LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Robert Alda: West Wing
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Alda was born in 1936, the son of Robert Alda, born Alphonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D’Abruzzo, a journeyman actor who soft-shoed onstage in the Catskills. (He was ... the original Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls.) From the age of 3, Alda acted with his father in racy revues. As a teen, he appeared in summer stock with Mae West. He spent four years at Fordham University, then six months in the Army reserves, before he returned to New York City to seek work.
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Alda's rebirth began with him playing two memorable bastards, who, by coincidence, happen to be Republican members of the Senate. Alda has propped up NBC's floundering West Wing with his role as Arnold Vinick, a slick GOP pol with his eyes on the presidency. His opponent—try to maintain a straight face—is Jimmy Smits, playing Matthew Santos, the first Hispanic presidential candidate. On Sunday night's episode, Vinick was up to dirty tricks. He zinged Santos by pledging devotion to guest-worker visas, border security, and free-trade agreements—the so-called Hispanic issues. Vinick, who is pro-choice... confided to religious conservatives that he would appoint a slate of pro-life judges.
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Alda denies that in 1995 he briefly considered running for the United States Senate in New Jersey. About this time, he starred as the President in Michael Moore's political satire/comedy film Canadian Bacon. In 1996, Alda played Henry Ford in Camping With Henry and Tom, based on the book by Mark St. Germain. Beginning in 2004, Alda was a regular cast member on the NBC program The West Wing, portraying Republican U.S. Senator and presidential hopeful Arnold Vinick, until the show's conclusion in May 2006. He made his premiere in the sixth season's eighth episode, "In The Room," and was added to the opening credits with the thirteenth episode, "King Corn." In August 2006, Alda won an Emmy for his portrayal of Arnold Vinick in the final season of The West Wing.
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This spring, Alda will tackle one of the stage’s toughest roles, as the hard-bitten real-estate salesman Shelly in a Broadway revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross. And as Martin Sheen exits The West Wing, Alda has returned to weekly television to play Sheen’s potential successor. As Arnold Vinick, a tough California conservative, Alda portrays the Republicans’ presidential front-runner—an alpha male even Tucker Carlson could love.
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There's another reason for Alda's awakening. Squishy liberal humanism isn't much of a draw these days. It's squishy conservative humanism that's in vogue. The West Wing began in 1999 as a dreamlike vision of the Clinton presidency, a harbor for disillusioned liberals to watch Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe scratch their chins. The West Wing has moved steadily rightward, and now, with a crumbling audience (it ranked 34th among prime-time shows last season), the show, like the country, is a bifurcated realm. When Smits isn't on screen, Alda presides as the show's tortured Republican conscience.
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More recently, Alda has just finished a run starring in the revival of Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway, and he has a recurring role as a Republican moderate on The West Wing. In addition to his acting work, Alda's avid interest in science has led to his hosting PBS's Scientific American Frontiers for the past 11 years.
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