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Robert Davi
Davi in 2016
Born	Robert John Davi (1951-06-26) June 26, 1951 (age 73) New York City, U.S.
Education	Hofstra University (B.A.)
Occupations	Actor singer filmmaker
Years active	1977–present
Spouses	Jeri McBride ​ ​(m. 1980; div. 1990)​ Christine Bolster ​ ​(m. 1990; div. 2019)​ Diana Davi ​(m. 2019)​
Children	6
Musical career
Genres	Traditional pop, Great American Songbook
Instrument	Vocals
Website	davisingssinatra.com

Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1951) is an American actor, singer and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing Jake Fratelli in The Goonies (1985), Vietnam veteran and FBI Special Agent Johnson in Die Hard (1988), James Bond villain Franz Sanchez in Licence to Kill (1989), police deputy chief Phil Heinemann in Predator 2 (1990) and strip club manager Al Torres in Showgirls (1995). On television, he portrayed FBI Special Agent Bailey Malone in the NBC television series Profiler (1996–2000).

Classically trained as a singer, Davi launched his professional singing career in 2011. His first album, Davi Sings Sinatra – On The Road To Romance, hit No. 6 on the Billboard jazz charts. Praised for his voice and vocal interpretations, Davi debuted as a headliner at The Venetian Las Vegas, six months after the record was released.

In 2016, Davi replaced Jerry Doyle as radio host for a nationally syndicated radio program on Talk Radio Network.

Early life

Davi was born in 1953, in Astoria, Queens, New York, the son of Maria (née Rulli) and Sal Davi. His mother was an Italian American whose family came from Nusco, Avellino, Campania and his father was from Torretta, Palermo, Sicily.

Davi spoke Italian during his childhood. He attended Seton Hall, a Roman Catholic high school in Patchogue, New York. He has two sisters, Yvonne Davi (deceased), and Michelle Queal. He graduated from Hofstra University, which he attended because of that university's strong drama department as well as its reproduction of Shakespeare's Globe Theater. Davi studied with acting coach Stella Adler when he moved to Manhattan.

Film career

Acting career

Davi made his motion picture debut in Contract On Cherry Street, in which he shared the screen with Frank Sinatra. He has appeared in films including The Goonies, Die Hard, Showgirls, Son of the Pink Panther, and in the Bond film Licence to Kill (1989) as the villain Franz Sanchez, a South American drug lord and murderer. In 2014, Davi appeared as Goran Vata in The Expendables 3.

In 2015, Davi appeared in a music video for Bob Dylan's recording of "The Night They Called It A Day", from Dylan's album Shadows In The Night, a selection of songs which had been recorded by Frank Sinatra. Rolling Stone suggested that Davi's role in the video may be a nod towards Davi's having made his acting debut alongside Sinatra in the crime film Contract on Cherry Street, and Davi's release of his own album of Sinatra covers.

In 2015, he interpreted Gabriele Tinti's poetry giving voice to the Boxer at Rest at the Getty Museum.

Directing career

In 2007, Davi made his directorial debut with The Dukes, a parable regarding the mid-2000 economic crisis and its impact. The film starred Davi himself, Chazz Palminteri, and Peter Bogdanovich. The Dukes was selected for the premiere section at the Rome Film Festival, along with films by Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Penn, Robert Redford, and Sidney Lumet. Davi was the only first-time director in the premiere section. The film was screened internationally and won awards at Queens International Film Festival, WorldFest Houston [tr], Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festiva and the Festival international du film de comédie de l'Alpe d'Huez.

Davi directed his third film, My Son Hunter, it was released on September 7, 2022.

Recording career

In high school, Davi was praised for his singing, and auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera after being awarded first place at the New York State School Music Association's Solo Competition, where he sang Vincent Youman's "Without A Song". He subsequently received classical training with vocal teachers Samuel Margolis and Danial Ferro of Juilliard and Tito Gobbi. Davi damaged his voice and later explained that he was a baritone with the "heart of a tenor and had pushed too hard, too early".

Davi began to focus again on singing in 2011, and worked with Gary Catona as he prepared to record his first children's album.

With a thirty-piece orchestra, Davi recorded the album at the Capitol Records Building in Hollywood. The album was produced by Phil Ramone, engineered by Dan Wallin, and mixed by Al Schmitt. The album, Davi Sings Sinatra -- On The Road To Romance, was released on October 24, 2011, and garnered positive reviews. Jazztimes called Davi Sings Sinatra "uniformly impressive", and critic Don Heckman wrote in the Orange County Register that "there are, of course, dozens of Sinatra imitators and simulators. But what Davi does is a whole different matter. A tribute? Yes, indeed; all that and more." AllMusic noted that "Davi makes no attempt to copy Sinatra's vocal sound ... Rather, he is his own singer." The album reached the Top 10 on the Billboard jazz charts.

In December 2012, Davi appeared along with Roger Cicero in the French/German Arte TV program Durch die Nacht mit … The episode was shot in the Little Italy area of New York City and featured conversation between Cicero and Davi and solos of Sinatra standards by both performers. In December 2013, Davi released a Christmas single, "Mistletoe and Holly", with all proceeds benefiting The Salvation Army.

Davi has lent his voice to political ads, including Carly Fiorina's "Demon Sheep" attack ad, "Hot Air: The Movie", and others produced by media consultant Fred Davis.

Davi was chosen by the United Nations to celebrate the Transformative Power of Music at the General Assembly in New York, in June 2015 – and again for the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the UN in September 2015.

Davi was chosen to tribute Sinatra's 100th birthday for the July 4 PBS special; it was watched by 500,000 people outside the Capitol Building in DC and 15 million viewers.

Davi was the guest singer on the Italian version of the TV program The Voice.

Personal life

Davi's was married to Jan Borenstein from 1970 to 1980. His second marriage was to Jeri McBride from 1980 to 1990; they had one son. His next married Christine Bolster in 1990, which ended in 2019. They have four children together. Davi married Diana Davi in 2019, and they have a daughter.

Politics

Davi is a political conservative, often speaking at Republican Party gatherings. He has been invited to comment on numerous political shows and backed John McCain during his presidential campaign. He narrated several film montages that aired during the 2008 Republican National Convention. Davi has spoken at numerous Conservative Political Action Conferences in Washington, D.C. He was a frequent guest on Fox News's late-night satire program Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld. Davi endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and again in 2020.

Awards and honors

For his contributions to the Canadian Italian community, Davi was enshrined in Toronto's Italian Walk of Fame in 2013.

He was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Al Torres in Showgirls (1995).

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

References

1. ^ Chutkow, Paul (1996). "Playing the Heavy Actor Robert Davi has made a career of playing tough guys with a signature cigar". Cigar Aficionado. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
2. Paul, Louis (2007). Tales from the Cult Film Trenches. McFarland & Company. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7864-2994-3. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
3. "Famed Film Villain Robert Davi Sings Sinatra". ABC News. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
4. Leach, Robin (February 9, 2012). "Spirit of Sinatra returns as Robert Davi fulfills a childhood dream". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
5. "Actor Robert Davi to Replace Jerry Doyle". Radio Ink. August 11, 2016. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
6. "Robert Davi sul palco di #TVOI" (in Italian). thevoiceofitaly.rai.it. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
7. Gil de Rubio, Dave (2010). "Doing It His Way". LongIslandPress. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
8. "Buffalo Niagara film fest centers on Niagara Falls for a change!". Niagara Falls Reporter. July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
9. EW Staff (August 11, 2013). "21 Most Ruthless TV/Film Drug Lords". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
10. Lawton, Adam (November 5, 2013). "'License To Kill' Villain Robert Davi Discusses His Role In 'The Expendables 3' And Reflect On 'The Goonies'". Media Mikes. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
11. Kreps, Daniel (March 2, 2015). "Watch Bob Dylan Navigate a Bloody Love Triangle in New Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
12. "The boxer". www.letteratura.rai.it/. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
13. "Commentary: After 70 films as actor Robert Davi directs his first". The Hollywood Reporter. October 7, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
14. The Dukes (Awards), November 14, 2008, archived from the original on February 22, 2015, retrieved August 13, 2016
15. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 18, 2021). "Gina Carano Joins Hunter Biden Biopic 'My Son Hunter'". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
16. Wolfe, Zachary (July 14, 2010). "License to trill: The reinvention of Robert Davi". Capitol New York. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
17. ^ Staff (December 2013). "Robert Davi's new Christmas single "Mistletoe and Holly" to benefit The Salvation Army". Cision. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
18. Sterling, Ellen (September 24, 2013). "No Overstatement: Singer-Actor-Writer-Director Robert Davi Is A Legend in the Making". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
19. Truitt, Brian (October 27, 2011). "Robert Davi Sings Sinatra, Sincerely". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
20. Loudon, Christopher (October 24, 2011). "A Singer Turned Legend Turns Singer Again". Jazztimes. Archived from the original on December 19, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
21. Heckman, Don (October 21, 2013). "Don Heckman: Robert Davi sings Sinatra". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
22. Ruhlman, William (2011). "Davi Sings Sinatra". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
23. Berk, Dr. Nancy (December 5, 2013). "Showbiz Analysis with Robert Davi". Parade. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
24. Gilson, Dave. "Demon Sheep Ad Man Tells All". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
25. ^ Serran, Paul (September 15, 2020). "Put-A-Name-To-That-Face-Excellence-And-Swagger-In-The-Work-Of-Movie-Icon-Robert-Davi". Artvoice. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
26. ^ "Robert Davi's wife files for divorce". November 7, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
27. ^ "Robert Davi's wife files for divorce". November 7, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
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30. "Where are they now? Bond villains". Virgin Media. 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
31. Robert Davi Backstage at the Republican National Convention on YouTube
32. "Robert Davi on 'Red Eye'". Fox News. August 4, 2013. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
33. Lee, Chris (March 23, 2016). "Here Are All of the D-List Celebrities Endorsing Donald Trump". Fortune. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
34. Alexander, Julia (June 15, 2013). "Four Inducted Into Little Italy's Italian Walk Of Fame". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
35. ^ "Robert Davi (visual voices guide)". BTVA. Retrieved November 5, 2022. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

External links

• Davi Sings Sinatra
• Robert Davi at IMDb

• 1953 births
• American people of Italian descent
• American Roman Catholics
• People of Sicilian descent
• People of Campanian descent
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• Hofstra University alumni
• Male actors from Queens, New York
• New York (state) Republicans
• People from Suffolk County, New York
• American jazz singers
• American male singers
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• Living people
• Catholics from New York (state)
• Jazz musicians from New York (state)
• American male jazz musicians