Jack La Rue (born Gaspere Biondolillo; May 3, 1902 â€" January 11,
1984) was an American film and stage actor.La Rue was born in New York
City.La Rue went from high school to his first acting job, in Otis
Skinner's road company production of Blood and Sand. He performed in
Broadway plays from around 1923 to 1931. According to La Rue, while
appearing in Mae West's play Diamond Lil, he was spotted by Howard
Hawks, who offered him a part in the film Scarface (1932), starring
Paul Muni.He moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in numerous films.
However, Scarface was not one of them. La Rue stated in a newspaper
article that, after four days, Hawks had to replace him with George
Raft because La Rue was taller than Muni and had a more powerful
voice. Later, however, Raft turned down the role of the despicable
villain in The Story of Temple Drake (1933), fearing it would damage
his screen image, so the part went to La Rue. Sometimes mistaken for
Humphrey Bogart, he played thugs and gangsters for the most part.
However, director Frank Borzage atypically cast him as a priest in the
1932 version of A Farewell to Arms simply because, according to
newspaper columnist Hubbard Keavy, he was "tired of seeing
conventional characters". La Rue stated he turned down a role in The
Godfather (1972) and many parts in the television series The
Untouchables because of the way they portrayed Italian-Americans.
1984) was an American film and stage actor.La Rue was born in New York
City.La Rue went from high school to his first acting job, in Otis
Skinner's road company production of Blood and Sand. He performed in
Broadway plays from around 1923 to 1931. According to La Rue, while
appearing in Mae West's play Diamond Lil, he was spotted by Howard
Hawks, who offered him a part in the film Scarface (1932), starring
Paul Muni.He moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in numerous films.
However, Scarface was not one of them. La Rue stated in a newspaper
article that, after four days, Hawks had to replace him with George
Raft because La Rue was taller than Muni and had a more powerful
voice. Later, however, Raft turned down the role of the despicable
villain in The Story of Temple Drake (1933), fearing it would damage
his screen image, so the part went to La Rue. Sometimes mistaken for
Humphrey Bogart, he played thugs and gangsters for the most part.
However, director Frank Borzage atypically cast him as a priest in the
1932 version of A Farewell to Arms simply because, according to
newspaper columnist Hubbard Keavy, he was "tired of seeing
conventional characters". La Rue stated he turned down a role in The
Godfather (1972) and many parts in the television series The
Untouchables because of the way they portrayed Italian-Americans.
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