Joseph Anthony Sirola (October 7, 1929 – February 10, 2019) was an American commercial, film, television, theatre actor and theatre producer.
Life and career Sirola was born in Carteret, New Jersey to Croatian parents Anton, a carpenter and Ana (née Dubrovich), who ran a boardinghouse at 363 West 19th Street in Chelsea. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1947 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from Columbia University in 1951.Vinciguerra, Thomas. "Joe Sirola ’51 Is an Actor for All Seasons," Columbia College Today, Winter 2011–12. Retrieved September 23, 2021Palladino, Lisa. "Joseph A. Sirola ’51, Actor, Voiceover Artist" (obituary), Columbia College Today, Summer 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2021 He then worked as a sales promotion manager at the multinational personal care corporation Kimberly-Clark, at the age of 28. He served in the U.S. Military for the Korean War before getting his career in acting. https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/joseph-sirola
Sirola began his acting career in 1959, appearing as Peter Nino in the television soap opera The Brighter Day. In 1960 he co-starred in the Broadway play, The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Sirola co-starred in another Broadway play, Golden Rainbow, in 1968. During the 1960s he also appeared in a few films and television programs including Gunsmoke, Hang 'Em High, The Andy Griffith Show, Chuka, Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, Strange Bedfellows and The Greatest Story Ever Told. His work on television commercials, for which he won over 20 Clio Awards, led to The Wall Street Journal nicknaming him “The King of the Voice-Overs” in 1970.
Over the next 30 years Sirola appeared and guest-starred in numerous film and television programs including Hawaii Five-O; The Super Cops; Mannix; Kolchak: The Night Stalker; Wonder Woman; Quincy, M.E.; Seizure; The Rockford Files; Spin City; Love, American Style; Charlie's Angels; Terrible Joe Moran; Diagnosis: Murder; The Ellen Burstyn Show and Washington: Behind Closed Doors. He was recurring in the short-lived TV series, The Magician, and he also starred in two short-lived television programs, The Montefuscos and Wolf. Sirola continued in voice-over work for television commercials including ads for Ford, Mobil, Wendy's and Nyquil.
In the 21st century Sirola began producing Broadway plays, including Time Stands Still, Stick Fly, The Trip to Bountiful, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder and Love Letters. He also won and was nominated for Drama Desk Awards and Tony Awards. Sirola retired in 2015.
Death Sirola died on February 10, 2019, of complications from respiratory failure at a hospital in Manhattan; he was 89.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1959 Happy Anniversary Waiter at El Morocco Uncredited1974 The Magician Owner of Magic Castle nightclub Dominic 1965 Strange Bedfellows Petracini 1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told Dumah 1967 Chuka Jake Baldwin 1968 Hang 'Em High Reno, Cooper Hanging Party 1969 Three 1970 The Delta Factor Sal Dekker 1972 Hail Rev. Jimmy Williams 1974 The Super Cops Police Lt. O'Shaughnessy 1974 Seizure Charlie Hughes 1994 Love Is a Gun Al Kinder 1997 Sunday Joe Subalowsky
References
External links
Rotten Tomatoes profile