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Robert Loggia (born Salvatore Loggia^[1] on January 3, 1930) is an American actor and director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Jagged Edge.

Early life

Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island on January 3, 1930, the son of Beniamino Loggia, a shoemaker, and Elena Blandino, a homemaker,^[2] both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy.^[3][4] After studying at Wagner College and journalism at the University of Missouri (class of 1951) and serving in the U.S. Army, he began a long career as a supporting player.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Loggia was a radio and TV anchor in Southern Command Network in the Panama Canal Zone. Loggia first came to prominence playing the real-life American lawman Elfego Baca in a series of Walt Disney TV shows in 1958. He starred as the proverbial cat-burglar-turned-good in a short-lived series called T.H.E. Cat. In 1972, he played Frank Carver on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm.^[5]

His many television credits include appearances on Overland Trail, Target: The Corruptors!, The Untouchables, The Eleventh Hour, Breaking Point, Combat!, Custer, Columbo, Ellery Queen, High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, Big Valley, Rawhide, Little House on the Prairie, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files (three times as three different characters), Magnum, P.I., Quincy, M.E., Kojak, Hawaii Five-0, The Bionic Woman, Frasier, The Sopranos, Monk, and Oliver Stone's miniseries Wild Palms. ^[1]

His film roles include Revenge of the Pink Panther, An Officer and a Gentleman, Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771, based on the Air New Zealand Flight 103 incident, Psycho II, Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Over The Top, Independence Day, Necessary Roughness, Return to Me, Armed and Dangerous, and Big (for which he won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor).^[1]

In 1985, Loggia was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of crusty private detective Sam Ransom in the thriller Jagged Edge. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick Mancuso in the TV series Mancuso, FBI, a follow up to the previous year's miniseries Favorite Son. Loggia appeared as mobsters in multiple films including Sykes in Disney's Oliver & Company (1988), Salvatore "The Shark" Macelli in John Landis' Innocent Blood and Mr. Eddy in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997) and The Don's Analyst (1997).^[1]

In 1998, Loggia appeared in a television commercial lampooning obscure celebrity endorsements. In it, a young boy names Loggia as someone he would trust to recommend Minute Maid orange-tangerine blend. Loggia instantly appears and endorses the drink, to which the boy exclaims, "Whoa, Robert Loggia!"^[6] The commercial was later referenced in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle in which Loggia made a guest appearance as "Grandpa Victor" (for which he received his second Emmy nomination); Loggia drinks some orange juice, then spits it out and complains about the pulp. In a similar vein, Loggia has been parodied on an episode of the show Family Guy titled "Peter's Two Dads".

Loggia also played a violent mobster named Feech La Manna on a few episodes of the series The Sopranos. In addition to his role in Oliver & Company (1988), Loggia has had several other voice acting roles. A recurring role on the Adult Swim animated comedy Tom Goes to the Mayor, as crooked cop Ray Machowski in the video game Grand Theft Auto III, as Admiral Petrarch in FreeSpace 2, as the narrator of the Scarface: The World is Yours game adaptation, and in the anime movie A Dog of Flanders (1997).^[7]

In August 2009, Loggia appeared in one of Apple's Get a Mac advertisements. The advertisement features Loggia as a personal trainer hired by PC to get him back on top of his game.^{[citation needed]}

On October 26, 2009, TVGuide.com announced Loggia joined the cast of the TNT series Men of a Certain Age.^[8]

In 2010, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.^{[citation needed]}

On December 17, 2011, Loggia was honored by his alma mater, the University of Missouri, with an honorary degree for his career and humanitarian efforts.^[9]

In 2012, Loggia portrayed Saint Peter during his final imprisonment in The Apostle Peter and the Last Supper.^[1]

Filmography

Robert Loggia in 1966

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Robert Loggia at the Internet Movie Database
• Robert Loggia at the Internet Broadway Database
• Robert Loggia at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Robert Loggia at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection