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Alan Alda (born '''Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo''' on January 28 , 1936 ) is an American Actor , Writer , Director and sometimes Political activist.
FAMILY AND EARLY LIFE Alda was born in New York City . His Italian-American father, Robert Alda (born Alphonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo), was a successful actor, and his mother Joan Brown was crowned "Miss New York" in a Beauty Pageant . The adopted surname "Alda" is a contraction of "ALphonso" and "'''D'A'''bruzzo". When Alan Alda was growing up, his father ran a Burlesque theatre. This led to his Schizophrenic mother to be suspicious of extra-marital affairs, and eventually led up to her attempting to stab his father in the face. Later on, his parents divorced. Alan Alda contracted Polio when he was seven years old, which kept him bedridden for two years as he received treatments. Alan Alda's half-brother, Anthony Alda was christened Antonio D'Abruzzo on the 9th of December 1956. He received his is a well known photographer, author and clarinettist. Raised as a devout Catholic , he has since left the church but continues to celebrate religious holidays and events. His specific religious beliefs are difficult to define. He is also an activist for Feminist causes, and has been for many years.
Alda began his career in the 1950s as a member of the Compass Players comedy revue.
As a result, the 11 years of ''/ Gene Reynolds "comedy" years (1972-1977), and the Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1977-1983).
Alan Alda has also played Nobel Prize -winning physicist Richard Feynman in the play ''QED'' , which has only one other character. Although Peter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. Alda has also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen , and he has been a guest star five times on '' ER '', playing Dr. Gabriel Lawrence. As of 2004 , Alda is a regular cast member on the NBC program '' The West Wing '', portraying Republican U.S. Senator and presidential hopeful Arnold Vinick . He made his premiere in the sixth season's 8th episode, "In The Room", and was added to the opening credits with the thirteenth episode, "King Corn." Throughout his career, he has been nominated for the Emmy Award 31 times and the Tony Award twice, and has won seven People's Choice Award s, six Golden Globe awards, and three Director's Guild Of America awards. However, it was not until 2004, after a long acting career, that Alda received his first nomination for an Academy Award. This was the Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese 's film '' The Aviator ''. In the spring of 2005, Alda starred as Shelly Levene in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of David Mamet 's '' Glengarry Glen Ross ,'' for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
In 2005, Alda published his first round of memoirs, ''Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned'', published by Random House (ISBN 1400064090). Among other stories, he recalls his Intestine s becoming strangulated while on location in Chile for his PBS show '' Scientific American Frontiers ''. He also talks about his mother's battle with Schizophrenia . FILMOGRAPHY
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