and Ray performed banjo on the vaudeville circuit. As a result, Bob Montana...