ROBERT DESIDERIO: South Orange to Hollywood

by Bill Timoney (SHU '80)

The list of Seton Hall graduates who have pursued and achieved successful careers in acting is a short one indeed.  At the top of that list is Chuck Connors - a stellar SHU student-athlete in the late thirties who later appeared in several movies and became a household name in the late fifties as TV's The Rifleman.

The "Great Profile" himself, John Barrymore, also qualifies for consideration. Barrymore, the preeminent stage star of the early 1900s, briefly attended Seton Hall Prep as a youth until a rather "Barrymore-esque" incident led to his expulsion.

There is another notable name that should be added to this list.  Notable not only because this alum established himself as a successful actor in Film and TV, but also because his career continues to prosper...the Class of 1973's own Robert Desiderio.

Desiderio broke into prime-time television in 1981, starring with Valerie Bertinelli in the TV movie The Princess and the Cabbie.   Since then, he has appeared in dozens of TV movies, feature films and TV shows.  He has acted opposite stars ranging from George Burns (Oh God!  You Devil) to James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), as well as with his off-screen wife, actress Judith Light (Who's the Boss?).  A regular cast member of the popular TV series Knots Landing (as "Ted Melcher"), Desiderio also played a recurring role on the sitcom Cheers, and starred in his own TV series - in fact, two of them!  His career has been exciting, consistent, and productive, and it all began at Seton Hall.

Beginning in his sophomore year in 1970, Desiderio performed in six TITR productions as well as several student film and stage projects.  But he had absolutely no interest in acting when he first applied to the Hall.  A self-described "shy kid from the Bronx," Desiderio had other interests.  "I chose Seton Hall because the School had a good baseball team and a great radio station," he explains, "I used to go down to the basement when I was growing up and make believe I was a DJ with my little record player."

Even back in the late sixties, Seton Hall's renowned radio station WSOU had a sterling reputation.  Beginning as a studio intern his freshman year, Desiderio worked his way up to become one of the premiere campus DJs by his senior year.  "I did a rock show called 'Our House' on Saturday nights from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.," he notes.  He also did news and features, even recreating the classic "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast for the station.

"WSOU was a terrific environment," Desiderio remembers, "It was probably the deciding factor in my going to SHU, even before I knew I wanted to act.  The facilities were great.  It was a great experience and prepared me in a practical way for the rigors of professional broadcasting."

But as successful as his radio pursuits had become, his baseball career was another matter.  A star player at St. Raymond's High School for Boys (where he also excelled on the Debate Team), Desiderio played on the SHU freshman baseball team.  But the next year found him riding the Pirate bench.  "I had peaked in my late teens," he laments, "and there were guys like Rick Cerone (the future Yankee catcher) on the team.  When I realized that I wouldn't get to play, that was enough."

While majoring in Communication to prepare for his radio career, Desiderio had noticed that "all the attractive women were in the Theatre classes."  The Bronx native, who had to overcome a stutter, was extremely shy.  "I didn't go to bars to meet women, and I wouldn't know what to say to them anyway.  But I figured that the Theatre was perfect - the women were already there, and you could talk to them about Theatre!"

"Gil Rathbun was directing Antigone my sophomore year," Desiderio remembers, "Elaine Vreeland was Antigone, Mike Berg was Creon, and Ralph Pape (author of the off-Broadway hit Say Good Night, Gracie) was Haemon.  I got the role of The Sentry.  The character has two big speeches - one in each act."  However, glimpses of Desiderio's future stardom were not evident in his theatrical debut.  "I was so nervous on opening night," he cringes, "that when I made my Act One entrance, I delivered my Act Two speech instead - the whole speech!"  When the panicked performer saw Rathbun backstage at intermission, he asked, "What should I do in Act Two?"  The director calmly replied, "Go back out there and do it again."

"Gil gave me the first real acting job I had," Desiderio fondly recalls.  "His support of me on opening night put me at such ease that the second act went much easier on my nerves.  The sensitivity and care he put into his work gave everyone the opportunity to give it their best shot.  You could tell he loved the work."

Antigone hooked Desiderio on acting.  Blessed with a matinee idol's appearance and an athlete's physique, he found opportunities in productions directed by Professor Rathbun and Doctor James P. McGlone.

"I took all the McGlone courses I could," he relates, "and I absolutely loved Tom Duff's Shakespeare course."  When asked if Dr. McGlone and the late Dr. Duff had a positive effect upon his career, Desiderio quickly replies, "When I think back on the lessons I learned in college, Doc and Tom are the first two teachers who come to mind."

"Doc McGlone really stands out," Desiderio states, "He never came off professorial or superior.  He was really great with the group."  Desiderio also has fond memories of Duff, whose "Intro to Shakespeare" course Desiderio found "flamboyant" and inspiring.  "Tom directed some of us students in Shakespeare scenes that we took to a local high school.  It was the same day as the opening of a show back on campus, so we had to hurry back to make our curtain.  I felt like a professional actor that day."

Desiderio also enjoyed getting to know Professor Owen McEvoy, the TITR set designer.  "I would commute back to the Bronx on some weekends, and Owen lived close by, so we would car-pool on Monday mornings.  And I loved his sets - he made some incredible sets!"  McEvoy's inventive set for Guys and Dolls made a strong impression on Desiderio, but for a different reason.  "Owen basically painted Times Square on the theater's floor, but you know how in Show Business, you're always working up to the last minute..." Desiderio smiles at the memory, "Well, the shellac on the paint was still wet Opening Night.  So it's one hour before curtain and the whole cast is out there with hair dryers, trying to blow-dry the floor!"  Their efforts were not completely successful.  "We got most of it, but during the show you could sometimes hear an actor's shoes stick to the floor when he walked!"

Desiderio also appeared in TITR productions of Richard III, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Glass Menagerie, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.  In addition to McGlone, Duff and Rathbun, Desiderio readily credits his fellow student-actors with helping him learn and grow - actors like Pape, Berg, Vreeland, James Stephanile ("Jimmy got all the leads, and he was terrific!"),  Larry Rostler ("an extraordinary actor") and Jane Waterhouse.  "Janey was a great leading lady," Desiderio remembers, "able to go from high drama (Brodie) to comedy (Guys and Dolls).  I always felt comfortable working with her.  She was a pro even in college.  It was like a family at the Theatre-in-the-Round, and Janey always seemed to be its guiding and unifying force."

Now a successful mystery novelist, Waterhouse (Class of '74), clearly recalls Desiderio's emerging talent.  "What set Robert apart from the beginning," she says, "is that he took his craft very seriously.  You could see him grow from role to role."  She describes his performance in The Glass Menagerie as "dead-on perfect."  "It was as though, for the first time, Robert had gained complete control of what he could bring to a role.  He wasn't acting; he was being.  I've seen that role performed maybe two dozen times, and Robert's performance was by far the best."  

While Waterhouse characterizes Desiderio's Gentleman Caller as a "breakout performance," both actors recall a disappointment around that same time.  "I wanted Doc to direct A Streetcar Named Desire, because I desperately wanted to play Stanley," Desiderio recounts.  Although McGlone considered showcasing his talented pupil in the demanding role, he chose instead to direct The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with Waterhouse in the title role.  "I didn't like Doc for a bit after that," Desiderio confesses, "but he taught me a great lesson about not always getting what you want in this field, and about dealing with disappointment."

Desiderio played Jean's errant lover in Brodie, delivering another standout performance.  Waterhouse, whose own performance garnered glowing notices, acknowledges that their scenes together "had a certain charged chemistry."  "Swooning after The Big Kiss wasn't exactly acting for me!"  Still, Waterhouse candidly admits that "in my brief acting career, my only regret is that I didn't get to play Blanche opposite Robert's Stanley in Streetcar."

Upon graduation from the Hall, Desiderio interned at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival.  While performing there, he earned a living as an on-air news reader and DJ at radio stations in Morristown and Dover. 

Father Bill Kane, a Jesuit priest associated with NJ Shakespeare, invited Desiderio to join his fledgling company, The Boston Shakespeare Company.  "I played Caliban in The Tempest while working at Boston's big rock station WCOZ-FM," he remembers, "I did radio to make money, and I did theatre (which didn't pay) for the chance to play great roles."

Desiderio returned to New York City in 1980.  While pursuing acting opportunities, he would DJ on weekends at WRVR ("a jazz station in Brooklyn") and Manhattan's WPIX.  "I used a gimmick name like a lot of guys in New York Radio," he explains, "I was Desi, the kid from the Bronx.  My Father hated it.  He thought my accent gave the Bronx a bad name. I told him 'but dat's what we sound like!'" he laughs.

After a year of off-off Broadway showcases and weekend radio gigs, Desiderio booked a contract role on a NYC-based soap opera, Search for Tomorrow.  Other soap roles followed, including parts on Ryan's Hope and One Life to Live.   Also working at One Life to Live was Judith Light, a gifted actress enjoying a remarkable Emmy Award-winning run.  Shortly after working together, she and Desiderio married.

The couple moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, where Light began her long-running sitcom Who's the Boss?  Desiderio landed guest-star roles on many of the popular TV programs of the time, including Family Ties, Remington Steele, The A-Team, Picket Fences, The Fall Guy, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Matlock, Murphy Brown and others.   With his career in Radio a distant memory, Desiderio established himself in Hollywood with a reputation for reliability, professionalism and villainy.

Villainy?

"When I first got out to California," he explains, "I did all the Stephen Cannell shows."  (A prolific producer of TV action series.)  "I always played the bad guy who got killed.  My aunt would call and ask, 'Robert, why do you always wind up dead on the floor?' And I'd answer, 'because they pay me.'"

Desiderio graduated from series guest-spots to leading roles in TV movies-of-the-week, starring opposite such stars as Charlton Heston, Jane Seymour, James Garner, Kate Jackson, Richard Crenna and many others.

Desiderio also starred in two television series of his own, Maximum Security and Heart of the City.  He is often recognized in public, but rarely for his own shows.  "Sometimes it's because of Knots Landing, although I did just one season of that show, but usually it's because of Cheers."  Desiderio appeared on that long-running sitcom as "Gary," the proprietor of a rival pub.  "Truth is, a couple of actors played the role," he relates, "I only played it on three episodes, but they were the last three times the character was shown.  So I still hear, 'hey Gary!' from time to time when we're out."

Desiderio continues to enjoy his on-camera career.  He welcomed the chance to re-visit New Jersey when he guest-starred on an episode of The Sopranos last season, but he is also exploring opportunities behind the camera.  He has written a screenplay, and has just completed his first play.

He has also found occasion to utilize his WSOU radio training.  He has become a successful voice-over artist.  One of his many clients is The Shell Oil Company.  "I've been the voice of Shell Oil's TV and radio commercials for about four years now," he explains, "It's a great gig."

But he still finds Theatre just a fulfilling as he did in 1970.  "Every couple of years, I'll find a good play that I can do somewhere."  Most recently, he performed at the famed Pasadena Playhouse in the farce Room Service (ironically, one of Dr. McGlone's favorite plays).

Robert Desiderio's passion for Theatre, which he first discovered at Seton Hall, still fuels his successful and fulfilling career.  It is a career that continues to delight and entertain his friends, his fans, and his SHU colleagues to this day.