The Ultimate Character Actor
While the name Albert Salmi might not ring a bell, his face looks awfully familiar. That's because Albert was in dozens of films and hundreds of TV shows. Due to his tall, brawny physique and his ability to intimidate, they most often cast Albert as the bad guy or the authority figure. Every now and then, though, a casting director got a bit more creative and put Albert into a more complex role -- one in which a bad guy becomes good, a good guy is thought to be bad, or a plain ordinary guy like us did something illegal, but for a good reason. That's where Albert shone. A method actor taught by Lee Strasberg himself, he was able to produce whatever emotion within himself that was required to tell us a very effective story. And that was Albert's mission -- to teach us a valuable life-lesson and make us better people.
But guess what. Albert Salmi was not the bad guy many viewers thought he was. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was more victim than villain.
The biography of Albert Salmi was published in early 2004 by BearManor Media and can be viewed at their website at http://bearmanormedia.bizland.com.
Other great websites:
Forum for Albert's fans
A terrific site devoted to character actors
Internet Movie Database info on Albert
Tom Winegar's tribute to Albert
TV Tome webpage about Albert
Albert Salmi on TV this month
Albert Salmi on TV this week
Albert's page on Combat! military website
Who2's page about Albert
The Classic TV Archive
Website of Albert's first wife, actress Peggy Ann Garner
Petrocelli episode guide
Website of Salmi biographer Sandra Grabman
