Albert Francis "Al" Molinaro
Albert Francis "Al" Molinaro, born Umberto Francesco Molinaro (June 24, 1919 – October 30, 2015)He was known for his television sitcom roles as Al Delvecchio on Happy Days and Officer Murray Greshler on The Odd Couple. He also appeared in many television commercials, including On-Cor frozen dinners. In the 1960s and 1970s, Molinaro studied acting and was offered guest roles and bit parts on television sitcoms, including Bewitched, Get Smart, Green Acres and That Girl. He took an improvisation class, in which Penny Marshall was one of the other students. In 1970, Marshall introduced him to her brother, producer Garry Marshall, who offered Molinaro the role of police officer Murray Greshler on the television sitcom The Odd Couple, which starred Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, based on Neil Simon's play; during which time he lived in a hotel in midtown New York City. "The first time I went to New York City", said his son Michael, "it was because he had moved there to do a number of commercials. He did not merely play a cop walking the beat on 'The Odd Couple'. He used to walk the streets of New York City and loved it."
In 1976, Molinaro was hired by Garry Marshall to replace Pat Morita on another sitcom he produced, Happy Days. Molinaro reprised his role as Al Delvecchio from Happy Days in Weezer's 1994 music video of the song "Buddy Holly", which was set in Arnold's diner. He retired from acting in television and films in the early 1990s, but continued to appear in TV commercials until the early 2000s. Molinaro died in a Glendale, California, hospital on October 30, 2015, at the age of 96.
Reacties
Een reactie posten