Mario Roccuzzo (November 9, 1940 – October 9, 2021) was an American actor, most commonly known for his episodic roles on television police dramas, although he played various parts on significant sitcoms and in films. His appearances include ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'', ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...

'', and ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', as well as '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' The Untouchables''. He had over 250 television roles, and a dozen in feature films. In addition, in 1958, Roccuzzo wrote the famous

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran ( ; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", " Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in ...

rock song, "Nervous Breakdown".

Biography

Roccuzzo's parents were both actors working in an East Coast Italian repertory, inspiring him to take the acting career path at an early age. When Mario was 10, his father died and his mother relocated the family to California, where he began taking night classes for acting, first with

Jeff Corey Jeff Corey (born Arthur Zwerling; August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor. He was blacklisted in the 1950s and became an acting coach for a period, before returning to film and television work in the 1960s. ...

, then Corey Allen. In 1960, at the age of 20, he appeared, uninvited, in the office of director

John Frankenheimer John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits are ''Birdman of Alcatraz (film), Birdman of Alcatraz'', ''The Manc ...

of Columbia Studios, asking for a chance to audition for whatever film he was making next. This led to his first big break, playing Diavolo in the film ''

The Young Savages ''The Young Savages'' is a 1961 American crime drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usual ...

''. Next, he played Nicky on the top television show, '' The Untouchables''. He initially became typecast in "bad guy" roles, but this gradually expanded to general roles in police/crime shows, both drama and comedy.

Filmography

This filmography is very incomplete. For the complete list, chec
here

References

External links

*
Mario Roccuzzo on NowCasting.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roccuzzo, Mario 1940 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Boston American people of Italian descent