Jack La Rue

Jack La Rue (lahir Gaspere Biondolillo) adalah seorang aktor panggung, layar, dan televisi Amerika. La Rue berangkat dari sekolah menengah ke pekerjaan akting pertamanya, dalam produksi Blood and Sand milik perusahaan jalan raya Otis Skinner. Dia tampil dalam drama Broadway dari sekitar tahun 1923 hingga 1931. Menurut La Rue, saat tampil dalam drama Mae West Diamond Lil, dia ditemukan oleh Howard Hawks, yang menawarinya peran dalam film Scarface, yang dibintangi oleh Paul Muni. Dia pindah ke Hollywood, di mana dia tampil di banyak film. Namun, Scarface bukanlah salah satu dari mereka. La Rue menyatakan dalam artikel surat kabar bahwa, setelah empat hari, Hawks harus menggantinya dengan George Raft karena La Rue lebih tinggi dari Muni dan memiliki suara yang lebih bertenaga. Namun kemudian, Raft menolak peran penjahat tercela dalam The Story of Temple Drake, karena khawatir hal itu akan merusak gambar layarnya, jadi peran tersebut diberikan kepada La Rue. Kadang-kadang disalahartikan sebagai Humphrey Bogart, dia sebagian besar berperan sebagai preman dan gangster. Namun, sutradara Frank Borzage biasanya memasukkannya sebagai pendeta dalam A Farewell to Arms versi tahun 1932 hanya karena, menurut kolumnis surat kabar Hubbard Keavy, dia "bosan melihat karakter konvensional". La Rue menyatakan dia menolak peran dalam The Godfather dan banyak peran dalam serial televisi The Untouchables karena cara mereka menggambarkan orang Italia-Amerika. La Rue meninggal karena serangan jantung di Pusat Kesehatan Saint John di Santa Monica, California, pada usia 81 tahun. Ia dimakamkan di Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

Jack La Rue (born Gaspere Biondolillo) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. La Rue went from high school to his first acting job, in Otis Skinner's road company production of Blood and Sand. He performed in Broadway plays from around 1923 to 1931. According to La Rue, while appearing in Mae West's play Diamond Lil, he was spotted by Howard Hawks, who offered him a part in the film Scarface, starring Paul Muni. He moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in numerous films. However, Scarface was not one of them. La Rue stated in a newspaper article that, after four days, Hawks had to replace him with George Raft because La Rue was taller than Muni and had a more powerful voice. Later, however, Raft turned down the role of the despicable villain in The Story of Temple Drake, fearing it would damage his screen image, so the part went to La Rue. Sometimes mistaken for Humphrey Bogart, he played thugs and gangsters for the most part. However, director Frank Borzage atypically cast him as a priest in the 1932 version of A Farewell to Arms simply because, according to newspaper columnist Hubbard Keavy, he was "tired of seeing conventional characters". La Rue stated he turned down a role in The Godfather and many parts in the television series The Untouchables because of the way they portrayed Italian-Americans. La Rue died of a heart attack at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 81. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.