Silvio Peter "Tino" Insana (February 15, 1948 – May 31, 2017) was an American actor, producer, writer, and comedian.

Life and career

Insana was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

on February 15, 1948, the son of Silvio A. Insana, a musician, and Hiloray (Swanson). In 1971, Insana co-founded a local comedy troupe known as the West Compass Trio, along with Steve Beshekas and

John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his ca ...

. The group performed regularly in universities around the midwest until Belushi and Insana were hired by

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

in Chicago. Insana left Second City in 1975 to form his own comedy troupe with fellow alums Jim Staahl and Jim Fisher, The Graduates. The trio made numerous appearances on television and campuses, as well as in clubs and at corporate presentations across the country. In 1977 Insana made his film debut in

Rowby Goren Rowby Goren is an American writer specializing in comedy. He was a part of the writing team of the comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'', created by George Schlatter. Goren's writing talents range from variety shows to situation comedy, gam ...

and Chick Staley's comedy ''Crackin' Up''. In the 1980s, Insana wrote two episodes for ''

Police Squad! ''Police Squad!'' is an American television crime comedy series that was broadcast on the ABC network in 1982. It was created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, starring Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin. A spoof of police procedural ...

'' and an episode of ''

Sledge Hammer! ''Sledge Hammer!'' is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from September 23, 1986 to February 12, 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector ...

''; he also served as

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". In live action television, a story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits scripts, pitches stories, and reports ...

on both series. Insana then wrote, produced, and acted in ''Wedding Band'' and ''

Masters of Menace ''Masters of Menace'' is a 1990 comedy film about a motorcycle gang. Plot The Masters of Menace are a motorcycle club. When one of their own dies while testing his top fuel Harley, they decide to cross the country to go bury him. With the coffi ...

''. Insana also made brief acting appearances in such films as '' Neighbors'', ''

Three Amigos ''Three Amigos'' (stylized as ''¡Three Amigos!'') is a 1986 American Western comedy film directed by John Landis, written by Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, and Randy Newman (who also wrote the film's songs), and starring Chevy Chase, Steve Mart ...

'', ''

Who's Harry Crumb? ''Who's Harry Crumb?'' is a 1989 American comedy-mystery film featuring John Candy as the title character. Paul Flaherty directed the film, which co-stars Annie Potts, Jeffrey Jones and Shawnee Smith. An uncredited cameo appearance is made by Jim ...

'', ''

The Couch Trip ''The Couch Trip'' is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie. It stars Dan Aykroyd, Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin and Donna Dixon. It is loosely based on the 1971 novel ''The Couch Trip'', by Ken Kolb. Plot Alleged mental pa ...

'', ''

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

'', and ''

Beverly Hills Cop III ''Beverly Hills Cop III'' is a 1994 American action comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by John Landis, who had previously worked with Murphy on ''Trading Places'' and ''Coming to America''. It is the third film in the ''Beverly Hill ...

''. He also made guest appearances on situation comedy series such as ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portray ...

'' and ''

Mad About You ''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...

''. Insana's voice has been featured in many animated television series, most notably

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Darkwing Duck ''Darkwing Duck'' is an American animated superhero comedy television series produced by Disney Television Animation (formerly Walt Disney Television Animation) that first ran from 1991 to 1992 on both the syndicated programming block ''The Disn ...

'' as Dr. Reginald Bushroot and ''

Bobby's World ''Bobby's World'' (originally known as ''The World According to Bobby'') is an American animated comedy children's television series, which ran from September 8, 1990, to February 23, 1998, on the Fox Kids network. The show was created by Canadi ...

'' as Bobby's Uncle Ted. He also voiced Pig in Nickelodeon's animated film ''

Barnyard A barnyard or farmyard is an enclosed or open yard adjoining a barn,Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009. Barn. n. and, typically, related farm buildings, including a farmhouse. Enclosed b ...

'' and its subsequent spin-off TV series. In 2008, Insana voiced the role of Barf on '' Spaceballs: The Animated Series'', inheriting the role from

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' ser ...

. He also did voice work in ''

Goof Troop ''Goof Troop'' is an American animated sitcom television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series focuses on the relationship between single father Goofy and his son, Max, as well as their neighbors Pete and his family. ...

'', ''

Camp Candy ''Camp Candy'' is a 1989-1992 animated television series produced by DIC Animation City, Saban Entertainment and Worldvision Enterprises, in association with Frostbacks Productions, with comedian John Candy providing the voice for an animated vers ...

'', ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

'', ''

Pepper Ann ''Pepper Ann'' is an American animated television series created by Sue Rose and aired on Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC. It debuted on September 13, 1997, and ended on November 18, 2000. ''Pepper Ann'' was the first Disney animated te ...

'' (as Pepper Ann's police officer uncle Jojo), ''

House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American Animation, animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired for three seasons on ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001, to ...

'', ''

What-a-Mess ''What-a-Mess'' is a series of children's books written by British comedy writer Frank Muir and illustrated by Joseph Wright. The title character is a dishevelled, accident-prone Afghan Hound puppy, whose real name is Prince Amir of Kinjan. Th ...

'', '' Bonkers'', ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

'', ''

Jungle Cubs ''Disney's Jungle Cubs'' is an American animated series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation for ABC in 1996, serving as the prequel to the 1967 film ''The Jungle Book'' as it's set in the youth of the animal characters years before the ...

'', '' Problem Child'', ''

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command ''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' is an American animated science fiction action-adventure comedy television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and co-produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It serves as a spin-off of the ''Toy Sto ...

'', ''

Teacher's Pet Teacher's pet is a person that has an advantageous position compared to other students, where the teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or v ...

'', and '' Tom and Jerry: The Movie''. He was the speaking voice of Mr. Grouper in ''

Bubble Guppies ''Bubble Guppies'' is a CGI-animated children's television series produced for Nickelodeon and created by Jonny Belt and Robert Scull. The series is a combination of the sketch comedy, edutainment, and musical genres, and revolves around the un ...

''.

Death

On May 31, 2017, Insana died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at the age of 69 at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Insana, Tino 1948 births 2017 deaths American male film actors Film producers from Illinois American male screenwriters American male television actors American television writers American male video game actors American male voice actors American writers of Italian descent American male television writers Male actors from Chicago Screenwriters from Illinois