Val Bisoglio

Italo Valentino Bisoglio was born on May 7, 1926, in New York City, New York. An American character actor, he worked across stage, film, and television over the course of a career spanning several decades, and died on October 18, 2021, at his home in Los Olivos, California, from Lewy body dementia at the age of 95.

Bisoglio's stage career included a Broadway appearance in 1966 in Wait Until Dark. His work in theater preceded a long run in film and television that would come to define his professional legacy.

On screen, Bisoglio accumulated an extensive list of film credits beginning in the late 1960s. His roles included parts in No Way to Treat a Lady and The Brotherhood, both released in 1968, followed by an uncredited appearance in Serpico in 1973 and a credited role in The Don Is Dead that same year. He continued in film through the mid-to-late 1970s with appearances in Linda Lovelace for President and The Hindenburg in 1975, St. Ives in 1976, and The Frisco Kid in 1979. Among his film work, his portrayal of Frank Manero Sr., the combative father of John Travolta's character in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, earned him particular recognition.

Television occupied a significant portion of Bisoglio's career. During the 1960s and 1970s he appeared in a wide range of programs, including The Doctors, McCloud, All in the Family, Barney Miller, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Roll Out, Kojak, Baretta, McMillan and Wife, The Rockford Files, and three episodes of M*A*S*H. His most sustained television role came on the medical drama Quincy, M.E., where he played restaurateur Danny Tovo in a recurring capacity from 1976 to 1983. In 1986 he appeared in the Miami Vice episode titled Forgive Us our Debts, in the eleventh episode of the series' third season. His final television appearance came in 2002 on The Sopranos, where he played Murf Lupo across three episodes.