In 1990, Gardenia was awarded the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a television movie or television series for the HBO production Age Old Friends. Gardenia was twice honored for his performances on Broadway. In 1972, he won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical in 1979 for Ballroom. Off-Broadway, he was twice awarded with the Most Distinguished Performance Award by an actor, 1960 for Machinal, and again in 1969 for Passing Through From Exotic Places.[citation needed]
Early life
Gardenia was born Vincenzo Scognamiglio in
Ercolano, Città Metropolitana di Napoli, Campania, Italy, the elder son of[2] Elisa (née Ausiello) and Gennaro Ettore Federico Scognamiglio (or Gennaro Gardenia Scognamiglio).[3] When he was almost three years old, the family immigrated to the United States (November, 1922) and settled in Brooklyn, New York.[2]
His father established an acting troupe that presented Italian-language melodramas. As a child, he performed in the troupe in Italian-American neighborhoods in and around New York City,[2] having later said, "the titles changed, but they were usually about a son or daughter who gets in trouble, runs away, then begs forgiveness". He debuted in the company at age five, portraying a shoeshine boy. He graduated to character roles while still a teenager. He remained a member of the company until 1960, five years after his first English-speaking role on Broadway.[4]
In December 1992, Gardenia was in Philadelphia to perform in the stage production of the Tom Dulack comedy Breaking Legs. He was beginning a three-week run as restaurant owner Lou Graziano in the off-Broadway hit at the Forrest Theatre. It was a role he had performed since the show's New York City opening in May 1991.[citation needed]
Around 1 a.m. on December 9, 1992, hours after the final preview performance, Gardenia had returned to his hotel room after dining with stage director John Tillinger, producer Elliot Martin, and cast members. According to Martin, Gardenia showed no signs of illness, adding, "It was just a jolly evening." According to authorities, when Gardenia failed to appear the next morning for a radio interview to promote the play's run, press representative Irene Gandy and cast member Vince Viverito became alarmed. When they arrived at Gardenia's hotel room, there was no answer. The hotel sent an engineer who opened the door and Gardenia was discovered dead of a heart attack, dressed and clutching the telephone. He was 72.[citation needed]
That evening, in the theatrical tradition of "the show must go on" and just hours after Gardenia's death, the play's official opening took place. The company dedicated its opening performance to Gardenia's memory.[13]Harry Guardino assumed Gardenia's role as the restaurant owner.[14]
Gardenia never married or had children. He was survived by his younger brother, Ralph Frank Scognamiglio (September 30, 1925 – January 31, 2018).[4][15] A section of 16th Avenue in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he resided until his death, bears the secondary name of Vincent Gardenia Boulevard in his honor.[citation needed]
Before being cast regularly as Frank Lorenzo in season 4, Gardenia had played neighbor Jim Bowman in a single episode of season 1 and swinger Curtis Rempley in a single episode of season 3.
^Garfield, David (April 1984). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN978-0020123101.
^"Winners". www.tonyawards.com. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
.jpg)
