Bruno VeSota(1922-1976)
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Tubby 5' 10 1/2" character actor Bruno VeSota had a remarkably long,
varied and impressive career acting and directing in the mediums of
stage, radio, movies and television. He was born Bruno William VeSota
on March 25th, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the second of three
sons born to Lithuanian immigrants Kasmir and Eleanora VeSota. Bruno
first began acting in the 7th grade while attending the Catholic
parochial school St. George's. He made his stage debut as the villain
in the children's play "Christopher's Orphans." At age 19 VeSota went
to the Hobart Theatre in Chicago where he learned the basics on acting,
make-up and direction. He made his stage directorial debut with a
production of "Richard III" and went on to direct everything from the
classics to light comedies. After briefly working in Lithuanian radio
in the 40s Vesota did a longer stint on English-language radio. He even
provided the voice of Winston Churchill for a radio production.
Moreover, Bruno joined the Actors Company of Chicago and continued to
perform on stage. VeSota then worked in live television in Chicago in
1945. He directed over 2,000 live TV programs and acted in some 200
more. VeSota moved to Hollywood, California in 1952. Bruno began acting
in films in 1953. He achieved his greatest cult feature popularity with
his frequent and delightful appearances in a bunch of hugely enjoyable
low-budget Roger Corman exploitation pictures. Bruno was especially
excellent as Yvette Vickers' angry cuckolded husband in the Grade B
monster classic "Attack of the Giant Leeches." Other notable movie
roles include a disgusting slob junkyard owner who sells stolen
automobile parts on the side in "The Choppers," a bartender in "The
Haunted Palace," a hapless night watchman who becomes a victim of "The
Wasp Woman," a snobby coffeehouse regular in the hilarious black comedy
gem "A Bucket of Blood," a perverse oddball named Mr. Donald Duck from
Duluth in "Single Room Unfurnished," a nervous innkeeper in "The
Undead," a Russian spy in "War of the Satellites," a minister in
"Hell's Angels on Wheels," a cultured gangster in "Daddy-O," and a
brutish loan enforcer in "Carnival Rock." Bruno narrated the atrocious
cheapie clunker "Curse of the Stoned Hand" for notorious schlockmeister
Jerry Warren. He also worked on the make-up and has a bit part in
Curtis Harrington's nicely spooky "Night Tide." VeSota does a cameo in
Steven Spielberg's made-for-TV fright feature "Something Evil." Bruno
directed three movies: the entertainingly lurid crime potboiler "The
Female Jungle," the fun alien invasion entry "The Brain Eaters," and
the silly spoof "Invasion of the Star Creatures." VeSota had a
recurring role as a bartender in a handful of episodes of the hit
Western TV show "Bonanza." Among the TV shows VeSota had guest spots on
are "Kojak," "McMillan and Wife," "Hogan's Heroes," "Mission:
Impossible," "It Takes A Thief," "Hondo," "Branded," "My Mother the
Car," "The Wild, Wild West," "The Untouchables," and "Leave It to
Beaver." VeSota had six children with his wife Genevieve. Bruno VeSota
died of a heart attack at age 54 on September 24th, 1976.
