Award Winning Actor, Award Winning Author, Celebrity Radio
Talk Show Host Michael Dante has starred/co-starred in 30 films, 150 television
shows and was under contract to 3 major studios; MGM, Warner Bros. and 20th
Century Fox.
An ex-professional baseball player and winner of numerous
prestigious awards, Michael has a street named for him in his hometown of
Stamford, Connecticut, 'Michael Dante Way.'
Michael Dante's autobiography, 'Michael Dante - From
Hollywood to Michael Dante Way' was published in 2014 and he received the Ella
Dickey Literacy Award. Michael hosted his own celebrity radio talk show, 'The
Michael Dante Classic Celebrity Talk Show' interviewing the top classic names
in entertainment and sports for 12 years on the radio in Palm Springs,
California. His book, 'My Classic Radio Interviews With The Stars - Volume One'
highlights 60 out of 200 classic celebrities he interviewed. Volume Two and
Three will follow with the radio shows to be streamed through his website.
He has become a legend in his field, through his westerns on
TV and in films, dramas on TV and in films and always as Maab in 'Friday's
Child' on the Original Star Trek series. Michael Dante played the title role in
the classic film ‘Winterhawk’ and wrote the sequel to the film in his book,
'Winterhawk's Land - Collector's Edition.'
Michael was selected by the great director Sammy Fuller to
play the part of Grant in his Film Noir cult film, ‘The Naked Kiss’.
Michael co-starred in two films with Audie Murphy, ‘Apache
Rifles’ and ‘Arizona Raiders’ and starred in his first film ‘Westbound’ with
Randolph Scott and Virginia Mayo.
Michael wrote a book entitled 'Six Rode Home,' dedicated to
all soldiers, in all wars throughout history, not knowing what they are coming
home to. He co-starred in ‘Seven Thieves’ with Joan Collins, Edgar G. Robinson,
Eli Wallach and Rod Steiger.
Michael Dante was sworn in as an Honorary Arizona Ranger –
January 2016. There are only two Honorary Arizona Rangers in the state of
Arizona, George W. Bush and Michael Dante.
Michael Dante was inducted into the Fulton County Baseball
Hall of Fame in Gloversville, NY in August 2017. Michael was a bonus ball
player signed by the Boston Braves and played for the Gloversville Gloves; one
of the minor league teams he played for. Later, Michael went to spring training
with the Washington Senators in the big leagues, before he became an actor. It
was an honor to be a part of baseball history and to have his baseball and
pieces of his celebrity memorabilia put into the Fulton County Baseball and
Sports Museum.
His many awards include the Golden Boot Award, the Oscar of
Westerns in 2003. It is a most prestigious award; a career award selected by
his peers for his fine work in the western genre; not just for one performance
but based on all his fine work in westerns on television and in films. Also,
the recipient of the Silver Spur Award, the Southern California Motion Picture
Council Award, the Spirit of the West Award, Apacheland Spirit Award, Wall of
Fame Henager American History Museum Award, 2014 Honoree of the Year Award by
the Sons of Italy in America, to name just a few.
Alan Mercer: You had small parts in your first 3 major
movies that starred some big names like Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift and
Paul Newman. Were you ever intimidated by such big stars when you started?
Michael Dante: I
really like that question. Most fans do not know what an actor’s obligations
are when he’s under contract. I was never intimidated, but I was very
impressed.
AM: I like that.
MD: I was very young
at the beginning, and I had never been in front of a camera before or been on a
studio soundstage. I learned the craft from the bottom up as far as the camera
was concerned.
AM: At least you were
gaining much needed experience.
MD: I learned what to do and what not to do, and that takes
time. When you are under contract, they will give you small parts and you have
to do them. Even if they give you a smaller part than you had been doing
previously, otherwise you go on suspension. I was one of the very few who had
been under contract with three major studios, of course at different times. I
was with MGM in the beginning and then Warner Bros. and then a 5-picture deal with
20th Century Fox.
AM: What made an
impression on you in your first film, ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’?
MD: I was very
impressed with the professionalism, the discipline of the actors, particularly
in my first role in ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’. I’m in the youth sequence
with Paul Newman and Sal Mineo. That was Steve McQueen’s first picture and
Robert Loggia’s first featured role.
AM: Wow! That’s a lot of future stars.
MD: That movie had an
excellent cast with Paul Newman and Pier Angeli. To this day, I still think how
fortunate I was to be included and go on location from Hollywood to New York.
My family was living in Standford, Connecticut. It’s only an hour away, so
friends and family were able to come visit with me on location on the East side
of New York.
AM: It seems like it
all worked out for you. Every actor is great in that movie.
MD: I told Paul
Newman there was no question in my mind that this was one of the greatest roles
of his career, if not the greatest, to be playing Rocky Graziano. I thought the
fighting scenes were excellent and Paul was so believable playing an Italian
American character. It was such a departure for who and what he was. To this
day, I believe it was the largest stretch as an actor he had to do in order to
play a role. I thought he was wonderful.
AM: What do you
remember about working on ‘Raintree County’ with Elizabeth Taylor and
Montgomery Clift?
MD: It was a
wonderful cast that included Rod Taylor. It was in the same genre as ‘Gone With
The Wind’. I had a very small part in the racing scene between Lee Marvin and
Montgomery Clift. I was the one who yelled, “Race”. It was a small part, but in
the presence of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, who were two giants,
without question, at the time. This was the time when Montgomery Clift was in
an auto accident and his face was all broken up. The company was shut down for
a few weeks. I’m sad to say that wonderful, handsome face was never the same
anymore.
AM: You are right. He
never looked the same. It must have been exhilarating to be on that set.
MD: To be on that set
at that time, I was basically a student. I was learning from great craftsmen,
who were wonderful, gifted people. It was all a great growing up experience
while I had the privilege to be under contract. I didn’t have to rely on my
agent. I was getting singing, voice and acting lessons. In those days if you
were under contract you were considered to have “Star” potential.
AM: How did
television affect your work?
MD: Mr. Mayor and
many of the other studio heads didn’t think television would last. They thought
it was a passing fancy. They thought it would last a couple of years and then
we’d all go back to the motion pictures and boy was he wrong. All our contracts
were null and void. So many wonderful, talented people were released, no matter
how big they were.
AM: What did you do
at this time?
MD: When I left
there, I immediately did a play in Pacific Palisades. The talent agent from
Warner Brothers came to see the play at my last performance. He came backstage
after the play and told me they would like me to test at Warner Brothers
Studio. They wanted to put me under contract if all went well. So, I went and
tested and met another actor they were thinking of singing named Peter Brown.
Peter and I did the scene, and we were both signed to a contract. Clint Walker
was under contract and had the show, ‘Cheyenne’. We all started at the same
time.
AM: You guested on that
show a few times. What was it like working with Clint Walker?
MD: Clint was a
perfect Cheyenne. He really was. Nobody in the world was ever cast better to be
Cheyenne Bodie than Clint Walker. It was really an advantage for me to be
signed by Warners. At the time, they had ten and a half hours of peak primetime
shows. If anyone had ten and a half hours of primetime today, they would own
the state of California. During that period of time, I really learned my craft.
AM: Eventually, you
were cast in your first co-starring role in Westbound with Randolf Scott and
Virginia Mayo. That must have been so exciting for you.
MD: I play a one-armed
soldier boy and that was really an undertaking.
AM: You are so believable.
I’m always looking to see if I can see your arm folded up, but I never can.
MD: That job required so much discipline to be able to walk into a scene and hit your mark and then be at the right angle so you wouldn’t see the larger side where the arm was placed behind my back. I wore a larger shirt that would droop down a bit and hide as much of the shoulder space as possible. It was a wonderful role, and I couldn’t have been happier. That was my first starring role at Warner Brothers, and I had the additional task of playing a one-armed character.
AM: It must have been
awkward to play a one-armed character. How did you prepare?
MD: I went to the
prop department and asked if I could borrow a Winchester Lever-Action rifle?
They told me I could, but I needed permission from the director. So, I asked,
and I got to take it home over the weekend. I came up with some ideas that I
will bring in on Monday and the director, Bud, was very pleased.
AM: You do handle
that rifle like an experienced pro.
MD: Being an athlete,
I was aware of timing, and I had the big hands to deal with that Winchester.
When I got to the set on Monday, we were filming a scene where Randy had to
show me how to use the rifle, but he didn’t have the opportunity of practicing with
it all weekend. He had to lean right there, and it took 32 takes for Randy to
crank it properly. Poor Randy had blood on his hands, but he finally got it. That
was a very important part of the film.
AM: Sounds like you
all worked well together.
MD: Randy was a joy
to work with. Virginia Mayo was wonderful, and Karen Steele was a wonderful actress.
She left us too soon by passing away at a very young age. Also, that was
Virginia Mayo’s last commitment to Warners. Everyone was so professional to
work with. They were so impressed by what I could do with the rifle.
AM: You are famously
connected to the legendary Audi Murphy. What was it like working with him on 2
films?
MD: We made our first
film together in 1964 called ‘Apache Rifles’ and I play the Apache Chief. We
got along royally. He was a soft-spoken gentleman. I never heard a cuss word
out of him. He had no temperament, was always polite and he was always on time
and always knew his dialogue. He wrote poetry and lyrics for several pop songs.
He was an underrated actor, who was very honest and sincere. The second film we
made together a year later was called ‘Arizona Raiders’ and I played a bad guy.
We had a wonderful time together. I think that picture has been played more than
‘The Godfather’ on television. It’s been played so many times.
AM: It must have been
a crushing blow to lose him in the accident.
MD: We were scheduled
to make our third film together called “The Perfect Target’. It was written especially
for us. It was a comedy/drama western about the salvation army. Can you imagine
Audy in a comedy/drama western? It had perfect roles for me and Audie. I took
the script to Audie’s home in Toluca Lake. He said he would read it and we
could talk in a couple of days. He ended up liking the script. He told me he
was going to be gone for a couple of weeks and when he returned, we would get
together and get this movie up on the screen. Well, he left and 2 weeks later
he was killed in a plane crash.
