Camille Saviola (July 16, 1950 – October 28, 2021) was an American actress and singer. She appeared in numerous films, television series, plays and musicals.

Early life

Saviola was born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the daughter of Mary (née d'Esopo) and Michael Saviola. She grew up near

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

and graduated from

the High School of Music and Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art" (or "M&A"), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the Hig ...

, then attended college for one year before dropping out to get into acting. Camille became lead singer of the Margo Lewis Explosion

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

in the 1970s and was signed to a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

contract in the late 1970s.

Career

Throughout the next 25 years, Saviola would perform in theater, television, and films. She is best known for her supporting roles, especially as Italian, Latino or Jewish characters. She also appeared in four episodes of ''

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...

'' as

Bajoran The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction ''Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, owi ...

religious leader, Kai Opaka. In addition to her performance as Mama Maddelena in

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

's original Broadway production of ''

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

'', Broadway audiences have seen her Matron Mama Morton in the revival of ''

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''. She received a

CableACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Amer ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the made-for-cable movie, ''Nightlife''.

Personal life and death

She died from heart failure in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...

, on October 28, 2021, at the age of 71.

Awards

Back Stage West Garland Awards The Back Stage Garland Awards — also referred to simply as the Garland Awards, and known as the Back Stage West Garland Awards from 1998 to 2008 — were bestowed by the entertainment-industry newspaper '' Backstage'', honoring excellence in Sou ...

, 2007 award for her role in '' Zorba''

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saviola, Camille 1950 births 2021 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Back Stage West Garland Award recipients People from the Bronx Actresses from New York City The High School of Music & Art alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses