Robert Loggia (born January 3, 1930) is an American Academy Award- and Emmy Award-nominated film and television actor who specializes in character parts.
BiographyEarly lifeLoggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena (née Blandino), a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker[1], both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy[2].[3] After studying journalism at the University of Missouri (class of 1951) and serving in the US Army, Loggia began a long career as a supporting player in movies, on stage and television. CareerLoggia first came to prominence playing real-life American lawman Elfego Baca in a 1958 series of Walt Disney television shows. He starred as the proverbial cat-burglar-turned-good in a short-lived series called T.H.E. Cat. His many television credits include appearances on Combat!, Columbo, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files three times as three different characters, Magnum, P.I., The Sopranos, and Oliver Stone's miniseries Wild Palms. His film roles include An Officer and a Gentleman, Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Independence Day and Big. In 1985, Loggia was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a crusty private detective in the thriller Jagged Edge, and he was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick Mancuso in the TV series Mancuso, FBI, a follow up to the previous year's miniseries Favorite Son. Loggia also appeared as a mobster in two different films, he played the voice of Sykes in Oliver & Company (1988), and as Mr. Eddy in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), a film which reunited him with Independence Day co-star Bill Pullman. In 1999, Loggia appeared in a television commercial lampooning obscure celebrity endorsements. In it, a young boy names Loggia as someone he would trust to recommend Minute Maid orange-tangerine blend; Robert Loggia instantly appears and endorses the drink, to which the boy exclaims, "Whoa, Robert Loggia!"[4] The commercial was later referenced in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle in which Loggia made a guest appearance as "Grandpa Victor"; Loggia drinks some orange juice, then spits it out and complains about the pulp. In a similar vein, Loggia has been parodied on an episode of the show Family Guy entitled Peter's Two Dads. Loggia is also quite well know or his famous catchphase "heeeegh" originally from the minute maid commecial Loggia has recently ventured into voice acting, in a recurring role on the Adult Swim animated comedy Tom Goes to the Mayor, as crooked cop Ray Machowski in the video game Grand Theft Auto III, as Admiral Petrarch in FreeSpace 2, and as the narrator of the Scarface: The World is Yours game adaptation. Loggia starred in the direct-to-DVD film adaptation of V. C. Andrews' novel Rain. ReferencesExternal links
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