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Jack Somack appeared in two episodes of "All in the Family". | ||||
Personal Information | ||||
Born: | September 14, 1918 | |||
Birthplace: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |||
Died: | August 24, 1983 | (aged 64)|||
Deathplace: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||
Occupation/ Career: |
Character actor | |||
Years active: | 1967-1983 | |||
Character/Series involvement | ||||
Series: | All in the Family | |||
Episodes appeared in: | "Archie Sees a Mugging" (Season 2) "Archie the Babysitter" (Season 5) | |||
Character played: | Tony Vicino/Tony Silberforce |
Jack Somack (born September 14, 1918-died August 24, 1983) appeared as Tony Vicino, a businessman and neighbor of the Bunkers in the Season 2 episode titled "Archie Sees a Mugging" and then as Tony Silberforce in the Season 5 episode "Archie the Babysitter". Jack is perhaps best recognized to TV viewers for his appearances in the Alka-Seltzer commercials during the 1960s and 1970s.
Biography[]
Career[]
Jack, a native of Chicago, acted in amateur productions for many years and didn't break into professional acting until his fifties. Jack appeared in guest roles in many TV series during the 1970's such as AITF, The Jeffersons, The Rockford Files, Starsky and Hutch, Sanford and Son and Laverne and Shirley. In films, he is probably best known for his portrayal of Jack Portnoy, the father of Alexander Portnoy (Richard Benjamin) in Portnoy's Complaint.
Alka-Seltzer commercial ads[]
Probably considered his greatest claim (rather dubious) to fame was appearing in the notorious "spicy meatball" Alka-Seltzer commercial in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This was really a "commercial within a commercial." A film crew is trying to make a 10-second spot for a fictitious brand of meatballs. In it, Somack (who was Jewish) plays an actor playing a portly, mustachioed Italian sitting at a little table in front of a small oven. From his left, his ample, beaming "wife" places a plate of meatballs in front of him. Jack is supposed to eat one and say, "Mamma mia, that's a spicy meat-a-ball!" The commercial ads were eventually pulled from the air after protests from Italian-American anti-defamation groups that the commercial promoted unflattering stereotypes of Italians.
Selected filmography[]
Starring Roles[]
Series | Role | Year(s) | Season(s) |
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The Stockard Channing Show | Mr. Kramer | 1980 | 1 |
Guest Starring Roles[]
Series | Role | Episode | Airdate |
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All in the Family | Tony Vicino | Archie Sees a Mugging | January 29, 1972 |
Sanford and Son | Gabey | Steinberg and Son | October 10, 1975 |
The Rockford Files | Oliver Prey | The Hammer of C Block | January 9, 1976 |
All In The Family | Cop | Archie, The Babysitter | January 12, 1976 |
Man From Atlantis | The Mudworm | October 13, 1977 | |
The Jeffersons | Papa Panelli | The Jefferson Curve | December 17, 1977 |
Starsky and Hutch | Detective Peterson | Deckwatch | May 17, 1978 |
Laverne & Shirley | Officer Newman | It's A Dog's Life | December 12, 1978 |