Ron Carey

Ron Carey

Born: December 11, 1935
Died: January 16, 2007
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.

Movies for Ron Carey...

Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World
Title: Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 15, 2009
Type: Movie
Documentary on the making of Mel Brooks' classic comedy "History of the World, Part 1."
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The Good Bad Guy
Title: The Good Bad Guy
Character: Robert Lambert
Released: January 26, 1997
Type: Movie
Italian immigrant Joe is hired by mobster Vince to kill a witness before he can testify against him. Joe dresses up as a policeman to be able to get close to his victim, but he's mistaken for a real cop by everyone and will reluctantly have to enforce the law to avoid blowing his cover.
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Troublemakers
Title: Troublemakers
Character: Sheriff Fox
Released: November 25, 1994
Type: Movie
Two brothers who hate themselves are going to spend Christmas with their mother. She tries to get them together.
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Title: Lucky Luke
Released: March 20, 1992
Type: TV
Lucky Luke is the sheriff of a merry and unruly frontier settlement. Jolly Jumper is not only Lucky’s trusty horse, but also the brains of Daisy Town. The four Dalton Brothers are the sworn enemies of Lucky Luke, who is constantly trying to thwart their devilish plans and their spectacularly clumsy escapes from the Daisy Town Jail. This fractious band finds itself caught up in a series of misadventures, crossing paths with hordes of wacky friends and fiendish enemies.
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Lucky Luke 2
Title: Lucky Luke 2
Character: Joe Dalton
Released: January 1, 1992
Type: Movie
Cowhairs want to drive farmers away from their lands. Luke takes matters into his own hands, and even Lotta's beauty and kindness can't hold him back. Signs suggest that there is also a third party in the background who benefits from the strife.
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Lucky Luke
Title: Lucky Luke
Character: Joe Dalton
Released: July 4, 1991
Type: Movie
Lucky Luke becomes the Sheriff of Daisy Town and runs out all the criminals. Then the Dalton brothers arrive and try to get the Indians to break the peace treaty and attack the town.
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Title: Have Faith
Released: April 18, 1989
Type: TV
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Johnny Dangerously
Title: Johnny Dangerously
Character: Pat
Released: December 21, 1984
Type: Movie
An honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.
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History of the World: Part I
Title: History of the World: Part I
Character: Swiftus
Released: June 12, 1981
Type: Movie
An uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.
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Fatso
Title: Fatso
Character: Frankie
Released: February 1, 1980
Type: Movie
Dominick DiNapoli is a man who loves food and is overweight as a result. After an obese cousin dies due to health problems, Dominick's sister Antoinette sets out to help him lose weight. Although he has a hard time trying to slim down, Dominick finds inspiration when he meets and falls for shop owner Lydia. Can he get up the courage to ask her out, or will he go back to the comfort of overeating?
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Title: Sweepstakes
Released: January 26, 1979
Type: TV
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Peeping Times
Title: Peeping Times
Character: Angelo Bertinelli
Released: January 25, 1978
Type: Movie
Peeping Times is a comedy special that aired on NBC on January 25, 1978. Co-produced, written and directed by Rudy De Luca and Barry Levinson, the special featured an early broadcast network appearance of David Letterman. David Frost was co-executive producer. The show was a spoof of TV news magazine programs.
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High Anxiety
Title: High Anxiety
Character: Brophy
Released: December 25, 1977
Type: Movie
A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep.
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Title: Alice
Released: August 31, 1976
Type: TV
Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to March 19, 1985 on CBS. The series is based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job working at a roadside diner on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the episodes revolve around events at Mel's Diner.
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Silent Movie
Title: Silent Movie
Character: Devour
Released: June 17, 1976
Type: Movie
Aspiring filmmakers Mel Funn, Marty Eggs and Dom Bell go to a financially troubled studio with an idea for a silent movie. In an effort to make the movie more marketable, they attempt to recruit a number of big name stars to appear, while the studio's creditors attempt to thwart them.
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Title: The Montefuscos
Character: Frank Montefusco
Released: September 4, 1975
Type: TV
The Montefuscos is an American sitcom that aired on NBC in 1975. It centered on three generations of an Italian-American family living in Connecticut.
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Title: Barney Miller
Character: Angelo Molinari aka The Mole
Released: January 23, 1975
Type: TV
Barney Miller is an American situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. Noam Pitlik directed the majority of the episodes.
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Title: Barney Miller
Character: Officer Carl Levitt
Released: January 23, 1975
Type: TV
Barney Miller is an American situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. Noam Pitlik directed the majority of the episodes.
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Title: Barney Miller
Character: Carl Levitt
Released: January 23, 1975
Type: TV
Barney Miller is an American situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. Noam Pitlik directed the majority of the episodes.
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Acts of Love and Other Comedies
Title: Acts of Love and Other Comedies
Character: Ed
Released: March 15, 1973
Type: Movie
A funny anthology featuring various sketches about people having trouble with love and sex.
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Title: The Corner Bar
Released: June 21, 1972
Type: TV
The Corner Bar is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from June 1972 to September 1973.
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Made For Each Other
Title: Made For Each Other
Character: Group Member
Released: December 12, 1971
Type: Movie
An eccentric woman meets an equally odd man at a group therapy session and they begin a relationship.
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Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?
Title: Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?
Character: Larry The Bartender
Released: December 11, 1971
Type: Movie
A prostitute is murdered on the streets of a tough, low-income neighborhood. A diabetic retired boxer who knew her is appalled by the lack of interest shown in the case by the police or anybody else in the neighborhood, and decides to investigate the case himself.
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Dynamite Chicken
Title: Dynamite Chicken
Released: January 20, 1971
Type: Movie
A collection of subversive comedy sketches and routines relating to the peace movement.
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The Out-of-Towners
Title: The Out-of-Towners
Character: Barney Polacek, Cab Driver in Boston
Released: May 28, 1970
Type: Movie
George & Gwen Kellerman make a trip to New York, where George is going to start a new job, it turns out to be a trip to hell.
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Title: The Johnny Cash Show
Character: Self
Released: June 7, 1969
Type: TV
The Johnny Cash Show was an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969 to March 31, 1971 on ABC; it was taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The show reached No. 17 in the Nielsen ratings in 1970. Cash opened each show, and its regulars included members of his touring troupe, June Carter Cash and the Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, and The Tennessee Three, with Australian-born musical director-arranger-conductor Bill Walker. The Statler Brothers performed brief comic interludes. It featured many folk-country musicians, such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Merle Haggard, James Taylor and Tammy Wynette. It also featured other musicians such as jazz great Louis Armstrong, who died eight months after appearing on the show.
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Title: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character: Self
Released: October 1, 1962
Type: TV
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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Title: The Merv Griffin Show
Character: Self
Released: October 1, 1962
Type: TV
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to August 15, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in first-run syndication from February 14, 1972 to September 5, 1986.
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Title: The Mike Douglas Show
Character: Self
Released: December 11, 1961
Type: TV
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.