Val Bisoglio

This husky, instantly identifiable American character actor was born Italo Valentino Bisoglio on May 7, 1926, in New York City. His parents were emigrants who hailed from an area near Casale Monferrato, a region noted for its viticulture, in Piedmont, Italy. Val studied acting under the renowned drama coach Jeff Corey. He made his first entry onto the New York stage in 1964 and debuted on Broadway two years later as Sergeant Carlino in Frederick Knott's thriller Wait until Dark, opposite Lee Remick and Robert Duvall (his role was played by Jack Weston in the 1967 film version). By the late '60s, Val had become an established actor on TV, often cast as tough, Bronx-accented cops or minor gangland figures. He is perhaps best remembered as the sympathetic restaurateur Danny Tovo, close friend and sometime confidante of Jack Klugman's Quincy M.E. (1976), and as the blissfully insouciant cook Sgt. Sal Pernelli on M*A*S*H (1972). Among infrequent movie appearances were an iconic turn as John Travolta's brash father in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and as the wry Indian chief Gray Cloud in The Frisco Kid (1979). Val retired from screen acting after his final role as the elderly capo Murf Lupo in three episodes of The Sopranos (1999). Early on in his career, Val was involved in the Kennedy Administration's Mobilization for Youth Program. Launched on the Lower East Side in New York in 1961, it was designed to help fight poverty and juvenile delinquency, as well as aiding disadvantaged youths by the provision of counseling, education and job training.