Difference between revisions of "Alex Rocco"
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Rocco was born '''Alexander Federico Petricone, Jr.''' in Somerville, Massachusetts, the son of Mary (Di Biase) and Alexander Sam Petricone.<ref>http://www.filmreference.com/film/27/Alex-Rocco.html</ref> Known by the nickname "Bobo" as a young man, Rocco had connections to the Winter Hill Gang in the early 1960s (a mostly Irish gang, despite his Italian-American background). An incident in which George McLaughlin of a rival gang tried to pick up on Petricone's girlfriend helped start the Irish Mob Wars of the early 1960s in Boston. Petricone was a suspect in the October 1961 murder of Bernie McLaughlin, but was never charged. He then moved to California, began using the name Alex Rocco, lost a considerable amount of weight, and got into Hollywood. After moving to Los Angeles he became a member of the Bahá'í Faith. | Rocco was born '''Alexander Federico Petricone, Jr.''' in Somerville, Massachusetts, the son of Mary (Di Biase) and Alexander Sam Petricone.<ref>http://www.filmreference.com/film/27/Alex-Rocco.html</ref> Known by the nickname "Bobo" as a young man, Rocco had connections to the Winter Hill Gang in the early 1960s (a mostly Irish gang, despite his Italian-American background). An incident in which George McLaughlin of a rival gang tried to pick up on Petricone's girlfriend helped start the Irish Mob Wars of the early 1960s in Boston. Petricone was a suspect in the October 1961 murder of Bernie McLaughlin, but was never charged. He then moved to California, began using the name Alex Rocco, lost a considerable amount of weight, and got into Hollywood. After moving to Los Angeles he became a member of the Bahá'í Faith. | ||
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*{{IMDB|name/nm0733678/}} | *{{IMDB|name/nm0733678/}} | ||
*{{Wikipedialink|Alex Rocco|Alex Rocco}} | *{{Wikipedialink|Alex Rocco|Alex Rocco}} | ||
Revision as of 14:09, August 20, 2010
Alex Rocco (born February 29, 1936) is an American actor, who has appeared several times on The Simpsons as Roger Meyers Jr.. His other roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies, the latter fitting in with his reported connections to mob organizations.
Biography
Early Life
Rocco was born Alexander Federico Petricone, Jr. in Somerville, Massachusetts, the son of Mary (Di Biase) and Alexander Sam Petricone.[1] Known by the nickname "Bobo" as a young man, Rocco had connections to the Winter Hill Gang in the early 1960s (a mostly Irish gang, despite his Italian-American background). An incident in which George McLaughlin of a rival gang tried to pick up on Petricone's girlfriend helped start the Irish Mob Wars of the early 1960s in Boston. Petricone was a suspect in the October 1961 murder of Bernie McLaughlin, but was never charged. He then moved to California, began using the name Alex Rocco, lost a considerable amount of weight, and got into Hollywood. After moving to Los Angeles he became a member of the Bahá'í Faith.
Career
Rocco played the part of Moe Greene, a Las Vegas casino owner, in the film The Godfather. Greene's character represented the top Jewish mobster in the United States, going so far as to off-camera slap Michael's brother, Fredo. Fredo was portrayed as weak and probably in need of an occasional slap, but Michael, barely in the Don's role, asked him: "You straightened my brother out?" Corleone then told Greene that he was going to buy him (his casino) out. Greene angrily tells the neophyte Michael that he buys Michael out, not vice versa. Michael, however, does not negotiate like his father did. Michael later dispenses of Greene through a hired assassin's bullet through the eye.
In The Godfather: Part II, the Jewish kingpin Hyman Roth reveals that Greene was a stand-in for Ben Siegel, as the man who invented Las Vegas. Hyman Roth betrays a knowledge that Michael arranged Greene's death, and as such shows himself to be one of Michael's true enemies. He also played a gangster in the film The Friends of Eddie Coyle about the Boston Irish Mob, a part very close to his own life. Other notable movies in which Rocco has appeared include The Wedding Planner, as Salvatore and appeared uncredited in Smokin' Aces. He also played a small part in the Disney/Pixar film, A Bug's Life as Thorny. In the film That Thing You Do!, Rocco played the founder of Playtone Records.
He also has a recurring part in the long running animated series The Simpsons as the head of Itchy and Scratchy Studios, Roger Meyers, Jr.. In DVD commentaries, Rocco has expressed true gratitude to The Simpsons' staff for allowing him his first voiceover role. He has also taken a part on an episode of Family Guy and he is known for having played Charlie Polniaczek, Jo's father on The Facts of Life. From 1989 to 1990, Rocco was a regular on the television comedy series The Famous Teddy Z in which he played "Al Floss", a slick cheesy Hollywood talent agent and foil to Jon Cryer in the title role, an ex-mailroom clerk turned superagent. Rocco received an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for this role.
References
External Links
Alex Rocco at the Internet Movie Database
Alex Rocco at Wikipedia
Guest stars in season 2
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| Harvey Fierstein • James Earl Jones • Tony Bennett • Tom Poston • Carol Kane • Alex Rocco • Phil Hartman • George Takei • Sab Shimono • Larry King • Jon Lovitz • Danny DeVito • Tracey Ullman • Audrey Meadows • Ringo Starr • Dustin Hoffman • Daniel Stern • Cloris Leachman |
Guest stars in season 7
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| Tito Puente • Mickey Rooney • Phil Hartman • Joan Kenley • Frank Welker • Paul McCartney • Linda McCartney • Paul Anka • Dennis Bailey • Ron Brooks • Trish Doolan • Marsha Waterbury • Glenn Close • Harry Morgan • Kelsey Grammer • R. Lee Ermey • Buzz Aldrin • Liz Georges • Lawrence Tierney • Tom Kite • Bob Newhart • Donald Sutherland • Kirk Douglas • Alex Rocco • Jack Sheldon • Suzanne Somers • Jeff Goldblum • Joe Mantegna • Peter Frampton • Cypress Hill (B-Real • DJ Muggs • Sen Dog) • The Smashing Pumpkins (Billy Corgan • James Iha • Jimmy Chamberlin • D'arcy Wretzky) • Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore • Kim Gordon • Lee Ranaldo • Steve Shelley) • Christina Ricci |
Guest stars in season 8
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| Michael Buffer • Sally Stevens • Paul Winfield • Rodney Dangerfield • Johnny Cash • Gillian Anderson • David Duchovny • Leonard Nimoy • Jack Lemmon • Alex Rocco • John Waters • Kelsey Grammer • David Hyde Pierce • Joe Mantegna • Dave Thomas • Frank Welker • Bret Hart • Gedde Watanabe • Sab Shimono • Phil Hartman • Gailard Sartain • Tim Conway • Willem Dafoe |
