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Dominic Chianese

 
Artist: Dominic Chianese
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Dominic Chianese

  • Born: February 24, 1931, New York, NY [The Bronx]
  • Active: 2000s
  • Genres: Vocal Music
  • Instrument: Main Performer, Performer
  • Representative Albums: "Hits," "Ungrateful Heart"

Biography

Actor/singer Dominic Chianese (pronounced Key-a-NAY-see) gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of Corrado "Uncle Junior" Soprano on the cable-television series The Sopranos starting in 1999, but his career dates back to the 1950s. A second-generation Italian-American, he was born into a family of stonemasons in the New York City borough the Bronx. After graduating from the prestigious Bronx High School of Science, he entered the family bricklaying business, but in 1952, he got a part in the chorus of a touring company of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, his first professional acting and singing job. He returned to bricklaying after a year, but in the late '50s he began acting in summer stock companies, eventually getting his Actor's Equity card. He also went back to school, earning a degree from Brooklyn College at the age of 30. In the 1960s, while seeking acting parts, he also joined the folk music boom, playing an acoustic guitar and singing in Greenwich Village. He became an MC at the famed nightclub Gerde's Folk City in 1964, continuing to appear there off and on into the late '70s. His acting parts gradually became more important and included Broadway stints in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo and David Mamet's The Water Engine. He broke into the movies in 1972 with Fuzz, and since then has appeared in a string of films including The Godfather Part II (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), All the President's Men (1976), Fingers (1978), ... And Justice for All (1979), Q&A (1990), Out for Justice (1991), and The Night We Never Met (1993), as well as making frequent guest appearances on network television series. This made for a consistently successful career as a character actor, but it was his casting as Uncle Junior, the aging Mafia patriarch who has a contentious relationship with his Mob boss nephew Tony Soprano (played by James Gandolfini) that made him nationally famous. On the final episode of the third season of The Sopranos in May 2001, Chianese made his national singing debut, presaging the release of his first album, Hits, in June. Ungrateful Heart followed two years later. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
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Actor: Dominic Chianese
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Feb 24, 1931 in Bronx, New York
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '70s, '90s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Crime
  • Career Highlights: When Will I Be Loved, Once In The Life, Adrift in Manhattan
  • First Major Screen Credit: Once In The Life (2000)

Biography

After decades of honing his acting skills on stage and screen, and eventually carving out a niche for himself as a "gangster," Dominic Chianese came upon his most widely recognized role as Uncle Junior on the hit HBO mob series The Sopranos, beginning in 1999. Born in 1931, in Bronx, NY, Chianese attended Brooklyn College, and began appearing on-stage in 1952. He would appear on and off-Broadway in theater for over 45 years before his famous role on The Sopranos, adding film and television to his repertoire along the way.

After his first film role in 1972, as a panhandler in a drama called Fuzz, he embarked on what would become the trademark of his career with his first gangster role, as Johnny Ola in Coppola's The Godfather Pt. II (1974), the classic, starring Al Pacino. Chianese also appeared in All the President's Men in 1976, and would work with Pacino again in the 1979 thriller ...And Justice for All.

Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Chianese had numerous roles of all kinds from major feature films to stage to made-for-TV movies. He was featured in Fort Apache, the Bronx in 1981, and had a small role in Pacino's Looking for Richard in 1996. In 1999, HBO debuted its mobster series The Sopranos, starring James Gandolfini, and Chianese's long-term experience acting in all kinds of mob-related roles finally paid off with his part as Corrado "Uncle Junior" Soprano. The series earned incredible success, and in 2001, Chianese was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for his role on the program. In 2002, he was featured in Adrian Lyne's drama Unfaithful, starring Diane Lane, Richard Gere, and Olivier Martinez. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Dominic Chianese
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Dominic Chianese

Chianese singing at the opening of the US Open, 2005
Born February 24, 1931 (1931-02-24) (age 78)
New York City, New York

Dominic Chianese (pronounced /ˌki.ə.ˈneɪ.zi/; born February 24, 1931) is an American film, television and theatre actor, perhaps best known for his role as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.

Contents

Early life

Chianese was born in the borough of The Bronx, New York City, the son of a bricklayer.[1] He graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1948. He worked as a bricklayer with his father and attended night school during the 1950s, graduating with a bachelor's degree in speech and theater from Brooklyn College in 1961. His earliest stage work occurred in 1952 with a Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company of singers, actors and musicians called The American Savoyards, under the direction of Dorothy Raedler.

Career

After a decade of doing college and off-broadway theatre, Chianese attended his first professional acting class at HB Studios in Manhattan, with renowned teacher Walt Witcover. Drama and musical theater became Chianese's passion. His first Broadway show was Oliver! in 1965. He has continued to perform in Broadway theatre, off-Broadway, and regional theatre. To supplement income in the dry periods, he played rhythm guitar and sang in taverns and restaurants. Chianese's first television credit occurred when George C. Scott recommended him for a role in the acclaimed series East Side, West Side. In 1974, Francis Ford Coppola cast Chianese as Johnny Ola in The Godfather, Part II, which sparked a film career, culminating in several films (and plays) with Al Pacino.

Before getting the call for Godfather II, Chianese was working for the Drug Commission of New York State as a recreational worker in a rehab center. He was teaching guitar to women who were serving time for drug-related crimes.

Chianese has appeared in 4 movies with his friend Al Pacino:

Chianese is a musician, having released a CD (fittingly titled Hits) in 2000, where he sings American and Italian songs. He even performed Salvatore Cardillo's sentimental classic "Core 'ngrato" ("Ungrateful Heart"), on the third-season finale of The Sopranos.

His son Dominic Chianese Jr. is also an actor and appeared in the final season of The Sopranos as a member of the fictional Lupertazzi crime family.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ Dominic Chianese Biography (1934?-)

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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