Robert Loggia, movie and TV tough guy, dies at 85

[vienna]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I still remember him from the old TV series T.H.E. CAT. ...

I remember that series also, although it only lasted one season, in the mid-60s, I believe. The pilot for the series was filmed at the Catholic school and parish church in San Francisco I attended, St.Paul's Catholic Church and School. The filming was a really big event in our blue-collar neighborhood, since the whole Hollywood scene was rather a bit exotic for us working class folk. Some of the ladies in the parish knew who Loggia was because he had apparently been on some soap operas on afternoon TV, but he was unknown to the rest of us. There was one scene in the pilot where Loggia's character, a famed cat burglar turned to honest work (a la "It Takes A Thief") has to test the security set up by law enforcement to protect a witness, a priest being sought by assassins for the mob. In the scene, T.H.E. Cat (Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat) sets up a zip line from the roof of the school to the roof of the church and uses it to circumvent the police guards and enter the priest's residence. The stunt was done by a pro stuntman and was a big sensation in our neighborhood. It was done at night and it seemed like every person in the neighborhood plus more came to watch. It was amusing watching the crew trying to quiet down a crowd of predominantly Irish and Italian working class folks all hyped up on the glamour of Hollywood and the riskiness of the stunt (the zip line was about five stories up and there was no net; OSHA wasn't around back then). Loggia came out to talk to the crowd and ask for their cooperation; he was a true gentleman and was very willing to sign autographs and pose for a few pictures, as he was for the course of the entire shoot. I was very impressed by his behavior and attitude (the crew and some of the other 'talent' were quite much arrogant, snobbish twits). Over the later years, I always tried to catch anything Loggia appeared in, just to see how his career progressed. He was always an interesting actor, someone who could play either a principal lead or a character role with ease and make the characters he play fully fleshed and dimensional. He may not have had the grand marquee star status or notoriety of other actors, but his presence in any production was a significant asset. All of us in the neighborhood were very disappointed when his series wasn't renewed, but he went on to bigger and better roles...

RIP, Mr. Loggia; thanks for a great childhood memory and thanks for all the great acting memories later on...


<O>

[vienna]

I got to thinking about that filming of the series pilot and started wondering if there was footage posted on the Net and, lo and behold, someone posted the entire episode to YouTube:



In a grim reminder of the ravages of age, my memory of the zip line was flawed; the stunt was actually a tightrope walk between the two buildings. In viewing the footage, I was also reminded there were no nets, safety wires or air bags under the stunt man, something you wouldn't see in a shoot today; as I said OSHA wasn't really around back then. The stunt sequence start at about 2:50 into the episode...

When you see Loggia in this pilot, you get the sense if he had been at that age and with those looks as an actor today, he really might have gotten more of the hero/leading man roles rather the the heavy he usually played. He really is quite good in this pilot and it seems it was a case of him and the show being ahead of its time...

BTW, dig the really cool 60s style program intro to the show right after the stunt sequence...


<O>

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by vienna

I got to thinking about that filming of the series pilot and started wondering if there was footage posted on the Net and, lo and behold, someone posted the entire episode to YouTube:



In a grim reminder of the ravages of age, my memory of the zip line was flawed; the stunt was actually a tightrope walk between the two buildings. In viewing the footage, I was also reminded there were no nets, safety wires or air bags under the stunt man, something you wouldn't see in a shoot today; as I said OSHA wasn't really around back then. The stunt sequence start at about 2:50 into the episode...

When you see Loggia in this pilot, you get the sense if he had been at that age and with those looks as an actor today, he really might have gotten more of the hero/leading man roles rather the the heavy he usually played. He really is quite good in this pilot and it seems it was a case of him and the show being ahead of its time...

BTW, dig the really cool 60s style program intro to the show right after the stunt sequence...


<O>

Thanks for looking and finding the entire episode. A number of us never got to see that.

[fumo30]

I'm sad to hear he's gone. He was one of my favorite actors. His role for examle, as a mobster Sal "the sharkey" Macelli in innocent blood horror comedy was unforgettable. Well, he suited very well by his looks to many of his gangster roles, cause he was a true Sicilian blood.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by fumo30

I'm sad to hear he's gone. He was one of my favorite actors. His role for examle, as a mobster Sal "the sharkey" Macelli in innocent blood horror comedy was unforgettable. Well, he suited very well by his looks to many of his gangster roles, cause he was a true Sicilian blood.

A lot of people feel he could play any character from serious to light hearted . He passed away a month ago but already there have been a few musical performers and actors that have passed. Not a good way to start off the New Year.