Bruno VeSota

Bruno VeSota
VeSota in Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
Born
Bruno William VeSota

(1922-03-25)March 25, 1922
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedSeptember 24, 1976(1976-09-24) (aged 54)
Culver City, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
Years active1947–1974

Bruno William VeSota[1][2] (March 25, 1922 – September 24, 1976)[1] was an American character actor, director and producer who, between 1945 and 1974, appeared in hundreds of television episodes and over 50 feature films. He is remembered for prominent supporting roles in 15 Roger Corman films as well as for having directed three low-budget features: Female Jungle (1956), The Brain Eaters (Corman as uncredited executive producer, 1958) and Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962).

Chicago television

A native of Chicago, VeSota entered Chicago television in 1945 writing many teleplays for WBKB-TV such as an adaption of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart". In 1948, he moved to WGN-TV as a producer, director and writer.[3]

VeSota was one of the directors of They Stand Accused, "television's first live dramatic courtroom series", which ran on WGN-TV before it expanded to national distribution first on CBS and later on DuMont.[4] He also directed Chicagoland Mystery Players on WGN-TV before it went on Dumont.[5]

Film work

He made his big-screen debut in 1953 with appearances in The System and The Wild One.

He is remembered for appearances in science fiction films in the 1950s and early 1960s, such as Dementia (1955), Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), The Wasp Woman (1959) and The Wild World of Batwoman (1966).

He directed a few movies, such as Female Jungle (1955),[6] The Brain Eaters (1958) and Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962).[7]

In the 1960s, he played the barman in a number of episodes of Bonanza, including S8 E1 (1967) "Something Hurt, Something Wild".

Death

VeSota died in Culver City in 1976 following a heart attack at the age of 54.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Truitt, Evelyn Mack (1984). Who Was Who on Screen. New York: R.R. Bowker Company. p. 407. ISBN 0835219062.
  2. ^ "Personal Data: Death". The Hollywood Reporter. September 27, 1976. p. 17. ProQuest 3031352765. Bruno William VeSota, 54, the bartender on the 'Bonanza' TV series for 14 years, died Friday in Culver City. VeSota was as early pioneer of TV dramas in the 1940s as producer and director in Chicago, where he worked with actors like Geraldine Page and Tom Bosley. He is survived by his wife Genevieve, two sons and four daughters.
  3. ^ Berger, Daniel; Jajkowski, Steve (2010). Chicago Television. Arcadia Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 9780738577135. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Erickson, Hal (2003). Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948-2008. McFarland. pp. 259–260. ISBN 9780786438280. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "New mystery series begins on WGN-TV today". Chicago Tribune. June 26, 1949. p. 22. Retrieved April 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Palmer, Randy (January 1, 1997). Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-7864-0270-0.
  7. ^ Sobchack, Vivian Carol (1987). Screening Space: The American Science Fiction Film. Rutgers University Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-8135-2492-4.
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