Dominic Chianese (; born February 24, 1931) is an American actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'' (1999–2007), Johnny Ola in '' The Godfather Part II'' (1974), and Leander in ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920 ...

'' (2011–2013).

Early life

Chianese 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 ...

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 * '' ...

. His father was a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry ...

. His paternal grandfather immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

in 1904 and settled in the Bronx. Chianese graduated from the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Sp ...

in 1948.

Career

After a decade of attending college and appearing in

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

theatre, Chianese attended his first professional acting class at

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency progra ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, with renowned teacher Walt Witcover. Drama and musical theater became Chianese's passion. His first

Broadway show Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

was ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age Musical theatre, stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre ...

'' in 1965. He has continued to perform in Broadway theatre, Off Broadway, and regional theatre. To supplement income in the dry periods, he played

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

and sang in taverns and restaurants, and also served as the master of ceremonies at the open microphone night at

Gerdes Folk City Gerdes Folk City, sometimes spelled Gerde's Folk City, was a music venue in the West Village, part of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, in New York City. Initially opened by owner Mike Porco as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to presen ...

in Greenwich Village. Chianese's first television credit occurred when George C. Scott recommended him for a role in the acclaimed series '' East Side/West Side''. In 1974,

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...

cast Chianese as Johnny Ola in '' The Godfather Part II'', which sparked a film career, culminating in several films (and plays) with

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

. Before being cast in ''The Godfather Part II'', Chianese worked for the Drug Commission of New York State as a recreational worker in a rehabilitation center. He taught guitar to women who were serving time for

drug-related crime A drug-related crime is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse (such as cocaine, heroin, morphine and amphetamines). Drugs are also related to crime as drug trafficking and drug product ...

s. In 2010, Chianese received the

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born a ...

in recognition of his humanitarian efforts. Chianese has appeared in four movies with Al Pacino: *''The Godfather Part II'' (1974) – as Johnny Ola *'' Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975) – as Sonny's Father *'' ...And Justice For All'' (1979) – as Carl Travers *'' Looking for Richard'' (1996) – as Himself Chianese is an accomplished tenor and musician. He released a CD titled ''Hits'' in 2000, on which he sings American and Italian songs, that he recorded in Nashville. He performed Salvatore Cardillo's sentimental classic "

Core 'ngrato "Core 'ngrato" (; "Ungrateful Heart"), also known by the first words "Catarì, Catarì" (short and dialectal form for ''Caterina'', a female first name), is a 1911 Neapolitan song by emigrant American composer Salvatore Cardillo with lyrics by ...

" ("Ungrateful Heart"), on the third-season finale of ''The Sopranos'' (episode 3.13, " Army of One"). In 2003, Chianese, along with AOL Music, released a second CD titled ''Ungrateful Heart'', which features 16 classic

Neapolitan song Canzone napoletana (), sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song ( nap, canzona napulitana ), is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the Neapolitan language, ordinarily for the male voice singing solo, although well represented b ...

s. In the 2000s he played in a mandolin quartet weekly at the

Hotel Edison Hotel Edison is at 228 West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 1931, it is part of the Triumph Hotels brand, owned by Shimmie Horn and Gerald Barad. Thomas Edison turned on the lights when it opened. It accommodated 1,0 ...

, New York City. Chianese appeared as a guest actor on the HBO series ''

'' for three seasons as Leander Whitlock, a retired lawyer and power broker. In December 2018, Chianese and co-author Matthew Sargent published a biography of Chianese, titled ''Twelve Angels: The Women Who Taught Me How to Act, Live, and Love''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * ''A conversation with Dominic Chianese, The Sopranos' Uncle Junior'' in
Dominic Chianese
- ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Chianese, Dominic American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors Male actors from New York City 1931 births Living people American tenors Singers from New York City Brooklyn College alumni Rhythm guitarists American humanitarians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors People from the Bronx American people of Italian descent Activists from New York (state) Guitarists from New York City American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians The Bronx High School of Science alumni American mandolinists