L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 L'Italo-Americano C arlo Fiorletta is an actor a n d p r o d u c e r b u t h i s position as President of the Guild for Italian American Actors is what separates him from many in the entertainment industry. The Guild for Italian A m e r i c a n A c t o r s , k n o w n a s G I A A , w a s f i r s t c a l l e d t h e Italian Actors Union, founded in 1937 by Antonio Maiori. The professional organization is the only ethnic acting union in the United States. GIAA's incep- tion began out of necessity to help Italian speaking actors earn a fair wage during a time when America's WASP population r e j e c t e d i m m i g r a n t s f r o m Southern and Eastern Europe. As a consequence, GIAA is a remnant from a period when I t a l i a n s a s w e l l a s o t h e r European groups contributed to the growth of unionization in t h e U S d u r i n g 1 9 2 0 s a n d 1930s. Many ethnic speaking actors believed it was essential t o p r o t e c t t h e m s e l v e s f r o m exploitation and unfair labor practices that were a common practice facing immigrants. In recent years, however, the d e c l i n e i n l a b o r u n i o n s i n America has affected collective bargaining rights and limited m e m b e r s h i p e n r o l l m e n t . I n GIAA's case, the drop in mem- bership compared to a half-cen- tury-ago is a direct correlation t o f e w e r I t a l i a n i m m i g r a n t s arriving, which has also impact- ed the demand and interest in Italian speaking plays. "In fact there are no Italian speaking plays performed in the US any- more," said Fiorletta, "and so our membership since I joined in 1996, has consistently been at about one-hundred." F o r m a n y t a l e n t e d a c t o r s "show business" is a difficult field in which to find work, especially steady work. "This is a crazy business to survive in" declared Carlo, "I am a full- time actor and when I am not acting, I tutor in home or on a set." The full-time actor has been in the business for over ALFONSO GUERRIERO JR. twenty years after crossing over from the banking and computer i n d u s t r y . A l t h o u g h h e i s a licensed teacher in High School Mathematics and Students with Disabilities, he emphasized that he prefers to act and go out on auditions whenever he can. "My wife who is very supportive of my career understands the diffi- culty in finding work, she is her- self a screenwriter." C a r l o d e c i d e d t o j o i n t h e guild as another way of getting noticed in show business even t h o u g h h e l i k e m o s t a c t o r s admitted finding roles can still b e a n a r d u o u s t a s k . B e f o r e C a r l o b e c a m e P r e s i d e n t o f GIAA in 2007, his predecessors had included: actors Lea Serra, G u y P a l u m b o a n d P a u l B o r g h e s e , w h o p l a y e d Y o g i Berra in the 2001 HBO movie 6 1 d i r e c t e d b y B i l l y Crystal. GIAA's current mem- bers do not include names like A l P a c i n o , R o b e r t D e N i r o , S y l v e s t e r S t a l l o n e o r J o h n Travolta. Instead, the organiza- tion has honorary members such as Vincent Pastore and Michael Rispoli. Most actors are already mem- bers of SAG-AFTRA, which is a l s o a s i s t e r u n i o n o f G I A A . A n d m a n y o f t h e i r a c t o r s h a v e p e r f o r m e d o n B r o a d w a y , O f f - B r o a d w a y , Summer Stock Theater as well a s a p p e a r e d i n f e a t u r e films. Even though the ethnic backgrounds of GIAA members a r e a t l e a s t p a r t I t a l i a n American, legally this cannot be used as a prerequisite, since no union can prevent anyone from joining its organization based on ethnicity, race, religion or gen- der. Carlo proudly explained, however, that the organization does have one Russian member a n d t h e y a r e s e e k i n g n e w recruits. Moreover, GIAA is a valu- able source for agents and cast- ing directors who are searching f o r a c t o r s t o p l a y I t a l i a n American roles. In fact, "Ben Affleck's people called us a few w e e k s a g o b e c a u s e t h e y a r e shooting a movie and were look- i n g f o r s o m e o n e t o p l a y a n Italian American part." Fiorletta said. Carlo, whose maternal grandparents were from Sicily and his paternal grandparents were from Rome/Milan, recently a p p e a r e d a n d c o - p r o d u c e d D e t o u r s s t a r r i n g P a u l Sorvino. He has also performed in numerous musicals, internet c o m m e r c i a l s , f i l m s a n d plays. One of his most noted p e r f o r m a n c e s w a s i n T O N Y A w a r d w i n n i n g p l a y w r i g h t M a r i o F r a t t i ' s p l a y I r a q / B l i n d n e s s a n d h e p o r t r a y e d Murray the Cop on stage in The Odd Couple. Carlo undoubtedly enjoys his position as president but like any leader of a company, there are certainly challenges to over- come. "At times it is difficult keeping the organization afloat because some of our members owe outstanding dues but we must also recognize the difficul- t i e s f o r a c t o r s t o f i n d work." Ultimately, the guild's main objective is to support and help actors, even if it means to reinforce a stereotype. "Yes, we do get calls for mob roles" the a c t o r d e c l a r e d , " b u t w e a r e actors and we want to find work for our members." Ironically, there are many e x a m p l e s i n t h e h i s t o r y o f Hollywood and television that required actors to portray char- acters with Italian American surnames, but they themselves w e r e n o t o f I t a l i a n origin. Edward G. Robinson made a living playing Italian American mobsters, and Marlon Brando's role as Vito Corleone in The Godfather is one of the g r e a t e s t p e r f o r m a n c e s i n American cinema. Brando, nev- ertheless, was no more Italian t h a n H e n r y W i n k l e r p l a y i n g Fonzie on Happy Days or Peter F a l k ' s m e m o r a b l e c h a r a c t e r Columbo. Unfortunately, when it comes to feature films and television, Italian American fictional char- acters are inevitably connected to organized crime figures. Yet in 2002 GIAA was embroiled in a controversy when the organi- zation wanted to participate and m a r c h i n t h e C o l u m b u s D a y Parade. The parade organizers w a n t e d a l i s t o f a c t o r s w h o appeared on The Sopranos, but GIAA refused to provide the names. It is unclear why the parade organizers wanted this l i s t b u t s o m e s p e c u l a t e d t h e organizers wanted to capitalize o n t h e p o p u l a r i t y o f T h e Sopranos. GIAA's position was that it did not want to be associ- ated with being an organization that provided their members with only mob generated roles; the guild was barred from the parade. C a r l o F i o r l e t t a ' s t e r m a s GIAA's President is coming up this year and he is not sure if anyone else is seeking the posi- tion. Regardless, of what hap- pens, the actor would like GIAA t o r e m a i n a b a s e f o r a c t o r s searching for roles and employ- ment. In addition his vision is to continue to reach a new gen- eration of actors and provide the support that many need in a very difficult business. "I don't know i f I w i l l b e r i c h o r f a m o u s " Carlo said as time was running out from our interview, "but I can at least leave a legacy with GIAA, that makes me proud." Actor and Producer Carlo Fiorletta. Photo courtesy of Carlo Fiorletta LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS Stage Actor Leads Union

• Cover