Tom Nardini

Tom Nardini is an American film actor who had a lengthy career in television. His best-known roles were in Cowboy in Africa (1967), and in Cat Ballou (1965), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe award.

Tom Nardini
Nardini in 1967 from Cowboy in Africa
Born	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	El Camino Junior College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964–2013
Spouses	Judy K. Cooper ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1966)​ Melody Gay Barsocchini ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 1981)​ Ruth Helen Belding ​ (m. 1985)​

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, California,^[1] he was the son of Joseph and Chechi Nardini. Nardini's father worked as an aircraft worker^{[citation needed]} after having a career as a trumpeter and his mother worked in vaudeville^[1] as a comedian, dancer, and singer. He attended Morningside High School in Inglewood, graduating in 1963. Nardini went on to El Camino Junior College in Torrance, where he studied theater and joined a Shakespearean group.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Nardini met an agent named Lester Miller, who was able to get him an interview to audition for Mr. Novak. This led to one of Nardini's first roles,^{[citation needed]} appearing in three episodes of Novak as Abel King from 1964 to 1965. This allowed Nardini to land other roles as guest leads^{[citation needed]} on other television shows such as The Lieutenant, My Three Sons and Bewitched. Nardini was then cast in the television series Cowboy in Africa, where he played the character John Henry.

Nardini signed a seven-year contract with Columbia Studios,^{[citation needed]} which produced his film debut Cat Ballou in 1965. Nardini was cast as Jackson Two Bears, a Native American ranch hand for Cat Ballou's father. Nardini was nominated for Most Promising Newcomer - Male at the 23rd Golden Globe Awards for his performance.^{[citation needed]}

In the films Cat Ballou and Africa: Texas Style, Nardini played a Native American character.

In 1966, Nardini co-starred in a pilot about a World War II-era historical novel written by James Jones called From Here to Eternity.

Personal life

Nardini has been married three times, first to Judy K. Cooper during 1966, then Melody Gay Barsocchini from 1970 to 1981 with whom he had one son, and has been married to Ruth Helen Belding, with whom he has two sons, since 1985.^{[citation needed]}

Nardini was in the Air Force reserve in 1966, based in Riverside, California.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

• Chief Zabu (2016) .... Gatekeeper
• Kate & Allie (1985) .... (as Tom Nardino)
• Siege (1983) .... Horatio
• T. J. Hooker (1982) .... Falco
• Muggable Mary, Street Cop (1982) (TV) .... Mugger Inside Supermarket
• The Edge of Night (1981) .... Wally Branscom
• Win, Place or Steal (1975) .... Desk Sergeant
• Kung Fu .... Matoska (1 episode, 1974)
• Insight .... Rodriguez / ... (2 episodes, 1974)
• Love, American Style .... (segment "Love and the Test of Manhood") (1 episode, 1972)
• The Smith Family (1 episode, 1971)
• Cade's County .... Tom Running Man (1 episode, 1971)
• Bearcats! .... Father Liberto (1 episode, 1971)
• Cat Ballou (1970) (TV) .... Jackson Two Bears^[2]
• Harpy (1971) (TV) .... John^[3]
• Incident in San Francisco (1971) (TV) .... Alfred Cianelli
• The Mod Squad (1 episode, 1970)
• Land of the Giants .... Carl (1 episode, 1969)
• Hawaii Five-O .... Ramon (1 episode, 1969)
• Room 222 .... Robert Salazar (1 Season episode 15 El Genio) 1969
• The Devil's 8 (1969) .... Billy Joe
• The Young Animals (1968) .... Tony^[4]
• Cowboy in Africa .... John Henry (26 episodes, 1967–1968)^[5][6]
• Cimarron Strip .... John Wolf (1 episode, 1967)
• Africa Texas Style (1967) .... John Henry^[7]
• The Fugitive .... Jimmy Anza (1 episode, 1967)^[8]
• Gunsmoke .... Richard Danby (1 episode, 1965)
• Dr. Kildare .... Steve Perrona (7 episodes, 1965)
• Bewitched .... Indian (1 episode, 1965)
• Winter A-Go-Go (1965) .... Frankie
• Cat Ballou (1965) .... Jackson Two-Bears^[9][10][11]
• Death Valley Days .... Steve Avote (1 episode, 1965)
• Mr. Novak .... Abel King / ... (3 episodes, 1964–1965)