Albert Christopher Ladesich (September 7, 1918 – March 3, 1995), better known as Al Christy, was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

executive, and radio and television

announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience on a broadcast media programme or live event either on radio or television. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaki ...

. He was born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, the son of Croatian parents who had immigrated to the United States a few years before. He graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1937. This was where he first became interested in dramatics. Ladesich began his career working under his father, selling insurance for Armour Packing Company in Kansas City. He then served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and upon his discharge, returned to Kansas City and became an announcer for radio station WDAF. It was here that he first adopted the stage name "Al Christy." While with WDAF, Ladesich also did acting on various dramatic radio programs being produced in Kansas City, most notably ''

The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen ''The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen'' is an American radio adventure serial broadcast from 1933 until 1937. The 15-minute syndicated program was created by writers Robert M. Burtt and Wilfred G. Moore, both of whom were from Kansas City, Missou ...

'', where he starred as mechanic "Flash" Lewis during the show's 1946-47 run. He also found acting work in educational and industrial films being produced by the

Calvin Company The Calvin Company was a Kansas City, Missouri-based advertising, educational and industrial film production company that for nearly half a century was one of the largest and most successful film producers of its type in the United States. Orig ...

of Kansas City, including films directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

. Ladesich would continue to appear in Calvin films (and ones produced by

Centron Corporation Centron Corporation is a defunct Industrial video, industrial and educational film production company, that specialized in classroom and corporate 16mm films and VHS videocassettes. A slightly smaller company than its contemporaries such as Encycl ...

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

) until the early 1980s. In 1950 shortly after the new

WDAF-TV WDAF-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Summit Street in the Signal Hill se ...

station was begun in Kansas City, Ladesich became one of three weathercasters there. In 1953 when popular weather announcer

Shelby Storck Shelby William Storck (October 3, 1916 – April 5, 1969) was an American newscaster, actor, writer, journalist, public relations specialist, and motion picture and television producer-director. He was a radio actor on ''The Air Adventures of Ji ...

left WDAF, Ladesich, who by now was assistant program director for the station, took over his spot and the name Al Christy became more well known in the Kansas City area. The Ladesich family was very much involved in Kansas City media. Al's brother and sister were associated with WDAF-TV as well, as directors and producers. In 1956 Ladesich left WDAF-TV and became a director, writer, producer, and account manager for a Kansas City

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

which primarily produced radio and television commercials. Taking normal work hours and not being required to work at night like when toiling in radio and TV, Ladesich now had time in the evenings to devote to what soon became his chief hobby and

avocation An avocation is an activity that someone engages in as a hobby outside their main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside their workplaces w ...

, acting. In 1956 he began regularly appearing in productions of Kansas City's top little theater group, the Resident Theater. He missed appearing in only four or five Resident productions over a course of twelve years. In 1961 while vacationing in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, he visited his old Kansas City friend Robert Altman, who by now was directing episodic television in Hollywood. Altman told Ladesich about an episode of a TV series he was currently directing, titled

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

, that he needed an actor for to play a bartender. Ladesich spent one day on the set, playing "Joe the Bartender," and scored his first screen credit. In 1966 director

Richard Brooks Richard Brooks (born Reuben Sax; May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Academy Awards in his career, he was best known for ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), '' ...

planned to shoot his film ''

In Cold Blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by the American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 Clutter family murders in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the quadruple murder bef ...

'' in and around Kansas City, and endeavored to use local talent for many of the smaller roles. Ladesich was among the local actors enlisted, portraying a sheriff. In the late 1960s the Resident Theater closed down and soon professional theater was established for the first time in Kansas City, via the Missouri Repertory Theater. Ladesich was a regular there throughout the 1970s and 1980s and was well-known to Kansas City theatergoers during that time as a versatile character actor who could "do everything from Shakespeare to light comedy." He also, by this time, had been promoted to a vice-president and board member of a Kansas City ad agency and retired early in the 1980s. He spent his "retirement" years primarily in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, scoring small roles in various feature films and television shows. He appeared in episodes of ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'', ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

'', and ''

Punky Brewster ''Punky Brewster'' is an American Situation comedy, sitcom television series about a young girl (Soleil Moon Frye) being raised by a foster parent (George Gaynes) in Chicago. The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984, to March 9, 1986, and ag ...

'', played Dr. Holmes in the 1985 film ''Stand Alone'', and played one half of the third "documentary couple" in '' When Harry Met Sally...'' from 1989. By 1990, Ladesich had returned to Kansas City and played a judge in the film Mr. and Mrs. Bridge which was shot there that year. Soon after, he began to suffer from severe heart trouble and then officially "retired." He died in March 1995 of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at his home in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. Al having been a lifelong bachelor, the only remaining Ladesich relative was Al's older brother, who died three years later. Al Christy was interred at Mount Calvary Cemetery in

Partial filmography

*''

'' (1967) - Sheriff *''

Der Preis fürs Überleben ''Der Preis fürs Überleben'' is a 1980 West German drama film directed by Hans Noever. It was entered into the 30th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Michel Piccoli - René Winterhalter * Martin West (actor), Martin West - Joseph C. ...

'' (1980) *''

Stand Alone ''Stand Alone'' is a 1985 American action drama film directed by Alan Beattie and starring Charles Durning. Plot An older war hero witnesses a murder. He is reluctant to identify the killers. When they come after him, he ends up having to pr ...

'' (1985) - Dr. Holmes *'' When Harry Met Sally...'' (1989) - Documentary Couple #5 *'' Mr. and Mrs. Bridge'' (1990) - Judge (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christy, Al 1918 births 1995 deaths Male actors from Kansas City, Kansas American people of Croatian descent American television producers American military personnel of World War II 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American businesspeople Military personnel from Kansas