RIP Dick Balduzzi

Alliance native, Hollywood actor Balduzzi dead at 91

The Alliance Review

By Shannon Flanagan

January 30, 2020

One of Alliance’s famous sons died Monday at 91 after an accident at his home. Richard Kenneth Balduzzi, known in the acting world as Dick Balduzzi, was born on Feb. 9, 1928, in Alliance.

He achieved acting success in Hollywood, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, with roles in “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970), “Zorro: The Gay Blade” (1981), and “Police Story” (1973). His career also included many television appearances including “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “I Dream of Jeannie, “Bewitched,” “The Bionic Woman,” “Simon & Simon,” “The Rockford Files,” “The Partridge Family” and “The Bill Cosby Show.”

During his career, Balduzzi lived in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. At age 80, he retired to West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania.

“I didn’t become a star, but I always worked,” Balduzzi said in a 2014 interview with Daily Local News of Chester County, Pennsylvania.

In that same interview, Balduzzi explained he developed an interest in theater while serving in the Navy, which lead him to Goodman Theatre School of Drama outside of Chicago and then New York. He performed in off-Broadway shows and had acting opportunities in small parts in theater, film and TV from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Longtime friend Gene Reda of Alliance remembers Balduzzi as a nice man who loved the movie business.

“He was a wonderful person. He loved his acting profession that he was in. He had a big heart and was a nice fella,” Reda said.

Reda said he and Balduzzi go back a long way. Both had parents who immigrated from Italy at the same time and came to Alliance, where Balduzzi and Reda’s older brother went through the city’s schools together.

The friends stayed in touch and for a time Reda also lived in California.

Reda recalls Balduzzi’s large collection of old movies and picking one out to watch when they got together.

“He liked his profession and he had a lot of good friends in the acting profession,” Reda said.

Through the years, Reda followed his friend’s career as he appeared on the big and small screen. “I use to tease him because he was in ‘Kelly’s Heroes,’ a war picture, and I watched it probably a hundred times,” he said. “And every time I got it on my TV, I used to call him and I’d say, ‘Hey, get ready for a residual check.’ He used to tell me when he got it, ‘My residual for that was 97 cents.’ It cost them more to mail the check that they’d send him for that.”

Balduzzi leaves behind his wife, Phyllis, whom he married Jan. 26, 1959; a daughter, Judy; and two grandchildren.

BALDUZZI, Jack (Richard Kenneth Balduzzi)

Born: 2/9/1928, Alliance, Ohio, U.S.A.

Died: 1/27/2020, West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania

Jack Balduzzi’s westerns – actor:
Here Come the Brides (TV) -1968, 1969 (Billy, Butch, Jason's man)
Zorro: The Gay Blade - 1981 (old man)