Wikipedia

Wally Campo

Wallace Joseph Campodonico (April 23, 1923 – January 14, 2023), better known as Wally Campo, was an American actor. He was known for his appearances in Roger Corman and Burt Topper films, as well as for narrating The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).[1][2]

Wally Campo
Campo in Ski Troop Attack (1960)
Born
Wallace Joseph Campodonico

(1923-04-23)April 23, 1923
Stockton, California, U.S.
DiedJanuary 14, 2023(2023-01-14) (aged 99)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1956–2011 (film and television)
SpouseGeraldine Matthews
Children1

Life and career

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Wallace Campodonico was born in Stockton, California on April 23, 1923.[3] He attended Stockton High School, and played the title role in the 1941 senior class production of Tom Cobb or, Fortune's Toy.[4] During World War II, Campodonico served in the U.S. Army,[5] enlisting in June 1942.[6] After the war, he worked as a stage actor. He appeared in a 1948 production of Ah, Wilderness! as part of The Stockton Community Players.[7]

Campo's best known appearance on screen was playing Joe Fink in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), a detective who visits the shop after catching wind of recent disappearances. The character's persona has been described as a parody of the type of detectives featured in Dragnet. Campo also narrated the film.[8]

In 1969, Campo, then working as an acting coach, made his debut as a director on the film Mark of the Gun, starring Ross Hagen.[9]

Campo and his wife, Geraldine Matthews, had one son, Tony Campodonico, a musician who appeared as a child actor on General Hospital.[10] He later lived in Valley Village, Los Angeles,[3] and died in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles on January 14, 2023, at the age of 99.[10]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Reference
1956 Inside Detroit Recreation Hall Manager [11]
1958 Machine-Gun Kelly Maize [12]
1958 Hell Squad Private Russo [13]
1959 Tank Commando Pvt. Sonny Lazzotti [14]
1959 Warlock Barber [15]
1959 Beast from Haunted Cave Byron Smith [16]
1960 Ski Troop Attack Pvt. Ed Ciccola [17]
1960 The Little Shop of Horrors Sgt. Joe Fink / Narrator [18]
1961 Master of the World First Mate Turner [19]
1961 War Is Hell Laney [20]
1962 Tales of Terror Barman Wilkins [21]
1963 Shock Corridor [22]
1964 The Strangler Eggerton [23]
1967 Devil's Angels Grog [24]

References

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  1. ^ Weaver, Tom (2003). Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. McFarland. p. 327. ISBN 9780786416578. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  2. ^ Weaver, Tom (January 10, 2014). A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers. McFarland. p. 321. ISBN 9780786458318. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Wallace Joseph Campodonico". Neptune Society. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "Seniors Will Give Romantic Farce". Stockton, California: Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. June 10, 1941. p. 10. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  5. ^ "Men in Service". Stockton, California: Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. January 14, 1943. p. 9. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "Wallace Joseph Campodonico". U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "'Ah Wilderness' Staff Kept Busy". Stockton, California: Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. December 3, 1948. p. 35. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  8. ^ Pandolfi, Chris (September 6, 2015). "The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)". Gone with the Twins. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  9. ^ Albright, Brian (January 27, 2015). Wild Beyond Belief!: Interviews with Exploitation Filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s. McFarland. p. 61. ISBN 9780786482504. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Barnes, Mike (January 26, 2023). "Wally Campo, Actor in 'Little Shop of Horrors' and Other Roger Corman Films, Dies at 99". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Blottner, Gene (March 17, 2015). Columbia Noir: A Complete Filmography, 1940–1962. McFarland. p. 108. ISBN 9780786470143. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  12. ^ Pitts, Michael R. (September 17, 2015). Charles Bronson: The 95 Films and the 156 Television Appearances. McFarland. p. 148. ISBN 9781476610351. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  13. ^ Craig, Rob (February 15, 2019). American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland. p. 184. ISBN 9781476635224. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  14. ^ Fyne, Robert (May 20, 2008). Long Ago and Far Away: Hollywood and the Second World War. Scarecrow Press. p. 66. ISBN 9780810866843. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  15. ^ Reid, John Howard (October 11, 2015). 150 Finest Films of the Fifties. Lulu. p. 312. ISBN 9781329613119. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  16. ^ Monte Hellman: His Life and Films. McFarland. June 28, 2010. p. 197. ISBN 9780786481880. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  17. ^ Corman, Roger (September 13, 2011). Roger Corman: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781617031670. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  18. ^ Neibaur, James L. (December 2016). The Essential Jack Nicholson. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 4. ISBN 9781442269897. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  19. ^ Pitts, Michael R. (September 17, 2015). Charles Bronson: The 95 Films and the 156 Television Appearances. McFarland. p. 157. ISBN 9781476610351. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  20. ^ Edwards, Paul M. (1997). A Guide to Films on the Korean War. Greenwood Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780313303166. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  21. ^ Youngkin, Stephen D. (September 30, 2005). The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre. University Press of Kentucky. p. 475. ISBN 9780813123608. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  22. ^ Eagan, Daniel (2010). America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 592. ISBN 9780826429773. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  23. ^ Weaver, Tom (June 28, 2010). Earth Vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers: 20 Interviews. McFarland. p. 378. ISBN 9780786482177. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  24. ^ Lisanti, Tom (May 20, 2015). Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies. McFarland. p. 229. ISBN 9781476601168. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
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