Bobby Alto

Robert Altomare, born October 30, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York, worked professionally under the name Bobby Alto as an actor, comedian, and performer. His Broadway career spanned from 1968 to 1992. Alto died on April 28, 2012, following complications from a stroke he had suffered in 2010. He is survived by his wife, Melody, and daughters Ivy and Kimberly.

Alto formed a comedy duo with Buddy Mantia called Alto & Mantia, a Brooklyn-based team that appeared on two prominent television variety programs. The pair performed on Toast of the Town with Ed Sullivan, which aired October 20, 1968, and on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which aired September 6, 1971. Alto also joined Mantia and Marvin Braverman in a separate comedy trio known as The Untouchables. In 1980, Alto and Mantia served as lead vocalists on the recording "It's a Super-Spectacular Day," a song that was first broadcast on The Dr. Demento Show before being released as a 7" single distributed by MAD Magazine.

On Broadway, Alto appeared in the original production of Lovers and Other Strangers, a show that later served as the basis for the 1970 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name. He returned to Broadway in 1992 as a lead performer in 3 From Brooklyn, which ran at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York City.

Alto's film credits included The Death Collector (1976), Prince of the City (1981), Crocodile Dundee (1986), and Love Is All There Is (1996). His television work included an appearance in a 1992 episode of NBC's Law & Order, as well as numerous television commercials throughout his career.