Chicago Italians

Name : Dennis Farina

Date of birth : 29 February 1944

Birthplace : Chicago, Illinois, USA

Height : 6' 1½

Profession : Actor
Dennis Farina Detailed Biography


Lovable tough guy character actor Dennis Farina was already well into his first career as a Chicago cop before he was able to turn his occasional acting gigs into a prodigious new line of work.

Raised in Chicago by Italian immigrant parents, Farina joined his hometown's police force in the mid-'60s, settling into a life of law enforcement. When he was hired to be a local consultant on Michael Mann's film Thief (1981), however, Farina wound up with a bit part as the villain's heavy. Farina continued to moonlight as an actor for several years, appearing in local theater and occasional movies, including Final Jeopardy (1985) and the Chuck Norris vehicle Code of Silence (1985). Though Dennis Farina never took an acting class, Farina was a natural; after Michael Mann offered him the lead in the series Crime Story in 1986, Farina left the police force to play a TV cop. During his 1986-1988 stint on the series, Farina also played FBI agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glen's part in Silence of the Lambs [1991]) in Mann's stylish thriller Manhunter (1986), was the Birdman of Alcatraz in the TV movie Six Against the Rock (1987), and a cop in TV movie mystery Through Naked Eyes (1987).

Drawing on his no-nonsense charm as well as his eclectic life experience, Farina continued to shine in roles on both sides of the law, such as serial killer Angelo Buono in The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989) and the lead prosecutor in the TV docudrama Blind Faith (1990). As nimble with comedy, Farina went up against Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin as a mobster in the popular buddy yarn Midnight Run (1988). Dennis Farina's versatility firmly established by the 1990s, Farina's early '90s work ranged from playing a billionaire in People Like Us (1990), to Banquo in a New York gangland version of Macbeth, Men of Honor (1991), as well as supporting roles in the comedy Another Stakeout (1993), Bruce Willis actioner Striking Distance (1993), John Turturro's Italian-American family drama Mac (1993), and vicious neo-noir Romeo Is Bleeding (1994).

Farina's appearance as John Travolta's nemesis, hilariously bumbling tough guy Ray "Bones" Barboni, in Barry Sonnenfeld's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Get Shorty (1995), led to his most notable hit since Midnight Run. His career hitting a new high, Farina co-starred with Bette Midler as reunited exes in Carl Reiner's That Old Feeling (1997), and starred as a Sicilian bigwig in the high-profile TV miniseries Bella Mafia (1997). Though his Marshall Sisco made only a brief appearance in Steven Soderbergh's esteemed Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight (1998), Farina was pitch-perfect as Jennifer Lopez's protective dad. After joining the superb corps in Steven Spielberg's award-winning Saving Private Ryan (1998), Farina returned to series TV, playing smooth detective Buddy Faro (1998); the series, however, lasted only one season.

Returning to films, Farina followed his role as the police captain who recruits The Mod Squad (1999) with another comic turn as a New York gangster who sets the diamond larceny plot in motion in Snatch (2000), adding a dash of Hollywood celebrity (along with Brad Pitt and Benicio del Toro) to British lad director Guy Ritchie's sophomore effort. The releases of two of Farina's next films, Barry Sonnenfeld's caper Big Trouble (2001) and Edward Burns' romantic comedy Sidewalks of New York (2001), were delayed after the terrorist attack on New York on September 11, 2001. Sidewalks of New York surfaced later in 2001, but the romantic comedy failed to charm a large audience. Big Trouble finally made it into theaters in the first half of 2002, but despite the big name cast, Sonnenfeld's farce joined such high profile fare as Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Collateral Damage (2002) and the espionage actioner Bad Company (2002) on the list of 9/11-delayed flops. Farina's next film, the broad, witless comedy Stealing Harvard (2002), also failed at the box office. Farina returned to television during the fall 2002 season with a lead role as a comically monstrous Meet the Parents-esque father-in-law on the sitcom The In-Laws (2002). Despite initially withering reviews, The In-Laws managed to show signs of ratings life.

Legendary entertainer Vic Damone, actors Dennis Farina and Joe Mantegna, and a host of notables braved a mid-April snowstorm to attend the National Italian American Foundation’s Ambassador’s Gala at the Hilton Chicago.

Mayor Richard M. Daley opened the evening by welcoming the event’s more than 750 guests. The evening’s host, Italy’s Ambassador to the United States Giovanni Castellaneta, gave special recognition to famed actress Gina Lollobrigida and Academy Award-winning actor Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine’s impassioned speech about his parent’s immigration from Italy to America brought gala guests to their feet, while Lollobrigida received overwhelming applause when the ambassador referred to her as “a legend for all of us.”

During the awards ceremony, NIAF President Salvatore J. Zizza presented Damone with a NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award in Music. Mantegna received a NIAF Special Achievement Award in Entertainment, which was presented by his colleague, actor/director Chazz Palminteri. Actor and Chicago-native Larry Manetti also presented Farina with the Foundation’s Special Achievement Award in Entertainment. Robert A. Mariano, chairman, president, and CEO of Roundy’s Inc., received a NIAF Special Achievement Award in Business; Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court Robert R. Thomas received a NIAF Special Achievement Award in Public Service, which was presented to him by his former Chicago Bears teammate Doug Buffone; and Senator of the Italian Republic Renato Turano received a NIAF Special Achievement Award in Public Service.

Highlights of the awards presentation included Mantegna’s reminiscence of his Italian childhood and early career in Chicago, and Farina’s memories of a cultural clash between his Sicilian father and Tuscan mother.

CBS 2 reporter Vince Gerasole served as master of ceremonies, welcoming guests both in English and Italian. Robert V. Allegrini, NIAF regional vice president of the Midwest and regional director of communications for Hilton Hotels Corporation; Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Phoenix Suns and NIAF vice chairman; and George Randazzo, president and founder of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame were on hand to celebrate the achievements of these distinguished Italian Americans. The evening also honored the region of Sicily and the Sicily-USA Partnership Project.

The most notorious gangster in the history of the nation, Alphonse Capone, better known to most as Al Capone or Scarface, ran Chicago with blood and guns.
Capone was born in Brooklyn in 1899 to two Italian immigrants. From the beginning, he never responded well to authority. He beat a female teacher while in his sixth grade year and left after the principal verbally chastised him for the incident. Facing a life of low paying jobs, he joined the street gang led by Johny Torrio and Lucky Luciano.

Late in December 1918, Capone killed a man in an argument. Rather than face the charges, he called his old friend Torrio, who was now in Chicago. Capone moved to Chicago on the invitation of Torrio.

He carried his rough style of dealing with people to Chicago. As the bartender at Torrio's club, he broke the bones the arms, legs, and even skulls of those he evicted from the establishment.

However, Torrio did not bring Capone to Chicago to beat up drunkards. As Torrio's right hand man, he received the job killing off "Big Jim" Colosimo, who ran Chicago's underground. After the passage of prohibition in 1920, Torrio was constantly harrasing the boss to establish underground drinking esablishments. Tired of hearing "NO" from Colosimo, Torrio had him killed by Capone on May 11, 1920. Torrio became boss of Chicago, and Capone became the manager of alcohol for the city.

Al Capone became head of the Chicago mafia after Torrio was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt and stepped down from the head spot in 1925. Throughout his reign he ran the streets of Chicago with his mob. When his mob with at its prime, Capone had city aldermen, mayors, legislators, governors, congressmen, and over half the Chicago police force on his payroll.

In 1929 he made his biggest blunder by ordering the shooting of Bugs Moran, part of another Chicago underground faction, on February 14. In what is known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Capone's men killed a group seven people, but Moran was not in the group. The even, however, changed the public mind about pursuing organized crime.

By now, the IRS had been gathering tax evasion information on Capone for some time through a hired agent, Eddie O'Hare. O'Hare ran Capone's dog and race tracks and told the IRS where they could find Capone's financial records. On November 24, Al Capone was sentenced to 11 years in Federal prison, fined $50,000, charged $7692 for court costs, and $215,000 in back taxes for tax evasion.

He was released in 1939, after serving seven years and paying all of his back taxes. His mental and physical condition had severely deteriorated and he entered Baltimore hospital for brain treatment immediately after his release. He died of a stroke and pneumonia on January 25, 1947, having killed Eddie O'Hare before he died.

Early business and Labor

Italians worked in construction, on the railroad and in the factories that proliferated around the city while others went into the small trades. Before 1900, unskilled workers sometimes fell prey to padroni, labor agents who found work for their compatriots, often for an exorbitant fee. Women worked alongside men in the garment industry, second only to New York City, which spawned one of the largest strikes in Chicago history led by three Italians. Success came to early entrepreneurs such as Giovanni Garibaldi and Frank Cuneo, who together created the largest fruit and nut wholesale business in the United States.

Public Image

From the start, Italians were considered racially inferior to white Europeans and public debates in academic circles and the media carried on unheeded for decades. Rampant anti-immigrant sentiment brought about The Immigration Act of 1924 and Chicago’s Italian Americans moved to defeat it. The small percentage of criminal elements active in the Italian American community, Black Hand practitioners and those who came up during the Prohibition Era, only lodged prejudices more firmly in the public’s mind. The most publicized protest from the community came in 2001 when the Chicago-based American Italian Defamation Association (AIDA) sued Time Warner for distributing HBO’s hit series The Sopranos because of its negative portrayal of Italian Americans.

Italo Balbo’s Flight

Balbo’s headline-grabbing transatlantic flight from Italy to Chicago during the 1933 World’s Fair brought unprecedented prestige to the Italian Colony. While it reinforced italianità among Chicago Italians, their reaction to the escalating threat of war in Europe would soon demonstrate their overwhelming allegiance to America.

Neighbhood Life

Popular processions of saints, or feste, brought the community together each year to celebrate deeply held traditions and customs and enjoy favorite foods with family and friends. Hundreds of organizations from mutual-aid societies and sports clubs to business groups and regional associations helped Italian Americans maintain strong cultural ties. The love of opera cut across class lines and many Italian Americans grew up listening to the great voices of a bygone era like Enrico Caruso, Luisa Tetrazzini and Chicago’s Vivian Della Chiesa, who made her debut in the Chicago Opera in 1936.


Our Lady of the Angels Fire
On December 1, 1958, fire swept through a Catholic grammar school in a West Side neighborhood with a large Italian-American population, killing 92 children and 3 nuns. The tragedy brought about changes in fire safety standards in American schools, but it also sparked a mass exodus of families from the neighborhood, a trend that brought about the demise of the city’s Italian Colonies in the ensuing decades.


Politics

Before World War II, the Italian American community produced only a handful of political leaders, among them Vito Marzullo, a strong ally of Mayor Daley who went on to become a state representative and alderman. Frank Annunzio was the most visible political figure for many decades who fervently promoted Italian American causes throughout his three decades in office. One unwitting figure to venture into local politics is Florence Scala. A tailor’s daughter, Scala took on City Hall to protest the building of the University of Illinois campus, which eventually destroyed her Taylor Street neighborhood and most of the Hull House complex. Today’s Italian Americans leaders like Senator James DeLeo, Senate Majority Leader Debbie DeFrancesco Halvorson, Representative Skip Saviano, and Schiller Park mayor Anna Montana remain committed to serving diverse constituencies while maintaining close ties to their ethnic identity