Character player of the 1970s and 80s, usually in comic roles; outstanding as the manic host of an old-time TV variety show in the hilarious "My Favorite Year" (1982). Bologna writes for theater and TV with his wife, Renee Taylor; the duo co-adapted (from their own plays) "Lovers and Other Strangers" (1970) and the 1989 feature, "It Had to Be You", which they co-directed. Taylor and Bologna also co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in "Love Is All There Is" (1995), a feature inspired by Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" about two feuding families whose children fall in love. The feature was shown out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
- Also Credited As:
Joe Bologna
- Born:
December 30, 1938 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
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Job Titles:
Actor, Playwright, Screenwriter
Family
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Grandson: Juliano Bologna. born c. 1995
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Son: Gabriel Bologna. mother, Renee Taylor; married actor Lisbet Stensland in July 1990 (niece of the late Inger Stevens)
Education
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Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, art history
Milestones
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1970 Screenwriting debut, Lovers and Other Strangers
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1971 Film acting debut in Made For Each Other
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1982 Won acclaim for his performance as a Sid Caesar-like TV comic in My Favorite Year
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1999 Played Adam Sandler s father in Big Daddy
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2001 Co-wrote and co-starred in the Broadway play If You Ever Leave Me, I m Going With You
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2001 Directed wife in An Evening With Golda Meir