What Was Robert Loggia's Net Worth?
Robert Loggia was an American actor and director who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 2015. Robert Loggia's career in acting spanned over six decades, and he starred in over 200 film and TV projects. He was very versatile, acting in live-action films and television series, voice acting, directing, and reporting. He came to prominence playing a real-life sheriff in "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca," a series of Walt Disney TV shows. He is best known for his roles in "Scarface," "The Sopranos," and "Big." Despite having impressive range, Loggia was often type-cast into having mobster roles due to his distinctive raspy voice and Italian style.
Early life
Salvatore "Robert" Loggia was born on January 3, 1930, in Staten Island, New York. He was the son of Biagio Loggia, a shoemaker born in Palma di Montechiaro, Province of Agrigento, Sicily, and Elena Blandino, a homemaker born in Vittoria, Province of Ragusa, Sicily. Loggia grew up in the Little Italy neighborhood, where the family spoke Italian at home.
Robert graduated from New Dorp High School before taking courses at Wagner College, where he joined the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and played for the university's football team. In 1951, he earned a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. From 1951 to 1953, Loggia followed his dream and served in the United States Army as a reporter for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service in the Caribbean. In 1954, Robert married Majorie Sloan and began itching for more than journalism. From then on, he began his 60-year-long career in acting by studying at the Actors Studio under Stella Adler. He later studied acting with Alvina Krause at Northwestern University.
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Acting Career
At age 25, Loggia made his acting debut on Broadway in "The Many with the Golden Arm" in 1955. He stayed under the radar for the two years following, working as a radio and TV anchor on the Southern Command Network in the Panama Canal Zone. Robert tried to make acting work on the side, such as starring in his first film "Somebody Up There Likes Me," in 1956, yet his appearances went uncredited. It was not until he was cast in "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca," a series of Walt Disney TV shows, that he rose to fame and finally quit his day job.
Loggia later starred as the ex-circus acrobat and ex-cat burglar, Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat, in a short-lived detective series called "T.H.E. Cat," first broadcast in 1966. At first, "T.H.E. Cat" appeared to be a success. However, NBC canceled the series the following year, sending Robert into a mid-life crisis. For six years, his career was failing, and his marriage fell apart. At his lowest point, he met Audrey O'Brien when he needed to most. She has been described as his "saving grace." She helped him out of his crisis, and they later married. Despite playing Frank Carver on the CBS soap opera "The Secret Storm" in 1972, Robert took a new course when he decided to begin a career in directing. Loggia served as director for episodes of "Quincy M.E.," Magnum, P.I.," and "Hart to Hart."
Over 10 years later, in 1983, Loggia landed one of the biggest roles of his career, playing Frank Lopez, a drug dealer who was one of the main supporting characters and antagonists in the film "Scarface." His reputation as an actor soared, and he was now regarded as one of the contributors to a "classic Hollywood film."
Loggia has appeared as a mobster in multiple films, including Bill Sykes, the immoral loan shark and shipyard agent in Disney's animated film "Oliver & Company" (1988), Salvatore "The Shark" Macelli in John Landis' "Innocent Blood" (1992), Mr. Eddy in David Lynch's "Lost Highway" (1997), and Don Vito Leoni in David Jablin's "The Don's Analyst" (1997). Most notably, he played mobster Feech La Manna in "The Sopranos."
In addition to voicing Sykes in Disney's "Oliver & Company," Loggia had voice acting roles in several other projects, including the computer game "Free Space 2" (1999), the anime movie "The Dog of Flanders" (1997), the video game "Grand Theft Auto III" (2001), and the Adult Swim animated TV comedy series "Tom Goes to the Mayor" (2004-2006). Loggia has also appeared in two episodes of the animated series "Family Guy" as himself.
Robert reprised his role from "Independence Day" as General William Grey, making a cameo appearance alongside his wife, Audrey, in the 2016 sequel "Independence Day: Resurgence." The sequel was filmed shortly before his death, and it was released posthumously and dedicated to him.
(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for AFI)
Awards and Accolades
Loggia was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of crusty private detective Sam Ransom in the crime thriller "Jagged Edge" (1985), and he won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Mr. MacMillan in "Big" (1988). He was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for portraying FBI agent Nick Mancuso in the TV series "Mancuso, FBI" (1989-1990), a follow-up to the previous year's miniseries "Favorite Son" (1988). In 2010, Loggia was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his humanitarian efforts. On December 17, 2011, he was honored by his alma mater, the University of Missouri, with an honorary degree for his career and his humanitarian efforts.
Personal Life
Robert was married to Marjorie Sloan from 1954 to 1981, and they had three children, Kristina, John, and Tracey. In 1982, Loggia married Audrey O'Brien, a business executive and the mother of his stepdaughter Cynthia Marlette. As he got older and took a step away from acting, Robert became a passionate golfer, charitable supporter, and esteemed acting coach. Loggia and O'Brien remained married until his death in 2015.
Illness and Death
In 2010, Loggia was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He died at the age of 85 due to complications from the disease at his home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on December 4, 2015. He is interred at the Westwood Memorial Park
