Tony Rosato facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tony Rosato
Born	(1954-12-26)26 December 1954 Naples, Campania, Italy
Died	10 January 2017(2017-01-10) (aged 62) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor, comedian
Years active	1975–2017
Spouse(s)	Leah Murray ​ ​ (m. 2003; div. 2010)​
Children	1

Antonio Rosato (26 December 1954 – 10 January 2017) was an Italian-Canadian actor and comedian, who appeared in television and films. He was best known as a cast member on both SCTV and Saturday Night Live, and for voicing Luigi in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.

Early life and career beginnings

Rosato was born in Naples, Italy, and came to Canada at age four. He was raised in Halifax, Ottawa, and Toronto. He graduated from Oakwood Collegiate Institute. He planned to study chiropractic medicine, but dropped out of the University of Toronto after he began doing improv comedy at The Second City.

Career

Rosato first gained attention when he and Robin Duke joined the cast of the first incarnation of SCTV in its final season during the fall of 1980. His most well-known character on the program was the TV chef Marcello Sebastiano. Rosato then moved with Duke to the cast of Saturday Night Live for the 1981–82 season. Following Jean Doumanian's tenure during the sixth season and Dick Ebersol trying to retool the show (and relying on Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo to spice up the sketches), Rosato only appeared on the show for one year before leaving due to differences with Ebersol and an expired contract.

Rosato is one of three SCTV cast members (along with Duke and, later, Martin Short) to appear on Saturday Night Live and the first SNL cast member to not be born in either the United States or Canada. Celebrities impersonated by Rosato on SCTV include: Lou Costello (whom he also impersonated when he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live), William Conrad, Danny Thomas, Woodstock co-organizer Chip Monck, SNL cast member John Belushi, Tony Orlando, Don Ho, and Ella Fitzgerald. His characters on SNL, despite his short tenure, were memorable as well, and included Ed Asner (in character as Lou Grant), Captain Kangaroo, and U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese.

In 1983, he starred as Aldo, the busboy in the short-lived Bea Arthur series, Amanda's. The show was based on Fawlty Towers but was not well-received by audiences and was cancelled after 10 episodes.

Rosato next appeared on the Canadian police drama Night Heat, playing Arthur "Whitey" Morelli from 1985 through 1989. He continued to appear in television and film throughout the 1990s.

Voice work

In autumn of 1990, Rosato portrayed Nintendo's character Luigi on DiC's television show The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (based on Super Mario Bros. 3). He continued his role as Luigi in 1991 for the Super Mario World cartoon. Rosato had a small voice part in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis as Dario Rosso and the titular creature. In Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders, he voiced Dharak.

Rosato also provided voices for many other animated series including Pelswick, George and Martha, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, The Adventures of Sam and Max: Freelance Police, Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend, Monster by Mistake, The Ripping Friends, Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge, Da Boom Crew, Get Ed and Odd Job Jack.

Personal life

Rosato married Leah Murray on 31 December 2003; together they have a daughter. After seven years together, Rosato and Murray's marriage ended in a divorce in 2010.

Death

Rosato died of a heart attack on 10 January 2017, at the age of 62. Saturday Night Live paid tribute to Rosato at the end of its 14 January 2017 episode.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games