Ron Carey

Carey died of a stroke at a Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, in January 2007. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Sharon, and his brother, James Cicenia.

He was spotted in a few supporting roles (Johnny Dangerously (1984) and Lucky Luke (1991)) here and there both here and in Italy, and attempted to cash in on his Barney Miller (1975) fame with a follow-up sitcom, playing a priest in Have Faith (1989), but things didn't quite pan out.

Ron, whose character finally received a promotion after the long haul, stayed with the popular show until its cancellation in 1982. His on-screen visibility decreased following the end of the police show.

Likewise, he went on to deliver a substantial role as plus-sized Dom DeLuise's unsympathetic brother Frankie in Fatso (1980), directed by Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft.

His participation in the zany parodies Silent Movie (1976), High Anxiety (1977) and History of the World: Part I (1981) occurred during the height of his T. V. fame.

A steady pay-check was not to be had, however, until he was added to the second season ensemble of Barney Miller (1975) headed by Hal Linden and Abe Vigoda. Ron earned sympathy strokes as Carl Levitt, a brown-nosing, eager-beaver patrolman who yearned to be a plainclothes detective in Barney's police agency, but just didn't measure up because of his vertically challenged stature.

As for the smaller screen, a regular player on the summer variety series The Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Show (1972) led to his being cast in the New York-area sitcom The Corner Bar (1972) and the ethnic family comedy The Montefuscos (1975).

Ron finally broke into films with the Jack Lemmon/Sandy Dennis comedy The Out-Of-Towners (1970) as a Boston taxi driver, then continued on with other minor bits in Who Killed Mary Whats'ername? (1971) and the cult film Made for Each Other (1971) starring Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor.

Earlier Ron appeared on Broadway in the couple's 1968 hit comedy "Lovers and Other Strangers. " It wasn't until his work as a secondary staple in Mel Brooks' madcap company that he earned even a modicum of success in films.

Carey was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Fanny and John Cicenia, and was raised in an Italian American Catholic family. Carey did stand-up comedy in the 1960s, after earning a bachelor's degree in communications from Seton Hall University in 1956. His comedy centered mostly on Catholicism and his childhood of being the undersized but quick-witted kid on the block. His break came in 1966 when he appeared on The Merv Griffin Show and in 1967 he released a comedy album entitled The Slightly Irreverent Comedy of Ron Carey.

Ron earned his Bachelor's degree in communications from Seton Hall University in South Orange in 1956, but it didn't take him long to change directions. Together his pint-sized frame (actually, he was 5'7", but "acted" much shorter), pushy attitude and elastic face seemed like an ideal blend for inducing laughs, so he decided to begin a career in entertainment instead. Ron moved to near-by New York and took to the comedy stage, finding work in such prime clubs as "The Improvisation". He soon earned notice for his "little man" humor, which was built around Italian family and Roman Catholic "guilt" jokes (in reality, he once considered being a priest). Ron finally gained some momentum on T. V. making various funnyman appearances on the talk/variety show formats hosted by the best of the best -- Jack Paar, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson. He also found lucrative work in commercials playing various feisty or hapless characters.

He was a notably short, Italian, nasal-toned and mischievous-looking fellow, a perfect type for the stand-up comedy circuit and for playing Brooklynesque characters in T. V. sitcoms and films. . . which is just what Ron Carey did. He was born Ronald Joseph Cicenia in Newark, New Jersey, on December eleventh, 1935, into a huge Italian family; his father was a singing waiter at one time.