Joe De Santis
Actor
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Vito DeSantis (June 15, 1909 - August 30, 1989) was an American radio, television, movie and theatrical actor and sculptor.
Joe De Santis was born Joseph Vito Marcello De Santis to Italian immigrant parents in New York City. De Santis played in numerous films; the high point of his career came in 1962 with A Cold Wind in August. He was also featured in I Want to Live! and The Brotherhood.
With the advent of television, Joe became known as a skilled character actor who could play convincing dialect characters, mugs, suave heavies and emotional leads. He was active in such early television series as Playhouse 90, Studio One, Sheriff of Cochise, and he appeared regularly on the programs of Red Buttons, Martha Raye and Sid Caesar shows. In addition to many single performances on other series like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Joe had a recurring presence in such shows as The Untouchables, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible, and in the westerns such as Sugarfoot, Daniel Boone, Gunsmoke, Sara, and Bonanza.
De Santis retired to Provo, Utah in 1978 to be close to family, and resided there until his death in 1989. He died in 1989 at the age of eighty of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Filmography
I Want to Live!
as Al Matthews 1958
Buchanan Rides Alone
as Esteban Gomez 1958
Deadline - U.S.A.
as Herman Schmidt 1952
Al Capone
as Big Jim Colosimo 1959
Madame X
as Harry Carter 1966
The Last Hunt
as Ed Black 1956
The Brotherhood
as Pietro Rizzi 1968
The Man with a Cloak
as Martin, the butler 1951
The Unholy Wife
as Gino Verdugo 1957
Tension at Table Rock
as Ed Burrows (as Joe DeSantis) 1956
Jeanne Eagels
as Frank Satori 1957
The Case Against Brooklyn
1958
A Cold Wind in August
as Papa Perugino 1961
Slattery's Hurricane
as Gregory (as Joseph De Santis) 1949
Katherine
as Father Echeverra 1975
The Venetian Affair
as Jan Aarvan 1967