Alex Rocco(1936-2015)
- Actor
Tough, gruff, thick-browed, volatile-looking character actor Alex Rocco was born Alessandro Federico Petricone, Jr. on February 29, 1936, to Italian immigrants in Cambridge, Mass. He grew up a member of Boston's Winter Hill gang (his nickname was "Bobo" ) and was briefly detained regarding a murder at one point after an alleged personal incident triggered the Boston Irish Gang War (1961-1967). Rocco decided to straighten his life and relocated to Hollywood in 1962 following his detainment and release.
Developing an interest in acting, Alex initially trained with such notable teachers asLeonard NimoyandJeff Coreyin order to curb his thick Boston accent. Working as a bartender during the lean years, his film and TV career finally kick-started in 1965, immediately relying on his sly, lethal menace, toothy toughness, and prior gangland past to realistically portray gritty anti-heroes and villains. He made an effective movie debut, co-starring as a vengeful veterinarian and Vietnam vet who goes after motorcycle "bad boys" following his wife's beating and rape in the exploitation flickMotorpsycho! (1965)directed byRuss Meyer.Despite this bold beginning, it was followed by a disappointing gangster bit inThe St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)and a nothing role as a police Lieutenant inThe Boston Strangler (1968).On TV, he found sporadic work playing thugs and other unsavory types on such TV shows as "Run for Your Life," "Batman" and "Get Smart."
Rocco came into his own in the early 1970s. After featured roles in such violent exploitation likeBlood Mania (1970)andBrute Corps (1971),he received a huge boost in an Oscar-winning "A" film. He made a brief but potent impact essaying the role of Las Vegas syndicate Boss Moe Green who gets a bullet in the eye during the violently explosive "christening sequence" ofMario Puzo'sThe Godfather (1972).From there he found a comfortable supporting niche playing various swarthy-looking cronies, hoods and cops in such crime films asUn homme est mort (1972),Slither (1973),The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)(in which he made good use of his Boston criminal past),Freebie and the Bean (1974),Three the Hard Way (1974)andA Woman for All Men (1975).Similar urban roles followed him on TV with yeoman work on such 1970s cop shows as "The Rookies", "Get Christie Love", "Kojak", "Cannon", "The Blue Knight", "Police Story", "The Rockford Files", "Barnaby Jones", "Dog and Cat", "Baretta", "Starsky and Hutch", "Delvecchio", "CHiPs", "Matt Houston", "Hardcastle and McCormick", and "Simon & Simon", along with the TV movies or miniseriesA Question of Guilt (1978),The Gangster Chronicles (1981)andBadge of the Assassin (1985).
In the midst of all this, Alex was handed the starring role of his own seriesThree for the Road (1975)in which he played a new widower photographer with two teenage sons (played byVincent Van PattenandLeif Garrett) who assuage their grief by leaving town and "discovering America" together. Although well-received, it was short-lived (13 episodes) as a result of poor scheduling. The actor returned to series TV in the late 1980s and was much more successful as a slick Hollywood agent inThe Famous Teddy Z (1989)for which he won a "Supporting Actor" Emmy Award. Other regular comedy series work, such asSibs (1991),The George Carlin Show (1994),The Division (2001)andMagic City (2012),added to his healthy resume over the years, with over 400 TV appearances racked up in all. Recurring roles on such programs asThe Simpsons (1989)andThe Facts of Life (1979)(asNancy McKeon's father) also kept his career going at a steady pace. Other memorably flashy film roles includeFreebie and the Bean (1974),The Stunt Man (1980),Lady in White (1988),Get Shorty (1995)andJust Write (1997).
Twice married, Rocco's first wife, Sandra Garrett, a nightclub performer and screenwriter, died of cancer in 2002. He married actressShannon Wilcoxin 2005 and together they appeared in the filmScammerhead (2014).Rocco appeared in two films helmed by his adopted son, screenwriter and directorMarc Rocco:Scenes from the Goldmine (1987)andDream a Little Dream (1989),who died in 2009. Two other children by his first wife were Lucian, a poet, and Jennifer, an attorney. Alex Rocco died of pancreatic cancer on July 18, 2015 at age 79.
Developing an interest in acting, Alex initially trained with such notable teachers asLeonard NimoyandJeff Coreyin order to curb his thick Boston accent. Working as a bartender during the lean years, his film and TV career finally kick-started in 1965, immediately relying on his sly, lethal menace, toothy toughness, and prior gangland past to realistically portray gritty anti-heroes and villains. He made an effective movie debut, co-starring as a vengeful veterinarian and Vietnam vet who goes after motorcycle "bad boys" following his wife's beating and rape in the exploitation flickMotorpsycho! (1965)directed byRuss Meyer.Despite this bold beginning, it was followed by a disappointing gangster bit inThe St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)and a nothing role as a police Lieutenant inThe Boston Strangler (1968).On TV, he found sporadic work playing thugs and other unsavory types on such TV shows as "Run for Your Life," "Batman" and "Get Smart."
Rocco came into his own in the early 1970s. After featured roles in such violent exploitation likeBlood Mania (1970)andBrute Corps (1971),he received a huge boost in an Oscar-winning "A" film. He made a brief but potent impact essaying the role of Las Vegas syndicate Boss Moe Green who gets a bullet in the eye during the violently explosive "christening sequence" ofMario Puzo'sThe Godfather (1972).From there he found a comfortable supporting niche playing various swarthy-looking cronies, hoods and cops in such crime films asUn homme est mort (1972),Slither (1973),The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)(in which he made good use of his Boston criminal past),Freebie and the Bean (1974),Three the Hard Way (1974)andA Woman for All Men (1975).Similar urban roles followed him on TV with yeoman work on such 1970s cop shows as "The Rookies", "Get Christie Love", "Kojak", "Cannon", "The Blue Knight", "Police Story", "The Rockford Files", "Barnaby Jones", "Dog and Cat", "Baretta", "Starsky and Hutch", "Delvecchio", "CHiPs", "Matt Houston", "Hardcastle and McCormick", and "Simon & Simon", along with the TV movies or miniseriesA Question of Guilt (1978),The Gangster Chronicles (1981)andBadge of the Assassin (1985).
In the midst of all this, Alex was handed the starring role of his own seriesThree for the Road (1975)in which he played a new widower photographer with two teenage sons (played byVincent Van PattenandLeif Garrett) who assuage their grief by leaving town and "discovering America" together. Although well-received, it was short-lived (13 episodes) as a result of poor scheduling. The actor returned to series TV in the late 1980s and was much more successful as a slick Hollywood agent inThe Famous Teddy Z (1989)for which he won a "Supporting Actor" Emmy Award. Other regular comedy series work, such asSibs (1991),The George Carlin Show (1994),The Division (2001)andMagic City (2012),added to his healthy resume over the years, with over 400 TV appearances racked up in all. Recurring roles on such programs asThe Simpsons (1989)andThe Facts of Life (1979)(asNancy McKeon's father) also kept his career going at a steady pace. Other memorably flashy film roles includeFreebie and the Bean (1974),The Stunt Man (1980),Lady in White (1988),Get Shorty (1995)andJust Write (1997).
Twice married, Rocco's first wife, Sandra Garrett, a nightclub performer and screenwriter, died of cancer in 2002. He married actressShannon Wilcoxin 2005 and together they appeared in the filmScammerhead (2014).Rocco appeared in two films helmed by his adopted son, screenwriter and directorMarc Rocco:Scenes from the Goldmine (1987)andDream a Little Dream (1989),who died in 2009. Two other children by his first wife were Lucian, a poet, and Jennifer, an attorney. Alex Rocco died of pancreatic cancer on July 18, 2015 at age 79.
