Raymond Jay Castellani (February 13, 1933 – October 18, 2021) was an American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

. As a former alcoholic, he founded the Frontline Foundation, which serves meals to the homeless on the Los Angeles' Skid Row. Castellani was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

on February 13, 1933. In 1995, Castellani received the

Presidential Citizens Medal The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the President of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on Nov ...

from President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

at a White House ceremony. During the early 1990s, President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

included Castellani among his " thousand points of light." He attended

The Albany Academy The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from Preschool (age 3) to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselae ...

, class of 1952. Upon graduation, he spent a semester at

Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...

. During this time he received a draft notice, and then served as a

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. During the 1950s and 1960s, Castellani acted in numerous plays, television shows, and films, including ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'', '' Lawman'', and '' Dragnet''. Often he played villains. As Castellani's alcoholism increased, his career suffered and his acting skills eroded. Despite this, he appeared in television shows such as, '' The Dakotas'', ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the stre ...

'', ''

Temple Houston Temple Lea Houston (August 12, 1860 – August 15, 1905) was an American attorney and politician who served from 1885 to 1889 in the Texas State Senate. He was the last-born child of Margaret Lea Houston and Sam Houston, the first elected presi ...

'', '' Night Gallery'', ''

Simon and Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who operate ...

'', '' Kojak'', ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'', ''McNaughton's Daughter'', ''

Judd for the Defense ''Judd, for the Defense'' is an American legal drama originally broadcast on the ABC network on Friday nights from September 8, 1967, to March 21, 1969. Synopsis The show stars Carl Betz, who had previously spent eight years in the role of Dr. Al ...

'', '' The D.A.'', ''

Sam Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

'', ''

Mobile One ''Mobile One'' is an American television series that aired on the ABC network from September 12, 1975 to January 5, 1976. The show was a production of Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited for Universal Television. It was the only Mark VII Limited show t ...

'', '' Emergency!'', '' Quincy'', '' The Redd Foxx Show'', ''

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

'', '' Turnabout'', ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'', '' CHiPs'', '' Riker'', and ''Oklahoma City Dolls''. In New York, he appeared in plays such as ''The Curious Savage'', '' Hat Full of Rain'', '' The Rain Maker'', ''

What Makes Sammy Run ''What Makes Sammy Run?'' (1941) is a novel by Budd Schulberg inspired by the life of his father, early Hollywood mogul B. P. Schulberg. It is a rags to riches story chronicling the rise and fall of Sammy Glick, a Jewish boy born in New York's L ...

'', and ''Light Up the Sky''. During the 1970s, Castellani occasionally found himself homeless on Skid Row in Los Angeles. Castellani returned to acting in the 1980s, but quit to found the Frontline Foundation in 1987. As of January 2011, he continues to operate this charity. In 2008, Castellani released an autobiography titled, ''The End Was But A Beginning: A True Story''. He served over one million meals on the streets of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. He died on October 18, 2021, at the age of 88.

References

External links

Frontline Foundation Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castellani, Raymond 1933 births 2021 deaths American male stage actors American male television actors Philanthropists from New York (state) American anti-poverty advocates Homeless people Actors from Albany, New York Activists from New York (state) The Albany Academy alumni