Jack La Rue

Jack La Rue born Gaspere Biondolillo was an American stage screen and television actor La Rue went from high school to his first acting job in Otis Skinners road company production of Blood and Sand He performed in Broadway plays from around 1923 to 1931 According to La Rue while appearing in Mae Wests play Diamond Lil he was spotted by Howard Hawks who offered him a part in the film Scarface starring Paul Muni He moved to Hollywood where he appeared in numerous films However Scarface was not one of them La Rue stated in a newspaper article that after four days Hawks had to replace him with George Raft because La Rue was taller than Muni and had a more powerful voice Later however Raft turned down the role of the despicable villain in The Story of Temple Drake fearing it would damage his screen image so the part went to La Rue Sometimes mistaken for Humphrey Bogart he played thugs and gangsters for the most part However director Frank Borzage atypically cast him as a priest in the 1932 version of A Farewell to Arms simply because according to newspaper columnist Hubbard Keavy he was tired of seeing conventional characters La Rue stated he turned down a role in The Godfather and many parts in the television series The Untouchables because of the way they portrayed ItalianAmericans La Rue died of a heart attack at Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica California at the age of 81 He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery Culver City California