Alex Rocco

Tough, gruff, thick-browed, volatile-looking character actor 'Alex Rocco' (qv) was born Alessandro Federico Petricone, Jr. on February 29, 1936, to Italian immigrants in Cambridge, Mass. He grew up a member of Boston's Winter Hill gang (his nickname was "Bobo") and was briefly detained regarding a murder at one point after an alleged personal incident triggered the Boston Irish Gang War (1961-1967). Rocco decided to straighten his life and relocated to Hollywood in 1962 following his detainment and release.Developing an interest in acting, Alex initially trained with such notable teachers as 'Leonard Nimoy' (qv) and 'Jeff Corey' (qv) in order to curb his thick Boston accent. Working as a bartender during the lean years, his film and TV career finally kick-started in 1965, immediately relying on his sly, lethal menace, toothy toughness and prior gangland past to realistically portray gritty anti-heroes and villains.Alex made a surprisingly effective movie debut co-starring as a vengeful veterinarian and Vietnam vet who goes after motorcycle "bad boys" following his wife's beating and rape in the cheapjack exploitation flick _Motorpsycho! (1965)_ (qv) directed by 'Russ Meyer' (qv). Despite this bold beginning, it was followed by a disappointing gangster bit in _The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)_ (qv) and a nothing role as a lieutenant in [0062755]. On TV, he found sporadic work playing thugs and other unsavory types on such TV shows as "Run for Your Life," "Batman" and "Get Smart."Rocco came into his own in the early 70's. After featured roles in such violent exploitation like _Blood Mania (1970)_ (qv) and _Brute Corps (1971)_ (qv), he received a huge boost in an Oscar-winning "A" film. He made a brief but potent impact essaying the role of Las Vegas syndicate boss Moe Green who gets a bullet in the eye during the violently explosive "christening sequence" of 'Mario Puzo' (qv)'s _The Godfather (1972)_ (qv). From there he found a comfortable supporting niche playing various swarthy-looking cronies, hoods and cops in such crimers as _The Outside Man (1972)_ (qv), _Slither (1973)_ (qv), _The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)_ (qv) (in which he made good use of his Boston criminal past), _Freebie and the Bean (1974)_ (qv), _Three the Hard Way (1974)_ (qv) and [link-tt0316900]. Similar urban roles followed him on TV with yeoman work on such 70's cop shows as "The Rookies," "Get Christie Love," "Kojak," "Cannon," "The Blue Knight," "Police Story," "The Rockford Files," "Barnaby Jones," "Dog and Cat," "Baretta," "Starsky and Hutch," "Delvecchio" "CHiPs," "Matt Houston," "Hardcastle and McCormick" and "Simon & Simon," along with the TV movies or miniseries _A Question of Guilt (1978)_ (qv), _The Gangster Chronicles (1981)_ (qv) and _Badge of the Assassin (1985)_ (qv).In the midst of all this, Alex was handed the starring role of his own series _Three for the Road (1975)_ (qv) in which he played a newly widowered photographer with two teenage sons 'Vincent Van Patten' (qv) and 'Leif Garrett' (qv)) who assuage their grief by leaving town and "discovering America" together. Though well-received, it was short-lived (13 episodes) as a result of poor scheduling. The actor returned to series TV in the late 1980s and was much more successful as a slick Hollywood agent in _The Famous Teddy Z (1989)_ (qv) for which he won a "Supporting Actor" Emmy award. Other regular comedy series work, such as _Sibs (1991)_ (qv), _The George Carlin Show (1994)_ (qv), _The Division (2001)_ (qv) and _Magic City (2012)_ (qv), added to his healthy resume over the years, with over 400 TV appearances racked up in all. Recurring roles on such programs as _The Simpsons (1989)_ (qv) and _The Facts of Life (1979)_ (qv) (as 'Nancy McKeon' (qv)'s father) also kept his career going at a steady pace. Other memorably flashy film roles include _Freebie and the Bean (1974)_ (qv), _The Stunt Man (1980)_ (qv), _Lady in White (1988)_ (qv), _Get Shorty (1995)_ (qv) and _Just Write (1997)_ (qv) and one of his last.Twice married, Alex's first wife, Sandra Garrett, a nightclub performer and screenwriter, died of cancer in 2002. He married actress 'Shannon Wilcox' (qv) in 2005 and together they appeared in the film _Scammerhead (2014)_ (qv). Rocco appeared in two films helmed by his adopted son, screenwriter and director 'Marc Rocco' (qv): _Scenes from the Goldmine (1987)_ (qv) and _Dream a Little Dream (1989)_ (qv), who died in 2009. Two other children by his first wife were Lucian, a poet, and Jennifer, an attorney. Alex died of pancreatic cancer on July 18,n 2015 at age 79.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]