Before signing with director Stanley Donen
to play Michael Caine's libidinous
best friend in
Schuld daran ist Rio (1984), Joe
Bologna netted rave reviews for his
Sid Caesar send-up in the well-received
comedy Ein Draufgänger in New York (1982)
with Peter O'Toole. Well known as
both a writer and an actor, Bologna dates his interest in the theater
from his student days at Brown University, when a casting notice called
for "non-actor" types to fill roles in a stage production of "Stalag
17." He landed the leading part but did not act again for ten years.
Bologna graduated from Brown with a degree in art history, and a tour
with the Marines followed. When he was discharged from the service, he
started directing short films and writing special comedy material. "A
monologue is the hardest thing in the world to write, because you're
only as good as your last joke," explains Bologna. "That's why
comedians are so neurotic." Bologna made his Broadway debut as the star
and co-author of the comedy smash "Lovers and Other Strangers."
Together with his wife
Renée Taylor, he wrote and starred
in
Made for Each Other (1971).
His other film credits include roles in
Treffpunkt Central Park (1973),
Honor Thy Father (1973),
Die haarsträubende Reise in einem verrückten Bus (1976) and
Das zweite Kapitel (1979). He also
co-starred with Taylor in the Emmy-winning television special Acts of Love and Other Comedies (1973), which they wrote together, and then starred in the made-for-television movie
Von der Liebe zerrissen (1979)
with Lee Remick, before reuniting with Taylor
in the critically acclaimed Broadway hit "It Had To Be You." From there
it was back to television for the CBS TV movie
One Cooks, the Other Doesn't (1983)
with Suzanne Pleshette. In 1991 he
starred with Matt LeBlanc in
Verducci & Sohn (1991), a
spin-off from the hit series
Eine schrecklich nette Familie (1987),
but it didn't click with audiences the way "MWC" did and was canceled
rather quickly.
