Donald Andrew Novello (born January 1, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, singer, writer, film director and producer. He is best known for his work on NBC's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' from 1978 to 1980, and again from 1985 to 1986, often as the character

Father Guido Sarducci Father Guido Sarducci is a fictional character created by American comedian Don Novello. Sarducci is a chain-smoking priest with tinted glasses, who works in the United States as gossip columnist and rock critic for the Vatican newspaper ''L'Osserv ...

. He appeared as Sarducci in many subsequent television shows, including '' Married... with Children'', ''

Blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus '' Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such a ...

'', '' It's Garry Shandling's Show'', '' Unhappily Ever After'', '' Square Pegs'', and ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focu ...

'', and in the 1980 documentary film '' Gilda Live''. He is also the voice of Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini in the franchise of ''

Atlantis: The Lost Empire ''Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' is a 2001 American animated science fiction film, science fiction action film, action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. ...

''.

Early life

Novello was born in

Ashtabula Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, the son of Eleanor Eileen (née Finnerty), a nurse, and Augustine Joseph Novello, a physician. He is of Italian and Irish descent. The family moved to Lorain, Ohio, when Don was a young boy. In 1961, he graduated from

Lorain High School Lorain High School is part of Lorain City School District in Lorain, Ohio and was founded in 1876, beginning as a two-year high school course. In 1879, the first graduating class consisted of three members. By 1883, the high school curriculum was ...

. He subsequently enrolled at the University of Dayton and graduated in 1964. In 1965, he graduated with a Bachelor of Foreign Trade degree from the American Graduate School of International Management (since renamed the Thunderbird School of Global Management, now part of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

Career

In the late 1960s, Novello worked as an advertising copywriter for Leo Burnett in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. Novello created the Father Guido Sarducci character in 1973 after finding a

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

's outfit for $7.50 at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. Adding sunglasses, a broom mustache, cigarette and a thick Italian accent, Sarducci became popular in a San Francisco nightclub. Sarducci appeared on San Francisco Channel 20's ''Chicken Little Comedy Show'', and comic David Steinberg was watching. Steinberg hired Novello as a writer for a TV show that never aired, but he also introduced Novello to Tommy and Dick Smothers, and they hired Novello, too. Novello performed on '' The Smothers Brothers Show'' in 1975, appearing as Sarducci. In the 1970s, Novello started to write letters to famous people under the pen name of Lazlo Toth (after Laszlo Toth, a deranged man who vandalized

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was in ...

's Pietà in Rome). The letters, written to suggest a serious but misinformed and obtuse correspondent, were designed to tweak the noses of politicians and corporations. Many of them received serious responses; Novello sometimes continued the charade correspondence at length, with humorous results. The letters and responses were published in the books ''The Lazlo Letters'', ''Citizen Lazlo!'', and ''From Bush to Bush: The Lazlo Toth Letters''. ''The Lazlo Letters'', Novello's first book of stilted letters to celebrities, caught the attention of Lorne Michaels, producer of ''Saturday Night Live''. Novello was hired as a writer for the show's third season in 1977-1978 where he remained through the fifth season, and returned as a writer in the eleventh season. He also appeared numerous times on the show in the Father Guido Sarducci character. In 1980, under the name of Father Guido Sarducci, he sang lead vocals on the Warner Bros. Records release "I Won't Be Twisting This Christmas"/"Parco MacArthur" (WBS49627). Novello co-wrote the first tune with M. Davich, and the second tune is an Italian language cover of " MacArthur Park", the

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

song, in an arrangement similar to that recorded by Richard Harris. Novello made newspapers around the world when he visited the Vatican in 1981 wearing the Father Guido Sarducci costume and, while taking photographs for a magazine article in an area where photography was prohibited, was arrested by the Swiss Guards along with his photographer (Paul Solomon), and eventually charged with "impersonating a priest". The charges were later dropped, and Solomon managed to protect the film from confiscation. In his stage show in Las Vegas and Reno with the Smothers Brothers, Sarducci rolled a wheelchair with a dummy in the robes of a cardinal. In the act, Sarducci explained he was the assistant of 108-year-old "Cardinal Dario Fungi." For a brief period in 1982, Novello was a producer on '' SCTV'', a Toronto-based comedy show starring

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. H ...

, Joe Flaherty, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, Andrea Martin and

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her comedy work on '' Second City Television'' (1976–84) and ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020) and in films such as '' After Hours'' (1985), '' Beetle ...

. He was installed by NBC as one of a series of producers for the show's fourth season, and produced a total of 9 episodes. In 1983, Novello had a cameo as Father Sarducci in the video for

Rodney Dangerfield Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, his catchphrase "I don't get no re ...

's comedy rap song "

Rappin' Rodney ''Rappin' Rodney'' is a comedy album by American comedian Rodney Dangerfield issued by RCA Records in 1983. The title track is a rap-influenced novelty song co-written by J.B. Moore and Robert Ford Jr.; the same songwriters who worked with Kurtis ...

" which was heavily played on MTV. In 1984 Novello wrote ''The Blade'', a high school yearbook parody in which the students are represented by sheep. Novello co-wrote the unfilmed script for ''Noble Rot'' with John Belushi. He also narrated Faerie Tale Theatre's third-season episode ''Pinocchio'' with Paul Reubens as the titular puppet. Also in 1984, Novello appeared in the music video for the Jefferson Starship song "No Way Out". In 1989, Novello co-starred in the anthology film '' New York Stories'' in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed segment, ''Life Without Zoe''. In his 2 1/2 star review of the movie,

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

cited Novello for giving "the most engaging performance in the movie." In 1990, Novello portrayed "Dominic Abbandando" in the film '' The Godfather Part III''. Abbandando appears with speaking lines in the first scene as public relations and media coordinator for Don Michael Corleone. Most notable is when he slaps down a news reporter with the challenge: "You think you know better than the Pope?" Novello appears in many other scenes as well, shadowing George Hamilton, and in the climactic scene on the steps of the Palermo opera house, Teatro Massimo. In 2001, he lent his voice to the character Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animated film ''

'', and subsequently in the direct-to-video sequel '' Atlantis: Milo's Return''. In 2003, he filed papers to enter the 2003 California recall election, but failed to collect enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. In 2005, after the death of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, Novello, as Father Guido Sarducci, reprised his former ''SNL'' role as "Special Vatican Reporter" for Air America Radio host (and fellow ''Saturday Night Live'' alumnus)

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

. He continued this role until the election of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

. In 2006, he portrayed the role of Galileo on the podcast "

The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd ''The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd'' is a short audio and video series distributed via podcasting. Created by Grant Baciocco and Doug Price, it is a family friendly show in the style of old-time radio. The show also draws much inspiration from ...

". He portrayed Pope Pius XII in the 2009 short film ''

All in the Bunker ''All in the Bunker'' is a 2009 animated short film written, directed, and animated by Andrew Overtoom. It is a Go Mental Productions film and stars Kurtwood Smith and Cheryl Hines. Cast * Kurtwood Smith as Adolf Hitler * Cheryl Hines as Eva ...

''. On June 23, 2010, he appeared on ''

'' as Father Guido Sarducci. On October 30, 2010, he gave the

benediction A benediction ( Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposit ...

at the

Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was a gathering that took place on October 30, 2010, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The rally was led by Jon Stewart, host of the satirical news program '' The Daily Show'', and Stephen Colber ...

hosted by

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted '' The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' ...

and

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 t ...

. American recording artist Guthrie Thomas credited Don Novello as "the best performer in the room" when Novello appeared as Father Guido Sarducci on one of Thomas' albums in a recording studio full of famous performers.

Personal life

Novello resides in San Anselmo, California. He has one brother, Joseph "Joe" Novello, and one sister, Eileen. His former sister-in-law Dr. Antonia Novello M.D. served as

Surgeon General of the United States The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. Th ...

from 1990 to 1993. His niece is film producer Holly Wiersma (Wonderland, Billionaire Boys Club).

Selected acting credits

*''

'' (1978–1980, 1985–1986) (TV) -

*'' Gilda Live'' (1980) -

*'' Square Pegs'' (1982) (TV) -

*'' Mr. Mike's Mondo Video'' (1979) - Men in Film Room (voice, uncredited) *''Become an Artist'' (1982) -

*''

Head Office Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

'' (1985) - Sal *''Father Guido Sarducci Goes to College'' (1985) -

*'' It's Garry Shandling's Show'' (1986) (TV) -

*'' Tucker: The Man and His Dream'' (1988) - Stan *'' New York Stories'' (1989) - Hector (segment "Life without Zoe") *'' The Spirit of '76'' (1990) - Translator *'' The Godfather Part III'' (1990) - Dominic Abbandando *'' PBS Great Performances La Pastorela: The Shepherd's Tale'' (1991) -

*'' Teenage Bonnie and Klepto Clyde'' (1993) - Sanchez *''

'' (1993) -

*''One Night Stand'' (1995) - Warren Miller *'' Casper'' (1995) -

*'' Married... with Children'' (1995) (TV) -

*'' Jack'' (1996) - Bartender *''

Touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position ( proprioception), and pain. It ...

'' (1997) - Father Navaroli *'' Just the Ticket'' (1999) - Tony *'' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (2000) - Fruit Vendor Twins *'' Just One Night'' (2000) - Italian Drifter *''Nothing Sacred'' (2000) - Caterer *''

'' (2001) - Vincenzo 'Vinny' Santorini (voice) *'' Atlantis: Milo's Return'' (2003) - Vincenzo 'Vinny' Santorini (voice) *'' Factory Girl'' (2006) - Mort Silvers *''

'' (2010) (TV) -

*'' Twixt'' (2011) - Melvin *'' Palo Alto'' (2013) - Mr. Wilson

Writing credits

*'' The Smothers Brothers Show'' (1975) (TV) *''Van Dyke and Company'' (1976) (TV) *''

'' (1978–1986) (TV) *''Things We Did Last Summer'' (1978) (TV) *'' Gilda Live'' (with Gilda Radner, Anne Beatts, Lorne Michaels, Michael O'Donoghue, Rosie Shuster, Marilyn Suzanne Miller, Paul Shaffer and Alan Zweibel) (1980) *'' SCTV'' (1982) (TV) *''Noble Rot'' (with John Belushi) (1982) (unproduced) *''A Man Called Sporacaione'' (1982) (unproduced) *''

Blondes vs. Brunettes ''Blondes vs. Brunettes'' was an ABC TV special that was broadcast on May 14, 1984. The one-hour variety show, co-hosted by Joan Collins and Morgan Fairchild, was a humorous look at the personality and lifestyle differences between blonde and ...

'' (with Lisa Medway) (1984) (TV) *''Father Guido Sarducci Goes To College'' (1985) (VHS) *''Our Planet Tonight'' (1987) (TV)

Bibliography

*''The Lazlo Letters'' (1977) *''The Blade: Shellville High School Yearbook'' (1984) *''Citizen Lazlo!: The Lazlo Letters Vol. 2'' (1992) *''From Bush to Bush: The Lazlo Toth Letters'' (2003)

Albums

*''Father Guido Sarducci Live at St. Douglas Convent'' (1980) *'' Breakfast in Heaven'' (1986) *''Everybody's Free to Wear Camouflage'' (2000) (CD Single) written by; Cat McLean, Don Novello and Narada Michael Walden, which was a top 20 hit in the UK. *''One Hundred Bulbs on the Christmas Tree Party'' (2006) Appeared on the compilations ''Holidays in Dementia'' (1995) and ''A Classic Rock Christmas'' (2002). He made guest appearances on the Handsome Boy Modeling School albums '' So... How's Your Girl?'' (1999) and ''

White People White is a Race (human categorization), racialized classification of people and a Human skin color, skin color specifier, generally used for people of Ethnic groups in Europe, European origin, although the definition can vary depending on con ...

'' (2004).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Novello, Don 1943 births American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American television writers American male television writers American people of Irish descent American writers of Italian descent Living people People from Ashtabula, Ohio People from San Anselmo, California Thunderbird School of Global Management alumni American sketch comedians Comedians from California Comedians from Ohio Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Ohio Screenwriters from Arizona