John Conte (actor)
Encyclopedia
John Conte was a stage and film actor
and television
broadcaster.
Conte was born in Palmer, Massachusetts
. His Mother Maria (Mary) migrated to the United States, from Calabria, with her lifelong friend Francesca Cuda, who moved to Los Angeles before the Conte family. To be closer to her friend Francesca, his family moved to Los Angeles, California
when he was a teenager. After he graduated from Lincoln High School
he began working as a radio actor and singer. One of his first regular roles was on the Burns and Allen
radio show in the 1940s.
In 1947 he appeared in Rodgers and Hammerstein
's short-lived Broadway musical Allegro
. He returned to Broadway in 1950 to appear in the musical Arms and the Girl.
Conte's television career began with an appearance with Sid Caesar
on Your Show of Shows
in the early 1950s. He hosted Matinee Theater, a live-drama series on NBC that was one of the first daytime shows on network television.
His major film role was "Drunky" in the 1955 movie The Man with the Golden Arm
.
In 1968 he and his wife, Sirpuhe Philibosian Conte, launched KMIR-TV
, a UHF station in the Palm Springs
–Rancho Mirage
market. The station affiliated with NBC
.
The Contes built KMIR into the third-largest station in the Coachella Valley
. They sold the station to Milwaukee-based Journal Communications
in 1999.
Conte also was a founding sponsor of the Eisenhower Medical Center
in Rancho Mirage and was one of the founders of the McCallum Theatre
in Palm Desert, California
.
Conte died of natural causes at the Eisenhower Medical Center, aged 90.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcaster.
Conte was born in Palmer, Massachusetts
Palmer, Massachusetts
The Town of Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,140 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. His Mother Maria (Mary) migrated to the United States, from Calabria, with her lifelong friend Francesca Cuda, who moved to Los Angeles before the Conte family. To be closer to her friend Francesca, his family moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
when he was a teenager. After he graduated from Lincoln High School
Abraham Lincoln High School (Los Angeles, California)
Abraham Lincoln High School, usually referred to simply as Lincoln High School, is a secondary school located in the Lincoln Heights district of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is located in the East Los Angeles-area community, surrounded by El Sereno, Chinatown, Boyle Heights and...
he began working as a radio actor and singer. One of his first regular roles was on the Burns and Allen
Burns and Allen
Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television and achieved great success over four decades.-Vaudeville:...
radio show in the 1940s.
In 1947 he appeared in Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
's short-lived Broadway musical Allegro
Allegro (musical)
Allegro is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II , their third collaboration for the stage. Opening on Broadway on October 10, 1947, the musical centers on the life of Joseph Taylor, Jr.—Joe follows in the footsteps of his father as a doctor, but is tempted by fortune and fame at...
. He returned to Broadway in 1950 to appear in the musical Arms and the Girl.
Conte's television career began with an appearance with Sid Caesar
Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
on Your Show of Shows
Your Show of Shows
Your Show of Shows is a live 90-minute variety show that appeared weekly in the United States on NBC , from February 25, 1950, until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca....
in the early 1950s. He hosted Matinee Theater, a live-drama series on NBC that was one of the first daytime shows on network television.
His major film role was "Drunky" in the 1955 movie The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
.
In 1968 he and his wife, Sirpuhe Philibosian Conte, launched KMIR-TV
KMIR-TV
KMIR-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southern California's Coachella Valley. Licensed to Palm Springs, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 46 from a transmitter on Edom Hill in Cathedral City north of I-10/Redlands Freeway...
, a UHF station in the Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
–Rancho Mirage
Rancho Mirage, California
Rancho Mirage is a resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. In between Cathedral City and Palm Desert, it is one of the eight cities of the Coachella...
market. The station affiliated with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
The Contes built KMIR into the third-largest station in the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
. They sold the station to Milwaukee-based Journal Communications
Journal Communications
Journal Communications, Inc. is a publicly traded media company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It publishes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a daily newspaper, and it also owns television stations, radio stations and weekly newspapers, among other businesses.-History:The Milwaukee Journal was...
in 1999.
Conte also was a founding sponsor of the Eisenhower Medical Center
Eisenhower Medical Center
The Eisenhower Medical Center is a not-for-profit hospital located in Rancho Mirage, California. It was named one of the top one hundred hospitals in the United States in 2005 and is adjacent to the world-famous Betty Ford Center....
in Rancho Mirage and was one of the founders of the McCallum Theatre
McCallum Theatre
The McCallum Theatre is a 1,127-seat state-of-the-art theatre and concert venue located on the southern edge of the campus of College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California, USA....
in Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
.
Conte died of natural causes at the Eisenhower Medical Center, aged 90.