Vincent Gardenia Biography

Fast Facts

• At the 1989 Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival, he was named King of Brooklyn
• Started acting in his father's acting troupe, which specialized in Italian-language melodramas, at the age of five
• Used exaggerated gestures and his strong New York accent to make an impression in character roles
• Some of his most remembered roles where quick-tempered or exasperated characters
• Showed no symptoms of illness while enjoying his last meal with the director, producer and cast of the comedy lay "Breaking Legs," but was later found dead in hotel room due to a heart attack
• Even after landing his first speaking role on Broadway, he stayed with his father's acting company for five years