John Conte

John Conte was an American actor of stage, film and television. Born in Palmer, Massachusetts, he moved to Los Angeles as a child and studied drama at Lincoln High School before joining the Pasadena Playhouse, then found work as a radio actor and singer. He became a network announcer, with an early regular role on The Grape Nuts Program alongside George Burns and Gracie Allen, and he announced for Silver Theater and The Screen Guild Show. He appeared on Broadway in Allegro in 1947, Arms and the Girl in 1950 and Carousel in 1954. His biggest film part came in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), as Drunky, and he was also seen in Lost in a Harem (1944) and The Carpetbaggers. On television he hosted his own variety program, John Conte's Little Show, and Matinee Theater from 1955 to 1959, and made five guest appearances on Perry Mason. He received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1960.