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Ron Carey‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1935-12-11

Popularity

star2.2

Ron Carey

Ron Carey

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1935-12-11

Popularity

star2.2

Biography

He was a notably short, Italian, nasal-toned and mischievous-looking fellow, a perfect type for the stand-up comedy circuit and for playing Brooklynesque characters in T.V. sitcoms and films...which is just what Ron Carey did. He was born Ronald Joseph Cicenia in Newark, New Jersey, on December eleventh, 1935, into a huge Italian family; his father was a singing waiter at one time. Ron earned his Bachelor's degree in communications from Seton Hall University in South Orange in 1956, but it didn't take him long to change directions. Together his pint-sized frame (actually, he was 5'7", but "acted" much shorter), pushy attitude and elastic face seemed like an ideal blend for inducing laughs, so he decided to begin a career in entertainment instead. Ron moved to near-by New York and took to the comedy stage, finding work in such prime clubs as "The Improvisation". He soon earned notice for his "little man" humor, which was built around Italian family and Roman Catholic "guilt" jokes (in reality, he once considered being a priest). Ron finally gained some momentum on T.V. making various funnyman appearances on the talk/variety show formats hosted by the best of the best -- Jack Paar, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson. He also found lucrative work in commercials playing various feisty or hapless characters. Ron finally broke into films with the Jack Lemmon/Sandy Dennis comedy The Out of Towners (1970) as a Boston taxi driver, then continued on with other minor bits in Who Killed Mary Whats'ername? (1971) and the cult film Made for Each Other (1971) starring Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor. Earlier Ron appeared on Broadway in the couple's 1968 hit comedy "Lovers and Other Strangers." It wasn't until his work as a secondary staple in Mel Brooks' madcap company that he earned even a modicum of success in films. His participation in the zany parodies Silent Movie (1976), High Anxiety (1977) and History of the World: Part I (1981) occurred during the height of his T.V. fame. Likewise, he went on to deliver a substantial role as plus-sized Dom DeLuise's unsympathetic brother Frankie in Fatso (1980), directed by Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft. As for the smaller screen, a regular player on the summer variety series The Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Show (1972) led to his being cast in the New York-area sitcom The Corner Bar (1972) and the ethnic family comedy The Montefuscos (1975). A steady pay-check was not to be had, however, until he was added to the second season ensemble of Barney Miller (1975) headed by Hal Linden and Abe Vigoda. Ron earned sympathy strokes as Carl Levitt, a brown-nosing, eager-beaver patrolman who yearned to be a plainclothes detective in Barney's police agency, but just didn't measure up because of his vertically challenged stature. Ron, whose character finally received a promotion after the long haul, stayed with the popular show until its cancellation in 1982. Ron died of complications from a stroke at seventy-one years old in Los Angeles and is survived by long-time wife Sharon.

Movie Credits

History of the World: Part I

History of the World: Part I‌
star6.8
calendar 1981

Silent Movie

Silent Movie‌
star6.5
calendar 1976

The Out-of-Towners

The Out-of-Towners‌
star6.8
calendar 1970

High Anxiety

High Anxiety‌
star6.4
calendar 1977

Troublemakers

Troublemakers‌
star6.1
calendar 1994

Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World

Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World‌
star0.0
calendar 2009

Lucky Luke 2

Lucky Luke 2‌
star5.2
calendar 1992

The Good Bad Guy

The Good Bad Guy‌
star5.2
calendar 1997

Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?

Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?‌
star4.6
calendar 1971

Johnny Dangerously

Johnny Dangerously‌
star6.2
calendar 1984

Dynamite Chicken

Dynamite Chicken‌
star5.4
calendar 1971

Fatso

Fatso‌
star5.6
calendar 1980

Acts of Love and Other Comedies

Acts of Love and Other Comedies‌
star0.0
calendar 1973

Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke‌
star5.4
calendar 1991

Peeping Times

Peeping Times‌
star4.0
calendar 1978

Made For Each Other

Made For Each Other‌
star5.0
calendar 1971

Tv Credits

Alice

Alice‌
star6.9
calendar 1976

Barney Miller

Barney Miller‌
star7.3
calendar 1975

The Merv Griffin Show

The Merv Griffin Show‌
star5.3
calendar 1962

The Johnny Cash Show

The Johnny Cash Show‌
star6.5
calendar 1969

Have Faith

Have Faith‌
star0.0
calendar 1989

The Corner Bar

The Corner Bar‌
star5.0
calendar 1972

Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes‌
star0.0
calendar 1979

Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke‌
star5.6
calendar 1992

The Montefuscos

The Montefuscos‌
star5.0
calendar 1975

Barney Miller

Barney Miller‌
star7.3
calendar 1975

The Mike Douglas Show

The Mike Douglas Show‌
star4.8
calendar 1961

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson‌
star7.4
calendar 1962

Barney Miller

Barney Miller‌
star7.3
calendar 1975

Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke‌
star5.6
calendar 1992