Joseph Campanella

Career

Campanella was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania to Philip and Mary O. Campanella, immigrants from Sicily. He appeared in such television shows as Combat, Decoy, The Eleventh Hour, The Doctors (1963), The Fugitive, Mission: Impossible, Marcus Welby, M.D., Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, Alias Smith and Jones, The Untouchables, Police Story, The Road West, The Invaders, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rockford Files, The Golden Girls, and Mama's Family.

He had a recurring role from 1959-62 as a criminal named Joe Turino on the long-running CBS daytime drama The Guiding Light. He had a role in 1967 as Lew Wickersham in the television series Mannix as Joe Mannix's boss and friend, before the PI started his own firm. Campanella appeared as attorney Brian Darrell from 1969-72 in The Bold Ones: The Lawyers. Campanella played Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Captain Monty Ballard in the crime drama TV movie Sky Heist in 1975.

He played Ann Romano's ex-husband, Ed Cooper, in eight episodes of One Day at a Time (1975–1984) and Barbara Stanwyck's love interest in the first season (1985–1986) of Aaron Spelling's short-lived Dynasty spinoff, The Colbys. He appeared in a second-season episode of The Golden Girls as a detective and a seventh-season episode of "Star Trek: Voyager." He had a prominent role as Harper Deveraux on the soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1987 to 1988 and from 1990–92, and a recurring role on The Bold and the Beautiful from 1996 to 2005.

Campanella hosted the Canadian educational program Science International between 1976–79, which aired on Nickelodeon as What Will They Think Of Next? He appeared in the independent comedy, For Heaven's Sake.

On Broadway, Campanella was featured in three productions. His first, The Captains and the Kings, opened in January 1962 and lasted only seven performances. In February 1962, he was cast in A Gift of Time with Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland. The show was written and directed by Garson Kanin, and Campanella received a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actor in a Play. His last Broadway performance was in the musical Hot Spot in 1963, which starred Judy Holliday. The show was not well received and delayed its opening four times, resulting in a run of 58 previews and 43 regular performances.

He formerly provided the voice-over for BMW commercials in the United States, intoning, "BMW... the ultimate driving machine." For several years beginning in the 1970s, Campanella was a spokesman for Napa Auto Parts.

Campanella voiced the character of Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994–97). He narrated the Discover science series on the Disney Channel from 1992-94.

Personal life

Campanella's father, Philip, an immigrant from Sicily, was an early member of the American Federation of Musicians. Campanella himself served in the United States Navy during World War II, becoming one of its youngest commanders. He later graduated from Manhattan College in 1948, and attended Columbia University, where he studied drama. Joseph Campanella is the younger brother of actor Frank Campanella, who died in December 2006.