Tom Nardini (born April 16, 1945) is an American film actor who had a lengthy career in television in which his best known role was in ''

Cowboy in Africa ''Cowboy in Africa'' is an ABC television series produced in 1967–1968 by Ivan Tors and starring Chuck Connors. A 1966 television pilot turned into a movie and released to cinemas starring Hugh O'Brian as Jim Sinclair was called '' Africa Texas ...

'' (1967). In film his best known role was in ''

Cat Ballou ''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and late ...

'' (1965) for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe award.

Early life

Born in

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 ...

, in 1945 as Thomas Nardini, he was the son of Joseph and Chechi Nardini. Nardini's father worked as an aircraft worker after having a career as a jazz musician and his mother worked in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

as a

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

, dancer, and singer. He attended

Morningside High School Morningside High School is a public high school in Inglewood, California. It is the second largest high school after Inglewood High School in the city. History In 1951, the first two classes of students came to the Morningside Park area of Ingl ...

in Inglewood, graduating in 1963. Nardini furthered his education by attending

El Camino Junior College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.Torrance, where he studied theater and joined a Shakespearean group.

Career

Nardini met an agent named Lester Miller, who was able to get him an interview to audition for ''

Mr. Novak ''Mr. Novak'' is an American television dramatic series starring James Franciscus in the title role as a high school teacher. The series aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965. It won a Peabody Award in 1963. Synopsis The series follows ...

.'' This led to one of Nardini's first roles appearing in three episodes of ''Novak'' as Abel King from 1964 to 1965. This allowed Nardini to land other roles as guest leads on other television shows such as ''The Lieutenant'' and ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chronicl ...

'' and Bewitched. Nardini was then cast for his most notable role in the television series ''

'', where he played the character John Henry. Nardini then signed a seven-year contract with

Columbia Studios Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

, which produced his film debut ''

'' in 1965. Nardini was cast as Jackson Two Bears, a Native American ranch hand for Cat Ballou's father. Nardini was nominated for Most Promising Newcomer - Male at the

23rd Golden Globe Awards The 23rd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1965, were held on 28 February 1966. Winners and nominees Film Best Film - Drama ''Doctor Zhivago'' *''The Collector'' *'' The Flight of the Phoenix'' *''A Patch of Blu ...

for his performance. In the films ''Cat Ballou'' and '' Africa: Texas Style'', Nardini played a Native American character, which presented the risk of being typecast as a Native American in all his roles. In 1966, Nardini co-starred in a pilot about a World War II-era historical novel written by James Jones called ''From Here to Eternity''.

Personal life

Nardini has been married three times, first to Judy K. Cooper during 1966, then Melody Gay Barsocchini from 1970 to 1981 with whom he had one son, and has been married to Ruth Helen Belding, with whom he has two sons, since 1985. Nardini was in the

Air Force reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

in 1966, based in

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

Filmography

* ''

Chief Zabu ''Chief Zabu'' is a long-unreleased film that was written, produced and directed by Neil Cohen and Zack Norman (under his birth name, Howard Zuker). It is a socio-political comedy about a New York real estate developer who tries to take over a Po ...

'' (2016) .... Gatekeeper * ''

Kate & Allie ''Kate & Allie'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from March 19, 1984 to May 22, 1989, starring Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin as two divorced women, both with children, who decide to live together in the same house. ...

'' (1985) .... (as Tom Nardino) * ''

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

'' (1983) .... Horatio * ''

T. J. Hooker ''T. J. Hooker'' is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network un ...

'' (1982) .... Falco * ''Muggable Mary, Street Cop'' (1982) (TV) .... Mugger Inside Supermarket * ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that networ ...

'' (1981) .... Wally Branscom * ''Win, Place or Steal'' (1975) .... Desk Sergeant * ''

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

'' .... Matoska (1 episode, 1974) * ''Insight'' .... Rodriguez / ... (2 episodes, 1974) * ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...

'' .... (segment "Love and the Test of Manhood") (1 episode, 1972) * ''The Smith Family'' (1 episode, 1971) * ''

Cade's County ''Cade's County'' is a modern-day Western/crime drama which aired Sundays at 9:30 pm (EST) on CBS during the 1971–1972 television season. There were 24 episodes. Synopsis ''Cade's County'' starred well-known Hollywood actor Glenn Ford as S ...

'' .... Tom Running Man (1 episode, 1971) * ''

Bearcats! ''Bearcats!'' is an American Western television series broadcast on the CBS television network during the fall 1971 television season. It starred Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole as troubleshooters in the period before the American entry into World War ...

'' .... Father Liberto (1 episode, 1971) * ''

'' (1970) (TV) .... Jackson Two Bears * ''Harpy'' (1971) (TV) .... John * ''Incident in San Francisco'' (1971) (TV) .... Alfred Cianelli * ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as ...

'' (1 episode, 1970) * ''

Land of the Giants ''Land of the Giants'' is a one-hour American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for two seasons, beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. ''Land of the Gia ...

'' .... Carl (1 episode, 1969) * ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'' .... Ramon (1 episode, 1969) * ''

Room 222 ''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 ( EST) fo ...

'' .... Robert Salazar (1 Season episode 15 El Genio) 1969 * ''

The Devil's 8 ''The Devil's 8'' is a 1969 film directed by Burt Topper and starring Christopher George, Fabian, Tom Nardini and Leslie Parrish. It was produced and distributed by American International Pictures. Plot Federal agent Ray Faulkner poses as a ro ...

'' (1969) .... Billy Joe * ''The Young Animals'' (1968) .... Tony * ''

'' .... John Henry (26 episodes, 1967–1968) * ''

Cimarron Strip ''Cimarron Strip'' is an American Western television series starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown. The series was produced by the creators of ''Gunsmoke'', and aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Reruns of the original show we ...

'' .... John Wolf (1 episode, 1967) * ''

Africa Texas Style ''Africa Texas Style'' is a 1967 British adventure film directed by Andrew Marton and starring John Mills, Hugh O'Brian and Nigel Green. The plot is about two American cowboys who are hired by a British rancher to oversee his estate in Kenya ...

'' (1967) .... John Henry * '' The Fugitive'' .... Jimmy Anza (1 episode, 1967) * ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' .... Richard Danby (1 episode, 1965) * ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' .... Steve Perrona (7 episodes, 1965) * ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'' .... Indian (1 episode, 1965) * ''

Winter A-Go-Go ''Winter A-Go-Go'' is a 1965 American comedy-drama film directed by Richard Benedict and starring James Stacy, William Wellman Jr., Beverly Adams, John Anthony Hayes, Jill Donohue, Tom Nardini, Duke Hobbie, Julie Parrish, Buck Holland, Linda Roger ...

'' (1965) .... Frankie * ''

'' (1965) .... Jackson Two-Bears * ''Death Valley Days'' .... Steve Avote (1 episode, 1965) * ''Mr. Novak'' .... Abel King / ... (3 episodes, 1964–1965)

References

Bibliography

* "Tom Nardini To Co-Star With Connors." ''Pittsburgh Post Gazette'' ittsburgh16 Aug. 1967 : 24. Print. * "Ocala Star-Banner - Google News Archive Search." ''Ocala Star-Banner - Google News Archive Search''. Oscala Star Banner, 3 Sept. 1967. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. * Gannett News Service. "The Evening News -Google News Archive Search." ''The Evening News - Google News Archive Search''. The Evening News, 25 Nov. 1967. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. * "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search." ''Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search''. Toledo Blade, 21 Feb. 1968. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. * TV Scout. "The Times-News - Google News Archive Search." ''The Times-News - Google News Archive Search''. The Times-News, 22 May 1971. Web. 02 Nov. 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nardini, Tom American male television actors 1945 births Living people