John Conte (September 15, 1915 – September 4, 2006) was a stage, film and TV actor, and later a television station owner.Conte was born in Palmer, Massachusetts. His mother, Maria (later known as Mary), emigrated to the U.S. from Calabria, Italy, with her lifelong friend Francesca Cuda, who had moved to Los Angeles, California before the Conte family. To be closer to Francesca, the family moved to L.A. in John's teens. After graduating from L.A.'s Lincoln High School he got jobs as a radio actor and singer. One of his first regular roles was on the Burns and Allen radio show in the 1940s.In 1947, he appeared in Rodgers and Hammerstein's short-lived Broadway musical Allegro. He returned to Broadway in 1950 to appear in the musical Arms and the Girl.His television career began as Master of Ceremonies on the 1951 late Sunday afternoon comedy hour, Star Time, co-starring Frances Langford and Lew Parker as John and Blanche Bickerson ("The Bickersons"), as well as sound-effects master stand-up comedian Reginald Gardner. His own weekly solo skit on Star Time was as an hilarious, heavily accented Italian-American chef ( in an all-white uniform, complete with huge muffin-shaped chef's hat) preparing bumbled recipes as he recited them along with frequent tangential references to "the homemade-a wine" fermenting in his bathtub visible from the kitchen. This led to a featured guest appearance with Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows about a year later. He then hosted Matinee Theater, a live-drama series on NBC (one of the first daytime shows on network television).Conte made five guest appearances on Perry Mason : In three different episodes, he played the role of the murder victim. In another episode he was the defendant, and in still another as the murderer.His major film role was "Drunky" in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955).In 1968 he and his long-term third wife, Sirpuhe Philibosian Conte, launched KMIR-TV, an NBC-affiliated UHF station in the Palm Springs–Rancho Mirage market. The Contes built KMIR into the third-largest station in the Coachella Valley, and after thirty years (in 1999) sold the station to Milwaukee-based Journal Communications.He was a founding sponsor of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, and one of the founders of the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California.On February 8, 1960, Conte was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6119 Hollywood Blvd. In 1997, a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.He died of natural causes at Eisenhower Medical Center at age 90. Conte was interred at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California.
[on working with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Lost in a Harem (1944)] It was a joy to watch them. I recall that whenever they went into one of their classic bits in the film, the entire company would gather round behind the cameras and watch. There was a lot of interest in Bud and Lou, and it was a sort of built-in habit of the actors who were not busy working on films of their own who could get away and visit the various working sets. I recall a number of visitors would love to come to the set and be contained on the sidelines and watch these guys go to work. It was a treat.
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Fact
1
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6119 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
2
Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Actors Branch).
3
Was a former radio announcer on such programs as "Screen Guild Theatre" and "Maxwell House Coffee Time."
4
Born in Massachusetts and moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, graduating from Lincoln High School. Married three times and had one son, Christopher Conte.
5
Dark, good-looking vocalist and general purpose actor of films and TV who got his start singing and acting on radio ("Burns and Allen") and later moved to Broadway ("Allegro"). Best film role was as Drunky in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955).
6
Abandoned his acting career in the 1960s and became the founder and owner of KMIR-TV in Palm Desert, California, along with his third wife Sirpuhe Philibosian. They launched the NBC affiliate in 1968 and sold it to Journal Communications of Milwaukee in 1999.
7
Founding sponsor of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, where he passed away from natural causes at age 90.
8
Helped create the McCalluym Theatre in Palm Desert, California, and several educational centers.
9
Founder and owner of KMIR-TV.
10
Announcer for CBS Radio's "Silver Theater" (1937-1942).
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The ABC Afternoon Playbreak
1972
TV Series
Perry Mason
1960-1965
TV Series
Judson Warner / Roy Comstock / Kirby Evans / ...
Bonanza
1965
TV Series
Paul Dorn
The Carpetbaggers
1964
Ed Ellis
Trauma
1962
Warren Clyner
When the Girls Take Over
1962
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
77 Sunset Strip
1961
TV Series
Gunnar Isis
The Untouchables
1960
TV Series
Vito
The Best of the Post
1960
TV Series
Host
Mantovani
1959
TV Series
Host
Target
1958
TV Series
Cliff Tucker
Matinee Theatre
1955-1958
TV Series
Tom Loring
The Man with the Golden Arm
1955
Drunky
Climax!
1955
TV Series
Dr. Duillermo Brown
Goodyear Playhouse
1955
TV Series
The Desert Song
1955
TV Movie
Paul Fontaine
Max Liebman Presents: The Merry Widow
1955
TV Movie
Georges
A Connecticut Yankee
1955
TV Movie
Sir Kay
Star Tonight
1955
TV Series
Max Liebman Presents: Naughty Marietta
1955
TV Movie
Lt. Gov. LeGrange
Woman with a Past
1954
TV Series
Suspense
1953
TV Series
Tales of Tomorrow
1952
TV Series
Danger
1952
TV Series
Studio One in Hollywood
1948-1951
TV Series
Dr. Kim Baylor / Gabriel
Somerset Maugham TV Theatre
1951
TV Series
Musical Comedy Time
1950
TV Series
Billy Crocker
The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre
1949
TV Series
Hugh
Nobody Lives Forever
1946
uncredited
Lost in a Harem
1944
Prince Ramo
Thousands Cheer
1943
Dr. Conte in Frank Morgan Skit
Our Neighbors - The Carters
1939
Reporter (uncredited)
Each Dawn I Die
1939
Narrator (uncredited)
Indianapolis Speedway
1939
Third Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Unmarried
1939
Announcer (uncredited)
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
1939
Radio Announcer (voice, uncredited)
Touchdown, Army
1938
Football Game Commentator (uncredited)
Campus Confessions
1938
Announcer (uncredited)
Hold 'Em Navy
1937
Announcer - Army-Navy Game (uncredited)
The Crowd Roars
1932
Third Announcer (edited from 'Indianapolis Speedway') (uncredited)