Nick Apollo Forte, the actor and cruise-ship singer best known for playing the over-the-hill crooner Lou Canova in Woody Allen’s 1984 movie “Broadway Danny Rose,” died on Feb. 26 in Waterbury, Conn., where he was born. He was 81.
His death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his daughter Lynn Coleman.
Mr. Forte had a very brief acting career, appearing in “Broadway Danny Rose” as a burly (6 foot 1, 235 pounds) has-been musician with a big ego and a drinking problem who becomes a client of Danny Rose (Woody Allen), a bottom-feeding small-time agent and personal manager whose stable of talent includes skating penguins, a balloon act and a woman who plays melodies on water glasses.
With Danny coaching him (“Don’t forget to do ‘My Funny Valentine’ with the special lyrics about the moon landing!”) Lou finesses his way out of the Catskills and into the Waldorf Astoria, where they get caught in a love triangle with a brassy blonde named Tina Vitale (Mia Farrow).
“Mr. Forte, who was himself a singer of the ruffled-shirt school when recruited for the movie, is an absolute natural,” Janet Maslin wrote in her review in The New York Times. “He blusters through his role with the absolute confidence that is the essential — perhaps the only — ingredient in Lou’s mystique.”
Except for some key differences — like Lou’s brown hair (his strawberry blonde curls were dyed), gold chains and drinking problem — Mr. Forte’s character was not all that unlike Mr. Forte himself: He had spent 30 years performing in cabarets, nightclubs and hotel lounges before he was discovered by Mr. Allen’s casting agent.
While looking for someone to play the part, the casting agent found an album that Mr. Forte had released under his own label, titled “Images.” (Mr. Allen ended up using two songs from the album in the movie, both written by Mr. Forte: “Agita,” about indigestion, and “My Bambina,” written for his daughter Robin’s wedding.)
“The casting agent called Mr. Forte to ask him for a résumé and a recent photograph,” The Times reported in 1984. “Mr. Forte did not have a résumé, so he took ‘a little piece of paper,’ he said, and scribbled: ‘I’m a nightclub entertainer. I write music. I produce records.’ And, he added, ‘I fish.’”
After shooting the movie Mr. Forte admitted that he had barely known who Mr. Allen was when he agreed to work on the project.
“While we were making the movie, I said to him: ‘Wood, I can’t put you on. I’ve never seen one of your movies in my life,’” Mr. Forte said. “And he says to me, ‘You are a very disturbed individual.’”
Nicola Antonio Forte was born in Waterbury on June 14, 1938, to Nicola and Carmela (Capizutto) Forte. His father was a factory worker, his mother a homemaker.
Mr. Forte got his first big break in 1957, opening for Della Reese at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Shortly after, he dropped out of high school to pursue music, changing his stage name from Nicky Redman to Nick Apollo Forte in honor of the venue.
He met Rosalie Trapasso when they were teenagers, and they married in 1958. They had seven children.
Mr. Forte continued to perform in cabarets and nightclubs after “Broadway Rose” and spent 15 years headlining on cruise ships.
Besides his daughter Lynn, he is survived by his wife; three other daughters, Robin McCormack, Carmel Natelli and Shelly Giannini; his sons, Nicholas, Mark and Jeffery; his brother, Frank Dest; his sister, Aurelia Battista; 22 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Mr. Forte, who rarely strayed from Waterbury when not on the road, made the most of his moment in the spotlight.
“Now everybody wants to be my friend, and they all want to hear my life story,” he told The Times in 1984.
“Well, this is it,” he said. “I’ve lived my whole life in one square mile of this town. I was born in this house and I’ll probably die in it. But I made a movie and I never knew I could. Now I can walk into any major record label. It’s Nick Apollo Forte. He can walk in now.”
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
