Dominic Chianese

Dominic Chianese
Chianese in November 2011
Born	(1931-02-24) February 24, 1931 New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor singer musician
Years active	1952–present

Dominic Chianese (/kiːəˈneɪsiː/; kee-ə-NAY-see; born February 24, 1931) is an American actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Junior Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos (1999–2007), Johnny Ola in The Godfather Part II (1974), and Leander Whitlock in Boardwalk Empire (2011–2013).

Early life

Chianese was born in the Bronx borough of New York City on February 24, 1931. His father was a bricklayer. His paternal grandfather was Italian and left Afragola for New York in 1904. Chianese graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1948. He first attended Champlain College in Plattsburgh, New York, but the university was closed due to the start of the Korean War. He later graduated from Brooklyn College in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in speech and theater.

Career

After a decade of attending college and appearing in off-Broadway theatre, Chianese attended his first professional acting class at HB Studio in Manhattan with renowned teacher Walt Witcover. His first Broadway show was Oliver! in 1965. He has continued to perform on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theatre. To supplement income during the periods where he struggled to find roles, he played rhythm guitar and sang in taverns and restaurants while hosting open mic nights at Gerdes Folk City in Greenwich Village.

Chianese's first television role came when George C. Scott recommended him for the series East Side/West Side. In 1974, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola cast him as Johnny Ola in The Godfather Part II, beginning a film career that would see him appear several times alongside Al Pacino in films such as Dog Day Afternoon (1975), ...And Justice For All (1979), and Looking for Richard (1996). He also co-starred with Pacino onstage. Before being cast in The Godfather Part II, he worked for the Drug Commission of New York as a recreational worker in rehab, where he gave guitar lessons to women who were serving time for drug crimes.

In terms of singing, Chianese is a tenor. He released an album titled Hits in 2000, featuring him singing American and Italian songs. He performed Salvatore Cardillo's sentimental classic "Core 'ngrato" ("Ungrateful Heart") on the third season finale of The Sopranos, "Army of One." In 2003, along with AOL Music, he released a second album titled Ungrateful Heart, which features 16 classic Neapolitan songs. In the 2000s, he played in a mandolin quartet every week at the Hotel Edison.

Chianese appeared as a guest actor on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire for three seasons as Leander Whitlock, a retired lawyer and power broker. In December 2018, he and co-author Matthew Sargent published his biography Twelve Angels: The Women Who Taught Me How to Act, Live, and Love.

Personal life

In 2010, Chianese received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Fuzz	Panhandler
1974	The Godfather Part II	Johnny Ola
1975	Dog Day Afternoon	Mr. Wortzik
1976	All the President's Men	Eugenio R. Martínez
1978	Fingers	Arthur Fox
1978	On the Yard	Mendoza	Uncredited
1979	Firepower	Orlov
1979	...And Justice for All	Carl Travers
1981	Fort Apache, the Bronx	Mr. Corelli
1989	Second Sight	Father Dominic
1990	Q&A	Larry Pesch / Vito / Lorenzo Franconi
1991	Out for Justice	Mr. Madano
1992	The Public Eye	Spoleto
1993	Rivalen des Glücks – The Contenders	Father of the bride
1993	The Night We Never Met	Nosy Neighbor
1996	If Lucy Fell	Al
1996	Love Is All There Is	Italian Consul
1996	The Mouse	Al the Trainer
1996	Looking for Richard	Himself	Documentary
1997	Night Falls on Manhattan	Judge Impelliteri
1998	Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five	Mickey
1999	Cradle Will Rock	Silvano
2002	Unfaithful	Frank Wilson
2004	When Will I Be Loved	Count Tommaso Lupo
2004	King of the Corner	Stan Marshak
2007	The Last New Yorker	Lenny Sugarman
2007	Adrift in Manhattan	Tommaso Pensara
2011	Mr. Popper's Penguins	Reader
2013	The Family	Vinnie Caprese
2017	Active Adults	Bart

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	East Side/West Side	Charley	Episode: "The Street"
1976	Kojak	George Mallick	Episode: "A Hair-Trigger Away"
1980	A Time for Miracles	Promoter	Television movie
1981	Ryan's Hope	Alexei Vartova	40 episodes
1986	Tales from the Darkside	Correlli's father	Episode: "A Choice of Dreams"
1989	L.A. Law	Dr. Peter Lacker (uncredited)	Episode: "I'm in the Nude for Love"
1990	The Lost Capone	Gabriel Capone	Television movie
1991	Law & Order	Dan Rubell	Episode: "Sonata for Solo Organ"
1995–1997	Law & Order	Judge Paul Kaylin	2 episodes
1996	Gotti	Joe Armone	Television movie
1997	Cosby	—	Episode: "Lucas Raymondicus"
1999– 2007	The Sopranos	Corrado 'Junior' Soprano	55 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2000) Nominated—Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2000–01) Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2001–03, 2005, 2007)
2004	Hope & Faith	Irv Miller	Episode: "Trade Show"
2004	Crimes of Fashion	George	Television movie
2010	Damages	Stuart Zedeck	7 episodes
2010	Blue Bloods	Jack 'Happy Jack' Vintano	Episode: "Officer Down"
2011	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Vic	2 episodes
2011–2013	Boardwalk Empire	Leander Cephas Whitlock	12 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2012)
2012–2015	The Good Wife	Judge Michael Marx	5 episodes
2019	The Village	Enzo	Main cast
2019	Inspector Montalbano	John Zuck	Episode: "Un diario del '43" Chianese's voice is dubbed by Gianni Giuliano

External links

• Dominic Chianese at IMDb
• Dominic Chianese at the Internet Broadway Database
• A conversation with Dominic Chianese, The Sopranos' Uncle Junior in Lavery, David; Howard, Douglas L.; Levinson, Paul (eds.) (July 29, 2011). The Essential Sopranos Reader. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 339–362. ISBN 978-0-8131-3012-5. {{cite book}}: |first3= has generic name (help)
• Dominic Chianese - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org