Special Birthdays

Nevenka Dundek (actress) is 65 today. 

Gerald Alexander Held (actor) is 60 today.

Lucas Black (actress) is 35 today.

Who Are Those Guys? Ron Carey

Ronald Joseph Cicenia was born in Newark, New Jersey on December 11, 1935. Best known as Ron Carey to film and TV audiences he’s best remembered for playing ambitious NYPD Police Officer Carl Levitt on TV's ‘Barney Miller’, in which he was almost always surrounded by male actors (and sometimes female guest stars) who stood at least 4 inches (10 cm) taller.

Carey was among the slate of actors who were members of Mel Brooks 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.

The son of Fanny and John Cicenia, he was raised in an Italian American Catholic family. Carey did stand-up comedy in the 1960s, after earning a bachelor's degree in communications from Seton Hall University in 1956. His comedy centered mostly on Catholicism 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.

He also appeared in supporting roles in films and on television, and was seen in scores of commercials, including some T-shirt ads for Hanes, and an ad for Nabisco's snack cracker Better Cheddars where he sang. Because of his short stature he was perfect for the role of Joe Dalton in Terence Hill’s TV series and film as the leader of the ‘Daltons’. He later played Sheriff Fox in Terence Hill and Bud Spencer’s last western “Troublemakers”.

Carey died of a stroke at a Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, on January 16, 2007. He was survived by his wife, Sharon, and his brother, James Cicenia.

CAREY, Ron (Ronald Joseph Cicenia) [12/11/1935, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A. – 1/16/2007, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (stroke)] – singer, film, TV actor, comedian, married to actress Sharon Carey (Sharon Boyeronus) [1944-    ] (1967-2007).

Lucky Luke (TV) – 1990-1991 (Joe Dalton)

Lucky Luke – 1991 (Joe Dalton)      

Troublemakers – 1994 (Sheriff Fox)

Special Birthdays

Roberto Camardiel (actor) would have been 100 today, he died in 1986.

Pierre Gaspard-Huit (director, screenwriter) would have been 100 today, he died in 2017.

Pedro Damian (actor) is 65 today.

RIP Anthony Harvey

Acclaimed director, film editor Anthony Harvey, died at his Water Mill, New York home on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 23. He was 87. Born in London on June 3, 1930, Mr. Harvey’s best known turn in the director’s chair was “The Lion in Winter,” a 1968 historical drama based on a play by James Goldman starring Peter O’Toole as King Henry II and Katharine Hepburn as Queen Eleanor. The film gleaned seven Academy Award nominations, including a Best Director nod for Mr. Harvey. Ms. Hepburn tied with Barbra Streisand for Best Actress, and Mr. Harvey accepted the Oscar on her behalf in her absence. Harvey directed only one Euro-western: 1979’ “Eagle’s Wing”.

RIP Ignazio Colnaghi

Italian actor, writer and voice dubber Ignazio Colnaghi died in Milan, Italy on November 25th. He was 83. Colnaghi was born on June 16, 1924, Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Known by the stage name of Ignatius Colnigee he began his career at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan with Dario Fo and Franco Parenti, then followed them into variety shows on radio, but he preferred to devote himself early into voice dubbing. He was the voice of the cartoon characters Calimero, the black chick protagonist of the lucky carousels and the caterpillar John Little the friend of Rat Gigio. Ignazio was also the Italian voice of Fernandel in his early films and Pierre Brasseur. With Angio Zane he wrote the screenplay of the 1964 Euro-western “Okay, Sheriff” which starred Frank Senis.