Vincent Gardenia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vincent Gardenia
Gardenia at the 1988 Academy Awards
Born	Vincenzo Scognamiglio (1920-01-07)January 7, 1920 Ercolano, Città Metropolitana di Napoli, Campania, Italy
Died	December 9, 1992(1992-12-09) (aged 72) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1945–1992

Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American actor. He was famous for his work in plays, movies, and TV shows.

Vincent Gardenia was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This award is also known as an Oscar! He was nominated for his roles in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) and Moonstruck (1987). He also played Detective Frank Ochoa in the movie Death Wish (1974) and its sequel Death Wish II (1982). Many people also remember him as Mr. Mushnik in the musical movie Little Shop of Horrors (1986).

Some of his other well-known movies include Murder Inc. (1960), The Hustler (1961), and Heaven Can Wait (1978).

In 1990, Vincent Gardenia won an Emmy Award for his role in the TV movie Age-Old Friends. He also won a Tony Award in 1972 for his acting in the play The Prisoner of Second Avenue. These awards show how talented he was on stage and screen!

Early Life

Vincent Gardenia was born Vincenzo Scognamiglio in Ercolano, Italy, on January 7, 1920. When he was almost three years old, his family moved to the United States. They made their new home in Brooklyn, New York.

His father started an acting group that performed plays in Italian. Young Vincent began acting with them at age five. He played a shoeshine boy in his very first role! He continued acting with his father's group until 1960. He learned a lot about acting from these early experiences.

Vincent Gardenia also served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Acting Career

Starting Out

Vincent Gardenia had small parts in early movies like The House on 92nd Street (1945). His first role speaking English was in a Broadway play called In April Once in 1955. He was 36 when he first appeared in an off-Broadway play, The Man with the Golden Arm, in 1956. He felt that his role in the movie Little Murders (1971) was a very important moment in his career. He won special Obie Awards for his acting in 1960 and 1969.

On Stage

Vincent Gardenia was a member of The Actors Studio, a famous place where actors train. In 1972, he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in The Prisoner of Second Avenue. He acted alongside Peter Falk in that play. In 1979, he was nominated for another Tony Award, this time for Best Actor in a Musical, for his performance in Ballroom.

On the Big Screen

Vincent Gardenia was nominated twice for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. These nominations were for his roles in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) and Moonstruck (1987). These are some of the highest honors an actor can receive in movies!

On Television

Before becoming a regular cast member on All in the Family, Gardenia and Rue McClanahan played in a 1972 episode. L–R: McClanahan, Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton and Gardenia

In television, Vincent Gardenia won an Emmy Award in 1990 for his acting in Age-Old Friends. He also played Frank Lorenzo, Archie Bunker's neighbor, on the popular TV show All in the Family (1973–74). Another famous TV role was playing J. Edgar Hoover in the miniseries Kennedy (1983). He also appeared in many other well-known TV shows like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Twilight Zone, Mission: Impossible, and Ironside.

Later Life and Passing

In December 1992, Vincent Gardenia was in Philadelphia to perform in a play called Breaking Legs. He was playing a restaurant owner named Lou Graziano. He had been performing this role since May 1991.

On December 9, 1992, after a performance, Vincent Gardenia returned to his hotel room. The next morning, he did not show up for a radio interview. Friends became worried and went to his hotel room. They found that he had passed away from a heart attack. He was 72 years old.

Even though it was a sad day, the play's opening night still happened, following the theater tradition that "the show must go on." The cast dedicated the performance to Vincent Gardenia. Another actor, Harry Guardino, took over his role.

Vincent Gardenia never married or had children. He had a younger brother named Ralph Frank Scognamiglio. A street in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he lived, is now called Vincent Gardenia Boulevard to honor him.

Film Roles

TV Shows

See also

In Spanish: Vincent Gardenia para niños