Tom Aldredge | |
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| Born | (1928-02-28)February 28, 1928 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | July 22, 2011(2011-07-22) (aged 83) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Davids Cemetery,Kettering, Ohio |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1961–2011 |
| Spouse | |
Thomas Ernest Aldredge (February 28, 1928 – July 22, 2011) was an American television, film and stage actor.
He won aDaytime Emmy Award for playing the role ofShakespeare inHenry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare (1978). HisBroadway stage career spanned five decades, including fiveTony Award nominations. He played both the Narrator and the Mysterious Man in the original Broadway cast ofInto the Woods. He also appeared on television in programs includingRyan's Hope,Damages, andBoardwalk Empire, with a notable role asHugh De Angelis,Tony Soprano’s father-in-law, onThe Sopranos.
Aldredge was born inDayton, Ohio, the son of Lucienne Juliet (née Marcillat) and William Joseph Aldredge, a colonel in theUnited States Army Air Corps.[1] He originally planned to become a lawyer and was a Pre-Law student at theUniversity of Dayton in the late 1940s. In 1947 he decided to pursue a career as an actor after attending a performance of the original Broadway production ofA Streetcar Named Desire.[2]
Aldredge carved out a respected career on theBroadway stage that spanned five decades, garnering fiveTony Award nominations. He made his Broadway debut as Danny in the 1959 musicalThe Nervous Set. In 1972 he won aDrama Desk Award for his portrayal of Ozzie, the father of a blinded Vietnam veteran, inDavid Rabe'sSticks and Bones. He played Henry VIII's fool, Will Sommers, inRichard Rodgers' penultimate musicalRex in 1976. He originated the role of Norman Thayer Jr. inOn Golden Pond in 1978, earning a Drama Desk Award nomination. His best-known role, however, was that of the Narrator/Mysterious Man inStephen Sondheim andJames Lapine'sInto the Woods, a role he originated on Broadway and later repeated in the PBSAmerican Playhouse production and the 1997 tenth anniversary concert. He also created the role of Doctor Tambourri in another Sondheim/Lapine collaboration,Passion.
He was part of the 1997 all-star revival ofInherit the Wind produced byTony Randall, playing Rev. Brown in an ensemble that also includedGeorge C. Scott,Charles Durning, andAnthony Heald.
In 1960Theodore Flicker founded a professional Off-Broadway coffee house theater, The Premise at 154Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. He recruited Tom Aldredge along withJoan Darling,George Segal and Dolores Welber as the initial improvisational cast fielding and reacting to suggestions from their audience.[3]
He had a 50-year-long career working as a character actor on television and film. He won aDaytime Emmy Award in 1978 for his portrayal ofWilliam Shakespeare in the episodeHenry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare on the programThe CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People. His best-known television role was that ofTony Soprano's father-in-law,Hugh De Angelis, on theHBO seriesThe Sopranos.
He was married to stage and screen costume designerTheoni V. Aldredge from 1953 until her death on January 21, 2011.[2]
Aldredge died July 22, 2011, under hospice inTampa, Florida from lymphoma. He was 83 years old.[2][4]Aldredge died during the filming ofBoardwalk Empire episode "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", in which his character also died.
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