BloG
Stories & Articles about Italian Americans who have contributed to the entertainment industry.
Burt Young – Italian American Actor
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...
Cyndi Lauper – Italian American Musician
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...
John Saxon – Italian American Actor
John Saxon, was born Carmine Orrico in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian Immigrants Antonio Orrico, a dock worker, and Anna Protettore. He started acting in films during the mid-1950s, playing teenage roles. Agent Henry Willson saw Saxon's picture on the cover of a...
Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello was born in 1942, in Utica, New York to Italian Americans Virginia and Joseph. Annette grew up with a love of dancing and entertaining. When she was just 12 years old, she was cast as the lead in a local production of the ballet Swan Lake. Walt...
D’Addario Family – Musical Instrument String Makers
Being a guitar player, I’ve used D’Addario strings for years. The other day, while I was playing my guitar, I was wondering if there was Italian American guitar maker. That’s when I looked at my strings and realized D’Addario is Italian. Here’s some information about...
Dom DeLuise – Italian American Actor
Dominick DeLuise was born in 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Vincenza DeStefano and John DeLuise. DeLuise graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts and later attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts where he majored...
Jimmy Durante – Italian American Actor
James Francis Durante was born in 1893 on the Lower East Side of New York City. He was the youngest of four children born to Rosa (Lentino) and Bartolomeo Durante, both of whom were immigrants from Salerno, Italy. Durante dropped out of school in seventh grade to...
Harry Warren – Italian American Songwriter
Salvatore Antonio Guaragna (Harry Warren) was born in 1893. He was one of eleven children of Italian immigrants Antonio and Rachel De Luca Guaragna, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. His father changed the family name to Warren when Harry was a child. Although his...
Dick Contino
When I was growing up, my grandfather used to listen to the song “Lady of Spain,” and that is how I got introduced to Dick Contino. My grandfather used to tell me stories about how he was able to perform with Dick Contino in the 70’s at the Festa Italiana in our...
Frank Capra – Italian American Film Director
One of my favorite movies of the Golden Age of Hollywood is Arsenic and Old Lace. When looking for Italian American film directors, I came across the name Frank Capra. While I’d heard this name before, I never realized all the movies he directed, including Arsenic and...
Walter Lantz – Italian American Animator
Walter Benjamin Lantz was born in 1899 in New Rochelle, New York, to Italian immigrant parents, Francesco Paolo Lantz (formerly Lanza) and Maria Gervasi from Calitri. Lantz's father was given his new surname by an immigration official. At the age of 15, Lantz was...
Adriana Caselotti – The Voice of Snow White
Adriana Caselotti was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Italian American immigrants. Her father, Guido Caselotti, was an immigrant from Udine, and worked as a teacher of music and a vocal coach. Her mother, Maria Orefice, from Naples, was a singer in the Royal Opera...