Nick Apollo Forte (born Nicola Antonio Forte; June 14, 1938 – February 26, 2020) was an American musician and actor.

Early life

Forte was born in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

. At age 12, he won a local talent contest playing "

Lady of Spain "Lady of Spain" is a popular song composed in 1931 by Tolchard Evans with lyrics by " Erell Reaves", a pseudonym of Stanley J. Damerell and Robert Hargreaves (1894–1934)I, and by Henry Tilsley. The sheet music was published in London by the ...

" on piano. At 18, he got his first break playing second billing to

Della Reese Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early; July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017) was an American singer, actress, television personality, author and ordained minister. As a singer, she recorded blues, gospel, jazz and pop. Several of her singl ...

at the famed

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

; this led him to change his performing name to "Nick Apollo" and drop out of high school to pursue a music career. After many years of Forte (as "Nick Apollo") singing in lounges and producing and distributing his own records, a casting agent for

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

discovered the Nick Apollo album ''Images'' in a record store on Broadway. Deciding he was perfect to play a classic lounge singer, Allen cast Forte as Lou Canova in his

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

film ''

Broadway Danny Rose ''Broadway Danny Rose'' is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It follows a hapless theatrical agent who, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. The film stars Allen ...

''. At this point, Forte adjusted his stage name to Nick Apollo Forte, which he used for the rest of his career. Forte received third billing in ''

'', and his work received positive reviews. Forte also performed two of his original songs in the film ("Agita" and "My Bambina"), alongside some classic American Songbook material. Forte appeared on

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

's ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show, originating in the American Media, United States. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest inte ...

'' on February 16, 1984.

Career

Forte was cast in a TV pilot, ''Mr. Success'', in which he played a "loveable shlump" who worked in a department store. Although the show was tailor-made for Forte, the program was beset by problems, and he was replaced by

James Coco James Emil Coco (March 21, 1930 – February 25, 1987) was an American stage and screen actor. He was the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award, a Cable ACE Award and three Obie Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award, ...

."Unsold Television Pilots", p. 1997
/ref> (The pilot aired on CBS on June 23, 1984, but did not sell.) Forte returned to working lounges, but made a few screen appearances in subsequent years: a guest spot on ''

The Ellen Burstyn Show ''The Ellen Burstyn Show'' is an American sitcom starring Ellen Burstyn. The series was produced by Touchstone Television and debuted on ABC on September 20, 1986. The series was canceled after 13 episodes. Synopsis Burstyn played Baltimore c ...

'' in 1987 and the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series '' Billions'' in 2016—both times (as in ''Broadway Danny Rose'') basically playing himself. Forte spent most of his time with his family and fishing. He sang his famous songs and played music, and was known to sing sea shanties as well while dancing the jig. He was well known for his radio commercials for Goodyear Tires.

Family

In 1958, he married Rosalie Trapasso, who worked at a shoe store he managed. They were married over 60 years and had seven children and 22 grandchildren. He died on February 26, 2020.

References

External links

Official site
* * 1938 births Male actors from Waterbury, Connecticut American male film actors Place of death missing American people of Italian descent 2020 deaths {{US-screen-actor-1930s-stub