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1-11 of 11
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Gregory Gerald Antonacci (February 2, 1947 - September 20, 2017) was an American television actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best known for portraying Johnny Torrio in Boardwalk Empire in every season, from 2010 to 2014, and as Phil Leotardo's right-hand man Butch DeConcini in The Sopranos from 2006 to the season finale in 2007.- Born in Sicily, Carlo Gambino came from a family that had been involved in the Mafia for centuries. Although he was thin and somewhat frail-looking, he was also single-minded, ruthless and tough as nails and made a name for himself as an enforcer in local Mafia circles before he was out of his teens. In fact, he was made a full member of the organization on his 19th birthday. Shortly afterward he left Sicily for New York, where he already had family connections, the Castellanos. He went to work for them in their bootlegging business. He started out as a truck driver, worked his way up the ladder and moved over to the family of Giuseppe Masseria, aka "Joe the Boss", an old-time gangster who at the time was engaged in a war with another old-timer (collectively - and derisively - known by the younger hoods as "Mustache Petes") named Salvatore Maranzano. Gambino became friendly with another Masseria hood named Lucky Luciano, whose ambitions were to get rid of both "Mustache Petes". In 1931 Masseria was assassinated in a restaurant while meeting with Luciano, and Luciano hooked up with the Maranzano gang. Soon, however, Maranzano himself was dead, having been murdered in 1931 on orders from Luciano, leaving him the #1 boss in New York. Luciano divided up New York among five Mafia families, and Gambino was assigned as second in command to the Brooklyn family run by Vincent Mangano. Although ambitious, Gambino was patient and built up his fortunes and his influence over the years. In 1951 Mangano mysteriously vanished and his family was taken over by Albert Anastasia, a much feared killer, who made Gambino his underboss, leading many observers to believe that both Gambino and Anastasia had something to do with Mangano's disappearance. Anastasia himself met his end in a New York City barber shop in 1957 and, much as Anastasia took over the assassinated Mangano's empire, Gambino took over the assassinated Anastasia's empire.
Gambino, unlike many other mobsters, always kept a low profile, making sure to stay out of the spotlight, and lived unostentatiously in a modest row house in Brooklyn. His frail, grandfatherly appearance made it difficult to believe that at the time he was the single most powerful organized-crime figure in America - and one of the most ruthless. Although both federal and state authorities had been after him for years, his secretive and illusive nature thwarted their efforts. Finally, in 1969, he was charged with planning the armed robbery and hijacking of a truck. Legal wranglings delayed the case for several years, during which time Gambino's wife died and his health began to deteriorate. When federal authorities discovered that Gambino had never become a US citizen and, in fact, had been smuggled into the country, they instituted deportation proceedings against him. His doctors claimed that his heart problems meant that he was too weak to make the journey from the US to Italy, and his case was delayed time and time again, amid rumors that the Gambino family had paid off two U.S. senators to help delay the proceedings. In 1976 Gambino was in his Long Island summer home watching a Yankees game on TV when he had a heart attack and died. - Charles Purpura was born on 14 September 1945 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984), Heaven Help Us (1985) and Satisfaction (1988). He died on 20 March 2005 in Massapequa, New York, USA.
- Actress
Chic James was born on 15 June 1932 in New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for 4D Man (1959). She died on 5 November 2015 in Massapequa Park, New York, USA.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Ren Shields was born in 1868 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Ren is known for Aloha (2015), Romeo Is Bleeding (1993) and In the Good Old Summertime (1949). Ren died on 25 October 1913 in Massapequa, New York, USA.- Marcel Guillaume was born on 16 March 1907 in Vesaignes-sous-Lafauche, Haute-Marne, France. He was an actor, known for Honeymoon Hate (1927). He died on 13 December 1997 in Massapequa, New York, USA.
- Writer
- Art Department
Marie Severin was born on 21 August 1929 in Nassau, New York, USA. She was a writer, known for Spider-Woman (1979) and Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics (2010). She died on 29 August 2018 in Massapequa, Long Island, New York, USA.- Wallace Erskine was born on 8 August 1862 in Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Ragged Edge (1923), Perjury (1921) and Was It Her Duty? (1915). He was married to Margery Bonney Erskine. He died on 6 January 1943 in Massapequa, Long Island, New York, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Herbert Deutsch was born on 9 February 1932 in Hempstead, New York, USA. He was a composer, known for The Man You Loved to Hate (1979), Moog (2004) and Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott (2010). He was married to Nancy and Margaret . He died on 9 December 2022 in Massapequa Park, New York, USA.- Fred Milano was born on 26 August 1939 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Lynn Heitzner. He died on 1 January 2012 in Massapequa, Long Island, New York, USA.
- When James Bender died of a heart attack on October 9, 1958, his obituary in Newsday mentioned that, as an actor, he'd been shot (in character) over 100 times. He worked during the Golden Age of Television, when variety shows were brought to viewers' living rooms in front of a live audience. He had roles in many shows, mostly crime drama and soap operas. Because of his dark, Latino good looks (although he was born in Brooklyn of Russian immigrant parents), he often played the bad guy, which is why he ended up getting shot so often.
Bender grew up in Patchogue, New York, when it was farm and forest. He met his wife, Ruth Greene (stage name, Ruth Bryant) when he was in his early 20s and she was, but a waif, of 15 years. They married during WW2 and he was sent to the Philippines, soon after, becoming an MIA. For two years, there was no sign of him but, upon his return (lucky day!) he and his wife reunited and, according to Bryant's version of the story, "got so drunk that they couldn't stand".
They decided not to have children until their acting careers were established. Both played on Broadway in "Detective Story", directed by Sidney Kingsley. Bender spent time directing summer stock in Maine and Massachusettes. In 1952, the first child was born, a daughter, and five years later, they had a son.
In the summer of 1958, Bender underwent surgery for his gall bladder, soon becoming very ill. He died a few months later.