William Edmunds (July 15, 1886 â€" December 7, 1981) was an Italian
stage and screen character actor, typically playing roles with heavy
accents (generally Italian, Spanish, and French), most notable as Mr.
Giuseppe Martini in It's a Wonderful Life.Born the son of Donato and
Giovannina Pellegrino in San Fele, in the Italian region of
Basilicata, he was christened Michele Frondino Pellegrino . He
emigrated to the United States with his parents and siblings on the
S/S Britannia, which sailed from Naples, Italy, and arrived at the
Port of New York in April 1897. As an adult, he became an actor on the
New York stage. He received his first credited role in motion pictures
in the Bob Hope Going Spanish (1934). He relocated to Hollywood in
1938 and had bit parts in films such as Idiot's Delight (1939), and
larger roles such as House of Frankenstein (1944, as gypsy leader
Fejos), Bob Hope's Where There's Life (1947, as King Hubertus II) and
Double Dynamite (1951, as Groucho Marx's long-suffering boss). His
many short subject appearances include a few stints as Robert "Mickey"
Blake's father in the Our Gang series. He has a brief appearance in
Casablanca (1942) where in Rick’s Café he gives instructions to a
man seeking illegal passage out of Casablanca.Edmunds was cast with
James Stewart in three films, The Mortal Storm, The Shop Around the
Corner (1940), and perhaps his signature role as Mr. Martini, the bar
proprietor in It’s a Wonderful Life. He had other notable parts in
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), The Three Musketeers (1948), and The
Caddy (1953), a Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy. Edmunds received
top billing in the 1951 TV situation comedy Actors' Hotel.He acted on
Broadway in such plays as The New York Story and Follies, which he
left to be in It’s a Wonderful Life. Additional stage credits
include Salt Water (1929â€"1930), Saluta (1934), Moon Over Mulberry
Street (1935â€"1936), and Siege (1937).
stage and screen character actor, typically playing roles with heavy
accents (generally Italian, Spanish, and French), most notable as Mr.
Giuseppe Martini in It's a Wonderful Life.Born the son of Donato and
Giovannina Pellegrino in San Fele, in the Italian region of
Basilicata, he was christened Michele Frondino Pellegrino . He
emigrated to the United States with his parents and siblings on the
S/S Britannia, which sailed from Naples, Italy, and arrived at the
Port of New York in April 1897. As an adult, he became an actor on the
New York stage. He received his first credited role in motion pictures
in the Bob Hope Going Spanish (1934). He relocated to Hollywood in
1938 and had bit parts in films such as Idiot's Delight (1939), and
larger roles such as House of Frankenstein (1944, as gypsy leader
Fejos), Bob Hope's Where There's Life (1947, as King Hubertus II) and
Double Dynamite (1951, as Groucho Marx's long-suffering boss). His
many short subject appearances include a few stints as Robert "Mickey"
Blake's father in the Our Gang series. He has a brief appearance in
Casablanca (1942) where in Rick’s Café he gives instructions to a
man seeking illegal passage out of Casablanca.Edmunds was cast with
James Stewart in three films, The Mortal Storm, The Shop Around the
Corner (1940), and perhaps his signature role as Mr. Martini, the bar
proprietor in It’s a Wonderful Life. He had other notable parts in
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), The Three Musketeers (1948), and The
Caddy (1953), a Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy. Edmunds received
top billing in the 1951 TV situation comedy Actors' Hotel.He acted on
Broadway in such plays as The New York Story and Follies, which he
left to be in It’s a Wonderful Life. Additional stage credits
include Salt Water (1929â€"1930), Saluta (1934), Moon Over Mulberry
Street (1935â€"1936), and Siege (1937).
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