L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 7 Rober t Davi, from movie star to moder n crooner, following in Sinatra's footsteps For many people who grew up in the eighties Robert Davi w i l l a l w a y s b e o n e o f t h e Fratelli brothers, the family of crooks terrorizing The Goonies in the eponymous 1985 film; others may remember him as one of the best James Bond vil- lains in 1989 License to Kill. In fact Davi has built a career on bad guys, mobsters and tough guys. In person it can be quite a shock finding him to be one of the nicest people in the industry. D a v i w a s b o r n i n A s t o r i a , Queens, New York, to Italian parents. His mother, Maria Rulli was a f i r s t g e n e r a t i o n I t a l i a n - American with roots in Naples and his father, Sal came from Sicily. The old man was a Navy gunner awarded a Purple Heart in World War II, who secretly w a n t e d t o b e a n a c t o r a n d a singer, and inevitably passed on h i s a s p i r a t i o n s t o h i s s o n . Growing up Robert learned the importance of paying respect to both his heritage and the land that welcomed his father and which he called home. In the house the family spoke preva- lently Italian and Robert's par- e n t s m a d e t h e i r o w n w i n e stomping grapes; at the same time on every national holiday h i s f a t h e r w o u l d p u t o n t h e N a v y u n i f o r m a n d r a i s e t h e American flag in front of the house. In the household there was also deep appreciation for the arts, as a child Robert would stay up late watching movies of the greats Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum on TV. After attending Seton Hall, a C a t h o l i c h i g h s c h o o l i n Patchogue, New York, where his teachers encouraged him t o w a r d s t h e a r t s , D a v i w a s d r a w n t o H o f s t r a U n i v e r s i t y b e c a u s e o f i t s s t r o n g d r a m a department. He would always shine in plays of those early days, not just for his acting abil- i t i e s b u t a l s o f o r h i s v o i c e . Singing was his true calling, Frank Sinatra being his hero and role model. Davi famously said, " I w a s r a i s e d i n a n I t a l i a n Catholic home. We looked up to two people, the Pope and Frank Sinatra. Not necessarily in that order." In high school, he was chosen by the New York State School Music Association to audition for the Metropolitan Opera. He didn't make it, but kept training his voice with top vocal teachers, such as Samuel Margolis and Daniel Ferro of J uilliard and opera s tar Tito Gobbi in Florence, Italy. Once back in Manhattan, he went back to studying acting at the famous Actors Studio, where he was coached by legendary Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. I n 1 9 7 6 t h e n e w s b r o k e t h a t Frank Sinatra was in town to do a TV movie called Contract on Cherry Street. He begged his agent to get him an audition but was told that Sinatra, who was a l s o a p r o d u c e r o n t h e f i l m , w o u l d o n l y h i r e f a m i l y a n d friends. Obdurately, Davi went to the Columbia offices anyway and met with some assistants who gave him hope. If he would have come back the following day with a headshot and resume there might have been still a few roles to fill. He went back and forth the v e r y s a m e d a y a n d g o t h i s chance to audition. Not only that, the production liked him and decided to hire him. That would become Davi's first film and alongside his hero Sinatra n o l e s s . R o b e r t s p e n t t h r e e months on the shoot over the s u m m e r , b o n d i n g w i t h t h e famous singer. It also became the first time Davi set foot in L o s A n g e l e s , a f t e r p r i n c i p a l photography was over the pro- duction flew him to Hollywood and put him in the Beverly Hills H o t e l f o r r e s h o o t s . I t r e a l l y s e e m e d l i k e a l l h i s w i l d e s t dreams were coming true. From that point on his career skyrock- eted. He was FBI Special Agent Big Johnson in Die Hard and the owner of the topless lounge Al Torres in Showgirls. He has appeared in over one hundred films and TV shows and in 2007 debuted behind the camera with The Dukes, a pas- sion project which featured his friend Chazz Palminteri; a tale about members of a once suc- c e s s f u l d o o - w o p g r o u p w h o years later try to revitalize their career in desperate ways. Having reached the public with his films, in recent years Davi went back to his first love, s i n g i n g . T h e d e c i s i o n c a m e f r o m t h e p o s i t i v e r e s p o n s e towards his performance in The Dukes, which had him singing the final number. He then did a recording of Sinatra's songs titled Davi Sings Sinatra - On T h e R o a d T o R o m a n c e . T h e album, produced by the leg- endary Phil Ramone, proved s u c c e s s f u l a n d m a d e t h e Billboard magazine's top ten traditional jazz chart. Davi con- sequently spent six months at the Venetian in Las Vegas per- forming the Great American S o n g b o o k , l a u n c h i n g a n e w career as a modern crooner. Part of the success is due to Davi not d o i n g a n i m p e r s o n a t i o n b u t rather an honest and personal tribute to the musical legend that Sinatra was and what he r e p r e s e n t e d f o r h i m a n d t h e Italian-American community, "He provided to the immigrant population an identity and dig- n i t y t h a t h a d n ' t b e e n t h e r e before." MICHAEL TRAVERSA Robert Davi. Photo credit: David Livingston/Getty Images North America Frank Sinatra and Robert Davi in 1977. Photo courtesy of Robert Davi

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