Robert Alda (February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986), born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo, was an American actor. He was the father of actor Alan Alda.

Life and career

Alda, an Italian American, was born in New York City, New York, the son of Frances (née Tumillo) and Anthony D'Abruzzo, a barber.www.filmreference.com/film/6/Robert-Alda.html He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York in 1930. He began as a singer and dancer in vaudeville after winning a talent contest, followed by brief work in vaudeville he moved onto burlesque. He is known for portraying George Gershwin in the biopic Rhapsody in Blue (1945). He was very successful on Broadway, starring in Guys and Dolls (1950) for which he won a Tony Award, and in What Makes Sammy Run? (1964).