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Robert Alda: Father
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Alda began his show business career at age 15, when he performed Abbot-and-Costello-style routines with his dad, actor Robert Alda, at the Hollywood Canteen. Two years later, he made his theatrical debut starring in "Charley's Aunt" in summer stock in Barnesville, Pennsylvania. During his junior year at Fordham University, Alda traveled to Europe, and later acted with his father on stage in "Room Service" in Rome and on television in Amsterdam. After attending the Cleveland Playhouse on a Ford Foundation grant, Alda studied improvisational acting with Paul Sills and continued training at The Compass in Hyannisport, Massachusetts and Second City in Chicago. Though he made his New York stage debut as an understudy in "The Hot Corner" (1956), he became known for his performance as Charlie Cotchipee in the Broadway production of "Purlie Victorious" (1961-62).
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Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo in New York City. His father, Robert Alda (1914-1986) aka Alphonso Giovanni Giuseppe Roberto D'Abruzzo, was an actor and singer, and his mother, Joan Brown, was crowned Miss New York in a beauty pageant. Alda is of Italian and Irish descent.[1] His adopted surname "Alda" is a combination of ALfonso and D'Abruzzo. Alda has a half-brother, actor Antony Alda.
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While listening to Alda's colorful and often poignant recollections, it becomes clear that, in addition to being a consummate actor, he is an introspective storyteller who isn't constrained by memory. Indeed, Alda's tales are sometimes surreally vivid, particularly those from when he was a toddler. "From my earliest days, I was standing off to the side watching, trying to understand a world that fascinated me," he recalls. Alda's autobiography is equally fascinating. With a touch of wonderment in his voice, he tells of weeks spent traveling with his father's burlesque company, of time spent with his dog Rhapsody (before he was stuffed), of a lifetime spent coping with his mother's mental illness and of the highs and lows of his acting career. Though the organization of these musings can feel disjointed, Alda's intimate, dynamic narration makes one feel as if you're sitting across from a wise and entertaining friend, the kind you could listen to for hours.
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Alda has done extensive charity work. He helped narrate a 2005 St. Jude's Children's Hospital produced one-hour special TV show Fighting for Life.[4] He and his wife, Arlene are ... close friends of Marlo Thomas, who is very active in fund raising for the hospital her father founded. The special featured Ben Bowen as one of six patients being treated for childhood cancer at Saint Jude.
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