Anthony Caruso (actor)


Anthony Caruso was an American character actor in more than one hundred American films. He was known for his villains and gangsters, including the first season of Walt Disney's Zorro as Captain Juan Ortega, and in numerous films noirs.

Early life

Caruso was born in Frankfort, Indiana to Italian-American parents.

Career

While acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, he met Alan Ladd, beginning a friendship that continued as they made 11 films together.
Caruso's early acting experience included performing with The Hart Players, a stock theater company that presented tent shows. He also acted with the Federal Theatre Project and was a star in plays at the Hollywood Playhouse.
He made his film debut in Henry Hathaway's Johnny Apollo starring Tyrone Power. He is best known for his numerous portrayals of gangsters and villains in film noir, including Incident, The Undercover Man, Scene of the Crime, and The Asphalt Jungle.
Moving to television, Caruso played Tiburcio Vásquez in a 1954 episode of the Western series Stories of the Century. He appeared in the first Brian Keith series, Crusader. Among Caruso's other Western credits was 1954's Cattle Queen of Montana starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan. In 1957, he appeared in the fourth episode of the first season of the TV Western Have Gun – Will Travel starring Richard Boone titled "The Winchester Quarantine".
In 1956 Caruso appeared as Disalin with war hero Audie Murphy, Charles Drake and Anne Bancroft in Walk the Proud Land.
In 1957, Caruso appeared in episode "The Child" on NBC's The Restless Gun. In 1959, he was cast as George Bradley in the episode "Annie's Old Beau" on the NBC children's Western series, Buckskin.
That same year, he portrayed Matt Cleary on CBS's Wanted: Dead or Alive episode "The Littlest Client", with Steve McQueen. Also 1959, he also guest-starred on the ABC/Warner Brothers Western series, Sugarfoot, in the episode "The Extra Hand", along with guest stars Karl Swenson and Jack Lambert as well as the series star, Will Hutchins. The same year he appeared in the 'Syndicate Sanctuary' episode of The Untouchables.
In 1960, Caruso played a Cherokee Indian, Chief White Bull, in the episode "The Long Trail" of the NBC Western series, Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin.
Caruso played a cowboy named Gurney on Gunsmoke in "Shooting Stopover" in 1960. He also played "Lone Wolf" in a 1961 episode entitled "Indian Ford". He returned in 1962, playing Cody Durham in "Cody's Code". In 1963 he played the title character "Ash Farior", in a performance outside of his normal roles, partnering with & befriending "Ben", where the latter has an accident that disrupts his brain, and Caruso shows his friend sympathy, love, patience, care & loyalty.
In 1961, he appeared twice on the ABC/Warner Brothers drama series, The Roaring 20s, including the role of Lucky Lombardi in "The Maestro". He was also cast with Will Hutchins in a second The Roaring 20s episode entitled, "Pie in the Sky." Early in 1961, he was cast as Velde in the episode "Willy's Millionaire" of the short-lived ABC adventure series, The Islanders, with Diane Brewster.
Caruso guest-starred in an episode of the ABC Western series, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, based on a Robert Lewis Taylor novel of the same name. Caruso guest-starred three times on CBS's Perry Mason. In 1962, he played Keith Lombard in "The Case of the Playboy Pugilist." In 1965, he made two Perry Mason appearances, both times as the murder victim: first as title character Enrico Bacio in "The Case of the Sad Sicilian," then as Harvey Rettig in "The Case of the Runaway Racer."
In 1964, he guest-starred in the Bonanza episode "The Saga of Squaw Charlie" playing a Native American man shunned by almost everybody and with only two friends, Ben Cartwright and a little girl named Angela. In 1964 he played "Sims", a surly cowboy in "Father's Love", as well as "Bull Foot" in a semi-comedic role in the episode "The Warden". In 1969 he starred alongside Ricardo Montalbán in The Desperate Mission, a fictionalized telling of the life of Joaquin Murrieta. From 1966 to 1970 he guest-starred three times on the long-running NBC Western The Virginian, starring James Drury. In 1965 he guest-starred on ABC's The Addams Family as Don Xavier Molinas.
Some of his other roles were that of the alien gangster "Bela Oxmyx" in the classic Star Trek episode "A Piece of the Action", Chief Blackfish on the NBC series Daniel Boone, Mongo in the film Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, Sengo in Tarzan and the Slave Girl, and Louis Ciavelli in The Asphalt Jungle. Caruso played the comical character of the Native American "Red Cloud" on the 1965 Get Smart episode "Washington 4, Indians 3," and Chief Angry Bear in the episode "You Can't Scalp a Bald Indian" of Rango.
In 1970, Caruso made a guest appearance on the ABC crime drama The Silent Force in the episode "A Family Tradition." In 1974, he appeared in the final episode, entitled "The Fire Dancer," of the ABC police drama Nakia. Caruso also had a recurring roll as El Lobo on The High Chaparral.

Personal life and death

Caruso met his future wife, Tonia at the Alcazar Theater in 1939 in San Francisco, when the play she was in was closing and the play he was in was opening. Caruso was married for 63 years. He enjoyed gardening and cooking.
On April 4, 2003, Caruso died at age 86 at his home in Los Angeles, California, three days before his 87th birthday.

Selected filmography

  1. Johnny Apollo as Joe – Henchman
  2. The Bride Wore Crutches as Max
  3. North West Mounted Police as Half-breed at Riel's HQ
  4. The Devil's Pipeline as Natoni – Henchman
  5. Tall, Dark and Handsome as Gunman
  6. The Corsican Brothers as Baron's Henchman
  7. You're in the Army Now as Apache Dancer
  8. Always in My Heart as Frank
  9. Sunday Punch as Nat Cucci
  10. Across the Pacific as Taxi Driver
  11. Lucky Jordan as Hired Gun
  12. The Ghost and the Guest as Henchman Ted
  13. Above Suspicion as Italian Border Sentry
  14. Jitterbugs as Mike
  15. Watch on the Rhine as Italian Man
  16. The Girl from Monterrey as Alberto 'Baby' Valdez
  17. The Phantom as Count Silento
  18. Whistling in Brooklyn as Henchman Fingers
  19. The Racket Man as Tony Ciccardi
  20. The Story of Dr. Wassell as Pharmacist's Mate on 'Marblehead'
  21. U-Boat Prisoner as Benny, Seaman's Union Hall Man
  22. Maisie Goes to Reno as George – Blackjack Dealer
  23. The Conspirators as Fisherman
  24. And Now Tomorrow as Peter Gallo
  25. Objective, Burma! as Miggleori
  26. The Crime Doctor's Courage as Miguel Bragga
  27. Don Juan Quilligan as One Eyed Barton
  28. Pride of the Marines as Johnny Rivers
  29. Star in the Night Jas osé Santos
  30. I Love a Bandleader as Tony Ramon, Bandleader at El Caro
  31. That Night with You as Tenor
  32. The Stork Club as Joe – Fisherman
  33. Tarzan and the Leopard Woman as Mongo
  34. To Each His Own as Mobster
  35. Night Editor as Tusco
  36. The Blue Dahlia as Marine Corporal Playing Jukebox
  37. The Catman of Paris as Raoul
  38. Don't Gamble with Strangers as Pinky Luiz
  39. The Last Crooked Mile as Charlie – Gang Member
  40. Monsieur Beaucaire as Masked Horseman
  41. My Favorite Brunette as First Man on Death Row
  42. They Won't Believe Me as Tough Patient
  43. News Hounds as Dapper Dan Greco
  44. Wild Harvest as Pete
  45. Escape Me Never as Dino Carbatto
  46. Where There's Life as John Fulda
  47. Devil Ship as Venetti
  48. To the Victor as Nikki
  49. Incident as Nails
  50. Song of India as Major Doraj
  51. Bride of Vengeance as Captain of the Guard
  52. The Undercover Man as Salvatore Rocco
  53. Illegal Entry as Teague
  54. Anna Lucasta as Eddie
  55. Scene of the Crime as Tony Rutzo
  56. The Threat as Nick Damon
  57. The Asphalt Jungle as Louis Ciavelli
  58. Tarzan and the Slave Girl as Sengo
  59. Prisoners in Petticoats as Nicky Bowman
  60. According to Mrs. Hoyle as Morganti
  61. His Kind of Woman as Tony
  62. Pals of the Golden West as Lucky Grillo aka Jim Bradford
  63. Boots Malone as Joe
  64. Desert Pursuit as Hassan
  65. The Iron Mistress as Black Jack Sturdevant
  66. Blackbeard the Pirate as Pierre La Garde
  67. Adventures of Superman as Luigi Dinelli
  68. The Man Behind the Gun as Vic Sutro
  69. Desert Legion as Lt. Massaoud
  70. Raiders of the Seven Seas as Renzo
  71. Fort Algiers as Chavez
  72. The Steel Lady as Zagora
  73. Fighter Attack as Aldo
  74. The Boy from Oklahoma as Barney Turlock
  75. Saskatchewan as Spotted Eagle
  76. Phantom of the Rue Morgue as Jacques the One-Eyed
  77. Passion as Sergeant Muñoz
  78. Drum Beat as Manok
  79. Cattle Queen of Montana as Natchakoa
  80. Santa Fe Passage as Chavez
  81. The Magnificent Matador as Emiliano
  82. City of Shadows as Tony Finetti
  83. Jail Busters as Percival P. Lannigan
  84. Tennessee's Partner as Turner
  85. Toughest Man Alive as Pete Gore
  86. Hell on Frisco Bay as Sebastian Pasmonick
  87. When Gangland Strikes as Duke Martella
  88. Walk the Proud Land as Disalin
  89. A Cry in the Night as Tony Chavez
  90. The Big Land as Brog
  91. S1E4 Winchester Quarantine as Joseph Whitehorse
  92. The Oklahoman as Jim Hawk
  93. The Lawless Eighties as Wolf Chief
  94. Omar Khayyam as Shah's Guard
  95. Joe Dakota as Marcus Vizzini
  96. Baby Face Nelson as John Hamilton
  97. The Restless Gun as Father Basilico in "The Child"
  98. Fort Massacre as Pawnee
  99. The Badlanders as Comanche
  100. Legion of the Doomed as Sgt. Calvelli
  101. Never Steal Anything Small as Lt. Tevis
  102. The Wonderful Country as Santiago Santos
  103. Bonanza as Chief Winnemucca
  104. Have Gun - Will Travel as Gimp
  105. Most Dangerous Man Alive as Andy Damon
  106. Gunsmoke as Cody
Gunsmoke as Tahar
  1. Where Love Has Gone as Rafael
  2. Sylvia as Muscles
  3. Young Dillinger as Rocco
  4. Perry Mason as Enrico Bacio
  5. Star Trek as Bela Okmyx
  6. Never a Dull Moment as Tony Preston
  7. Flap as Silver Dollar
  8. Brother, Cry for Me
  9. Eye for an Eye
  10. Mission Impossible as Leonard Morgan
  11. The Legend of Earl Durand as Sheriff Trask
  12. Mean Johnny Barrows as Don Da Vince
  13. Zebra Force as Salvatore Moreno
  14. Mission to Glory: A True Story as Father Rodriguez
  15. Claws as Henry
  16. Hawaii Five-O "Invitation to Murder" as David Thorpe
  17. Tierra sangrienta
  18. Savage Harbor as Harry
  19. The Legend of Grizzly Adams as Don Carlos