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Paternal, sad-faced, character actor Vincent Gardenia, born Vincent Scognamiglio in Italy, specialized in Italian-American roles. At age two he moved with his family to New York where his father established an Italian-language theater company. Gardenia performed in the company, and at age 14 he left school to devote more time to it and continued to appear with the company until 1960. Because he was very active in New York's Italian theatrical community, he did not begin his film career until he was in his mid-'30s; he debuted onscreen in Cop Hater (1958) and within a few years gained a reputation as a top-notch character actor. Gardenia went on to a busy screen career in the early '60s, but then tapered off, appearing only once until 1970 when he resumed his career. He has also had a busy and successful Broadway career, winning several Obies and a Tony Award for his work in The Prisoner of Second Avenue. Vincent Gardenia has twice received "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nominations for Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) and Moonstruck (1987).