Harry Guardino

Actor

About

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Birth Place

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Born

December 23, 1925

Died

July 17, 1995

Cause of Death

Lung Cancer

Biography

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Guardino won raves on Broadway and in feature character roles before establishing himself as a TV lead in the early 1960s. Craggy-faced, sporting bushy eyebrows, and often somewhat rumpled, he convinces as Italian-American tough guys in and out of uniform and on both sides of the law. TV generally cast Guardino in positions of responsibility including lawyers (DA Hamilton Burger on "The ...

Filmography

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Fist of Honor (1993)

Under Surveillance (1991)

Any Which Way You Can (1980)

Pleasure Cove (1979)

Goldengirl (1979)

Photos & Videos

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Five Pennies, The (1959) -- Original Trailer

Five Pennies, The (1959) -- (Movie Clip) After You've Gone, Armstrong

Family & Companions

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Elyssa Guardino

Wife

Second wife; mother of Paul and Gregory; survived him.

Biography

Guardino won raves on Broadway and in feature character roles before establishing himself as a TV lead in the early 1960s. Craggy-faced, sporting bushy eyebrows, and often somewhat rumpled, he convinces as Italian-American tough guys in and out of uniform and on both sides of the law. TV generally cast Guardino in positions of responsibility including lawyers (DA Hamilton Burger on "The New Adventures of Perry Mason" CBS, 1973-74), G-men ("Monty Nash" syndicated 1971), and police brass in a series of pilots both successful and busted ("The Police Story" NBC, 1973; "Get Christie Love!" ABC, 1974). His TV credits include numerous guest shots and several miniseries including the Melvin Van Peebles-scripted "The Sophisticated Gents" (NBC, 1981) and the Las Vegas-set crime drama "The Neon Empire" (Showtime, 1989).

Guardino entered films with character turns in low-budget genre programmers before gaining kudos for a supporting role in the light Cary Grant-Sophia Loren vehicle "Houseboat" (1958) as a comically wolfish handyman. Guardino was part of the sturdy ensemble supporting CO Gregory Peck in the tough-minded Korean War drama "Pork Chop Hill" (1959) and Steve McQueen in the fine WWII actioner "Hell Is For Heroes" (1962). He made strong impressions as a brutish muscular Barrabas in "King of Kings" (1961) and as the former Marine husband of Anne Meara in "Lovers and Other Strangers" (1970). Guardino's many Broadway credits include starring opposite Lauren Bacall in the hit musical "Woman of the Year" (1981).

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

Fist of Honor (1993)

Under Surveillance (1991)

Any Which Way You Can (1980)

Pleasure Cove (1979)

Goldengirl (1979)

Rollercoaster (1977)

Contract on Cherry Street (1977)

St. Ives (1976)

Street Killing (1976)

Having Babies (1976)

The Enforcer (1976)

Get Christie Love! (1974)

Captain Casey Reardon

Indict and Convict (1973)

The Police Story (1973)

Partners in Crime (1973)

They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)

Capt. [Daniel] Streeter

Red Sky at Morning (1971)

Dirty Harry (1971)

The Last Child (1971)

Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)

Treasure of San Gennaro (1968)

The Hell With Heroes (1968)

Det. Rocco Bonaro

Valley of Mystery (1967)

The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967)

The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962)

Sgt. Joseph Contini

Hell Is for Heroes (1962)

Sergeant Larkin

King of Kings (1961)

Five Branded Women (1960)

The Five Pennies (1959)

Pork Chop Hill (1959)

Houseboat (1958)

Angelo Donatello

The Court Jester (1956)

Hold Back Tomorrow (1955)

Flesh and Fury (1952)

Up Front (1951)

Lieutenant Collette

Purple Heart Diary (1951)

Cast (Special)

On Our Way (1985)

Lovers and Other Strangers (1983)

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

The Neon Empire (1989)

The Sophisticated Gents (1981)

Evening in Byzantium (1978)

Life Events

1951

Feature acting debut, "Purple Heart Diary/No Time For Tears"

1958

Memorable as Angelo Donatello, a comic handyman (and ladies man) in "Houseboat", starring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren

1960

Nominated for a Tony for dramatic supporting performance on Broadway in "One More River"

1963

TV debut, guest shot on "The Lloyd Bridges Show", a dramatic anthology series (date approximate)

1964

First TV series as star, "The Reporter"

1968

First feature in starring role, "Jigsaw" (made for TV but shown theatrically first)

1969

Starred as the detective protagonist of "The Lonely Profession", an NBC TV-movie pilot

1971

Starred as "Monty Nash", a syndicated adventure series

1973

Featured as prosecutor Hamilton Burger on "The New Adventures of Perry Mason"

1981

Starred opposite Lauren Bacall in the hit Broadway musical, "Woman of the Year"

Videos

Five Pennies, The (1959) -- (Movie Clip) After You've Gone, Armstrong With new New York pal Tony (Harry Guardino, and date Valerie Allen) and his own blind date Willa (Barbara Bel Geddes), cornet player Red Nichols (Danny Kaye) from Utah, unfamiliar with the ways of the 1920's speakeasy, gets a look at Louis Armstrong, mentioned so-far only as a new player from New Orleans, who plays then sings, two standards, in The Five Pennies, 1959.

Five Pennies, The (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Lullaby In Ragtime Leading man Danny Kaye as band leader Red Nichols with his real-life wife Sylvia Fine's song and Eileen Wilson's vocal for Barbara Bel Geddes playing his wife, on the bus with bandmates, including Ray Anthony (who was a top-drawer trumpet player and bandleader and who remains the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller orchestra!) on the clarinet playing Jimmy Dorsey and Shelly Manne with the drumsticks, in the hit bio-pic The Five Pennies, 1959.

Madigan (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Do I Have Any Clean Socks? Home to the suburbs midday after a bad overnight shift during which a gangster escaped with his gun, New York police detective Richard Widmark (title character) does what amounts to a portrait of his marriage with Inger Stevens, Don Siegel directing, in Madigan, 1968.

Madigan (1968) -- (Movie Clip) I'm Never Going In Again! Director Don Siegel’s opening at Park Ave. and East 98th, cops Richard Widmark (title character) and Harry Guardino climb steps to meet crook Benesch (Steve Ihnat), with squeeze Tonia Machinga, from a Richard Dougherty novel, screenplay by Henri Simoun and Abraham Polonsky, in Madigan, 1968.

Pork Chop Hill (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Men Of King Company It's not made clear why the Chinese broadcasters know they are addressing "King" company but, we meet Franklin (Woody Strode), queried by Velie (Robert Blake) then challenged by Clemons (Gregory Peck), in the opening assault in Lewis Milestone's Korean War drama Pork Chop Hill, 1959.

Pork Chop Hill (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Jokers At Panmunjon Introduction of Gregory Peck as Lt. Clemons, lobbied by Forstman (Harry Guardino), accompanied by Fedderson (George Peppard), who wants to be rotated out, as negotiations to end the Korean Conflict proceed, in Lewis Milestone's Pork Chop Hill, 1959.

Dirty Harry -- (Movie Clip) My Policy Inspector Callahan (Cllint Eastwood) is not one bit intimidated by the mayor (John Vernon), unlike the chief (John Larch) and Bressler (Harry Guardino), early in Don Siegel's Dirty Harry, 1971.

Hell is for Heroes -- (Movie Clip) Second Squad Taciturn Reese (Steve McQueen) joins the squad meeting Larkin (Harry Guardino), Corby (Bobby Darin) and old pal Pike (Fess Parker) in an early scene from Don Siegel's Hell is for Heroes, 1962.

Hell is for Heroes -- (Movie Clip) Opening Credits Bleak and ominous opening credits for Don Siegel's grim WWII story Hell is for Heroes, 1962, from a script by Robert Pirosh and Richard Carr, starring Steve McQueen.

Hell is for Heroes -- (Movie Clip) Combat Emergency Neatly balanced opening scene for Bob Newhart (as "Driscoll") who gets intimidated by Pike (Fess Parker), Larkin (Harry Guardino) and Reese (Steve McQueen) and makes Bobby Darin (as "Corby") look rugged in Hell is for Heroes, 1962.

Five Pennies, The (1959) -- Original Trailer Paramount's theatrical trailer for the popular Danny Kaye vehicle, based more on the idea of band leader Red Nichols than on his real life, with big contributions from jazz figures including Louis Armstrong, Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony and Shelly Manne, The Five Pennies, 1959, also starring Barbara Bel Geddes.

Houseboat - (Original Trailer) Cary Grant is a widower who hires runaway socialite Sophia Loren to look after his children on his rickety Houseboat (1958).

Rollercoaster - (Original Trailer) A terrorist spreads a climate of fear by attacking amusement parks across the U.S. in Rollercoaster (1977).

They Only Kill Their Masters - (Original Trailer) A small-town police chief (James Garner) uncovers a mystery while investigating a dog accused of killing its owner in They Only Kill Their Masters (1972).

Sirocco - (Original Trailer) Humphrey Bogart is back in another North African city full of intrigue, Sirocco (1951) co-starring Lee J. Cobb and Zero Mostel.

King of Kings (1961) - (Original Trailer) Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) tells the life of Jesus Christ in King of Kings (1961).

Rhino! - (Original Trailer) A scientist (Robert Culp) is forced to join forces with an unscrupulous African hunter in Rhino! (1964).

Hell Is For Heroes - (Original Trailer) A small U.S. squadron holds off the Nazis in a desperate last stand in Don Siegel's Hell Is For Heroes (1962) starring Steve McQueen.

Family

Michele Guardino

Daughter

From Guardino's first marriage; survived him.

Michael Guardino

Son

From his first marriage; survived him.

Paul Guardino

Son

Mother Elyssa Guardino; survived him.

Gregory Guardino

Son

Mother Elyssa Guardino; survived him.

Companions

Elyssa Guardino

Wife

Second wife; mother of Paul and Gregory; survived him.

Bibliography

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