Albert Francis Molinaro (born Umberto Francesco Molinaro; June 24, 1919 – October 30, 2015) was an American actor. He played Al Delvecchio on Happy Days and Officer Murray Greshler on The Odd Couple. He also appeared in many television commercials, including On-Cor frozen dinners.
Early life
thumb|Molinaro as Father Anthony Delvecchio, the twin brother of Al Delvecchio on Happy Days, performing Fonzie's baptism in 1977
Umberto Francesco Molinaro was born and raised in the Columbus Park neighborhood of Kenosha, Wisconsin, the second-youngest of ten children of Raffaele and Teresa Molinaro, who had emigrated from Marano Principato in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy.
Molinaro's father was a prominent tavern/restaurant/hotel owner, and a leader of the Kenosha Italian community who financially sponsored hundreds of Italians to immigrate to the United States. Molinaro's brother Joseph was Kenosha County's longest-serving district attorney and retired as a municipal judge, and his brother George served 30 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, including one session as Speaker.
At school Al discovered a talent for public speaking, although he struggled at high school, staying on an extra year to graduate. In 1940, he left home, taking a bus to seek fame and fortune as an actor in Los Angeles. In 1948, Molinaro married Jacquelin Martin, with whom he had a son, Michael. The couple later divorced.
Molinaro starred in a failed TV pilot called The Ugily Family (1982) as the patriarch of an unattractive clan who is constantly correcting mispronunciations of his surname as "ugly". The business went defunct.
Molinaro reprised his role as Al Delvecchio from Happy Days in Weezer's 1994 music video of the song "Buddy Holly", which was set in Arnold's diner.
He retired from acting in television and films in the early 1990s, but continued to appear in TV commercials until the early 2000s. He appeared in 42 commercials for On-Cor frozen foods between 1987 and 2003. He also starred in television advertisements for Cortaid hydrocortisone cream and Mr. Big paper products. He was cremated.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film
|-
! Year || Title || Role || class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1954 || Love Me Madly || Himself ||
|-
| 1975 || It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman! ||Gangster ||
|-
| 1976 || Freaky Friday || Drapery Man ||
|-
| 1980 || Gridlock || Sightseer ||
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Television
|-
! Year || Title || Role || class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1969 || Get Smart || Agent 44 || | "Ironhand" <br />& "Ice Station Siegfried"
|-
| 1970–1975 || The Odd Couple || Officer Murray Greshler || | 73 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2"|1971 || Bewitched || Tour Guide || | "Bewitched, Bothered and Baldoni"
|-
| That Girl || Marv || "Chef's Night Out"
|-
| 1976–1984 || Happy Days || Al Delvecchio || | 146 episodes
|-
| 1977 || The Love Boat || Antonio Borga || "Dear Beverly / The Strike / Special Delivery"
|-
| 1979 || $weepstake$ || || Season 1, episode 8
|-
| 1979, 1982 || Fantasy Island || Lou Fielding <br />& Max Grant || | "Bowling/Command Performance"<br />& "Dancing Lady/The Final Round"
|-
| 1982–1983 || Joanie Loves Chachi || Al Delvecchio || | 17 episodes
|-
| 1982 || The Ugily Family || Sal Ugily || | A 30-minute failed TV pilot
|-
| 1985 || Punky Brewster || Imprisoned Santa Claus || | "Christmas Shoplifting"
|-
| 1990–1991 || The Family Man || Joe Alberghetti || | 22 episodes
|-
| 1992 || Step by Step || Joe Passarelli || | "The Boss"
|}
References
External links
- Al Molinaro, actor who played Big Al on 'Happy Days', dead at 96: reports
<!---added because his commercial work continued past 2000-->