Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo;
February 26, 1914 â€" May 3, 1986) was an American theatrical and film
actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and
Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a number of Broadway productions,
then moved to Italy during the early 1960s. He appeared in many
European films over the next two decades, occasionally returning to
the U.S. for film appearances such as The Girl Who Knew Too Much
(1969).Alda, an American of Italian descent, was born Alfonso Giuseppe
Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo in New York City, the son of Frances (née
Tumillo) and Antonio D'Abruzzo, a barber born in Sant'Agata de' Goti,
Benevento, Campania, Italy. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School
in New York in 1930. He began his performing career as a singer and
dancer in vaudeville after winning a talent contest, and moved on to
burlesque.Alda is known for portraying George Gershwin in the
biographical film Rhapsody in Blue (1945) as well as the talent agent
in the Douglas Sirk classic Imitation of Life (1959). He was
successful on Broadway, originating the role of Sky Masterson in Guys
and Dolls (1950), for which he won a Tony Award, and starring in What
Makes Sammy Run? (1964). He was also the host of the short-lived
DuMont TV version of the game show What's Your Bid? (Mayâ€"June 1953).
February 26, 1914 â€" May 3, 1986) was an American theatrical and film
actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and
Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a number of Broadway productions,
then moved to Italy during the early 1960s. He appeared in many
European films over the next two decades, occasionally returning to
the U.S. for film appearances such as The Girl Who Knew Too Much
(1969).Alda, an American of Italian descent, was born Alfonso Giuseppe
Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo in New York City, the son of Frances (née
Tumillo) and Antonio D'Abruzzo, a barber born in Sant'Agata de' Goti,
Benevento, Campania, Italy. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School
in New York in 1930. He began his performing career as a singer and
dancer in vaudeville after winning a talent contest, and moved on to
burlesque.Alda is known for portraying George Gershwin in the
biographical film Rhapsody in Blue (1945) as well as the talent agent
in the Douglas Sirk classic Imitation of Life (1959). He was
successful on Broadway, originating the role of Sky Masterson in Guys
and Dolls (1950), for which he won a Tony Award, and starring in What
Makes Sammy Run? (1964). He was also the host of the short-lived
DuMont TV version of the game show What's Your Bid? (Mayâ€"June 1953).
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