Ronald Joseph Cicenia (December 11, 1935 – January 16, 2007), known as Ron Carey, was an American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

actor. The actor was best known for playing ambitious NYPD Police Officer Carl Levitt on TV's ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was cre ...

'', in which he was almost always surrounded by male actors (and sometimes female guest stars) who stood at least taller. The series' stars ( Hal Linden, Max Gail, Abe Vigoda, Ron Glass,

Steve Landesberg Stephen Landesberg (November 23, 1936December 20, 2010) was an American actor and comedian known for his role as the erudite, unflappable police detective Arthur P. Dietrich on the ABC sitcom ''Barney Miller'', for which he was nominated for th ...

) all stood or more. Carey appeared in the recurring role for the last six of the eight seasons of ''Barney Miller''s run. He first appeared on the show as a criminal, Angelo Molinari (aka The Mole), in Season 2, Episode 22. Carey was among the slate of actors who were members of

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

unofficial repertory company, appearing in several of the director's films; Carey was featured in '' Silent Movie'', '' High Anxiety'', and '' History of the World: Part I''. He also appeared in '' Fatso'', directed by Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft and featuring several Brooks regulars.

Life and career

Carey was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, the son of Fanny and John Cicenia, and was raised in an Italian American

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family. He attended Barringer High School, where he was class president in his senior year. Carey did stand-up comedy in the 1960s, after earning a bachelor's degree in communications from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

in 1956. His comedy centered mostly on

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and his childhood of being the undersized but quick-witted kid on the block. His break came in 1966 when he appeared on '' The Merv Griffin Show'' and in 1967 he released a comedy album entitled ''The Slightly Irreverent Comedy of Ron Carey''. From the mid-1970s on, Carey was a member of

' comedy troupe, appearing in featured roles in films such as '' High Anxiety'', '' Silent Movie'', and '' History of the World, Part I''. He also appeared in supporting roles in other films and on television, and was seen in scores of commercials, including some T-shirt ads for

Hanes Hanes (founded in 1900) and Hanes Her Way (founded in 1985) is a brand of clothing. History Hanes was founded in 1900 by John Wesley Hanes (one of Winston-Salem's wealthiest and most influential business men) at Winston, North Carolina under th ...

, an ad for Nabisco's snack cracker Better Cheddars, where he sang, and a Post Honeycomb ad, in which he played a character named Mr. Big who came to the Honeycomb Hideout looking for a cereal with "a big, big bite."Vintage Old 1970's Post Honeycomb Cereal Commercial, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP2iT0ub8lc He is most remembered for his role as the diligent but somewhat obsequious and passive-aggressive Officer Carl Levitt, which he played from 1976 to 1982 on the TV series ''

''. Carey died of a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

at a

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, in January 2007. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Sharon, and his brother, James Cicenia.

Filmography

References

External links

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''New York Times'' obituaryThe Final Taxi podcast on Ron Carey's life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Ron (actor) 1935 births 2007 deaths Barringer High School alumni Male actors from Newark, New Jersey American people of Italian descent American stand-up comedians Seton Hall University alumni 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians