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

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

actor. The actor was best known for playing ambitious

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

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 Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...

'', 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 Hal Linden (born Harold Lipshitz, March 20, 1931) is an American stage and screen actor, television director and musician. Linden began his career as a big band musician and singer in the 1950s. After a stint in the United States Army, he began ...

Max Gail Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. (born April 5, 1943) is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982 ...

Abe Vigoda Abraham Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977, 1982) and ''Fish'' (1977–1978). His ...

, Ron Glass,

Steve Landesberg Steve 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 three ...

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

's unofficial

repertory A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

company, appearing in several of the director's films; Carey was featured in ''

Silent Movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

'', ''

High Anxiety ''High Anxiety'' is a 1977 American satirical comedy mystery film produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who also plays the lead. This is Brooks' first film as a producer and first speaking lead role (his first lead role was in '' Silent Movie'' ...

'', and '' History of the World: Part I''. He also appeared in '' Fatso'', directed by Brooks' wife

Anne Bancroft Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, tw ...

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, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

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

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

family. He attended

Barringer High School Barringer Academy of the Arts & Humanities (formerly Barringer High School and Newark High School), is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, in the U.S. sta ...

, 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 university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

in 1956. His comedy centered mostly on

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 1 ...

'' 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 ''

'', ''

'', and ''

History of the World, Part I ''History of the World, Part I'' is a 1981 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks also stars in the film, playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King Louis XVI, ...

''. 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 an American clothing brand headquartered in Winston-Salem. Founded in 1900 as Shamrock Knitting Mills by John Wesley Hanes, the company is owned by Hanes, Inc. History Hanes was f ...

, an ad for Nabisco's snack cracker

Better Cheddars Better Cheddars is a brand of baked cheese crackers that are prepared using cheddar cheese as a main ingredient. Better Cheddars are manufactured by Nabisco, a subsidiary of Mondelēz International. In the United States, Better Cheddars are marke ...

, where he sang, and a

Post Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

Honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic cells built from beeswax by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) and stores of honey and pol ...

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

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

Los Angeles, California 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, ...

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

Filmography

References

External links

* *
''New York Times'' obituary
{{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 Comedians from Newark, New Jersey American male comedians