Henry Armetta
| Henry Armetta | |
|---|---|
|
In The Big Store (1941) - trailer | |
| Born |
Enrico Armetta July 4, 1888 Palermo, Sicily, Italy |
| Died |
October 21, 1945 (aged 57) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | heart attack[1] |
| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1915–1945; his death |
| Spouse(s) | Iole Armetta (1920-1945) (his death) (3 children) |
Henry Armetta (July 4, 1888 – October 21, 1945) was a Sicilian-born American character actor who appeared in at least 150 American films, starting in silents around 1915 to 1946, when his last film was released posthumously.
Biography
Armetta was born Enrico Armetta in Palermo, Sicily. At the age of 14, he stowed away on a boat and came to America. The authorities were ready to send him back when an Italian came forwards to act as his sponsor. He performed menial tasks to get by and eventually ended up working as a pants presser in New York City at a well known club where he managed to befriend Raymond Hitchcock, who got him a chorus part in his play "A Yankee Consul".
He moved to Hollywood in 1920 and easily found work as stereotypical Italian, often playing a barber, grocer or restaurant owner. He went on to appear in over 152 films (at least 24 films in 1934 alone), sometimes uncredited. In 1938 he appeared in "Everybody Sing" with Judy Garland, Allan Jones, and Fanny Brice. In 1941, he memorably played the father of a large Italian family shopping for beds in The Big Store opposite the three Marx Brothers.
A much thinner Armetta was briefly glimpsed in one of his last appearances in the 1945 Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh. He died the same year of a heart attack in San Diego. He was survived by his wife, Yole Armetta, and three children. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.[2]
Selected filmography
_still_1.jpg)
- Fantômas (1920)
- The Silent Command (1923)
- Street Angel (1928)
- Madame X (1929)
- Romance (1930)
- Strangers May Kiss (1931)
- Week Ends Only (1932)
- Scarface (1932)
- Fra Diavolo (1933)
- What! No Beer? (1933)
- The Cat and the Fiddle (1934)
- The Black Cat (1934)
- Gift of Gab (1934)
- Princess O'Hara (1935)
- Straight from the Heart (1935)
- I've Been Around (1935)
- Magnificent Obsession (1935)
- After Office Hours (1935)
- Dinky (1935)
- Magnificent Brute (1936)
- Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)
- Top of the Town (1937)
- Dust Be My Destiny (1939)
- Fisherman's Wharf (1939)
- Three Cheers for the Irish (1940)
- The Big Store (1941)
- Anchors Aweigh (1945)
- Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946)
References
- ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1601&dat=19451022&id=AZY6AAAAIBAJ&sjid=RCoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1163,745118&hl=en
- ↑ "Henry Armetta". Find A Grave. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
External links
- Henry Armetta at the Internet Movie Database
- Henry Armetta at AllMovie
- Henry Armetta at Find a Grave