Robert Davi
Robert Davi is an international, multi-dimensional star: An award-winning prolific actor, with well over a 150 films as an actor. He is a screenwriter, director, producer, and what many are not aware of, a jazz vocalist. He recently returned from a sold out tour of Europe. Some of Davi’s most notable film credits span 35 years and include cult-classics and blockbuster hits with roles as Jake Fratelli in “The Goonies,” Max Keller in “Raw Deal,” Special Agent Big Johnson in “Die Hard,” Al Torres in “Showgirls,” Leo Marks in “The Iceman” with Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans and James Franco, and most recently, with Sylvester Stallone and among a large A-list cast in “Expendables 3.” He has worked with such directors as Steven Spielberg, Richard Donner, Blake Edwards, John McTiernan, Paul Verhoeven and Patrick Hughes. In addition, he has worked on film projects with acting talent such as Marlon Brando, Roberto Benigni, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Christopher Walken, Benicio Del Toro, Danny Glover and Catherine Zeta Jones, just to name a few.Davi was introduced to film when he was cast opposite Frank Sinatra in the telefilm, “Contract on Cherry Street.” Later, his work as a Palestinian terrorist in the award-winning television movie, “Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami” brought him critical acclaim and caught the eye of legendary James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli and writer Richard Maibaum, who cast Davi as Colombian drug lord and lead villain Franz Sanchez in the Bond film “License to Kill.” Today, Davi is one of the top Bond villains of all time ranking at the top on many lists. Davi also received critical acclaim within the industry for his provocative portrayal of Bailey Malone in “Profiler.” The show struck a chord with audiences, paving the way for such shows as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Without a Trace,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Criminal Minds” and many others. In 2004, Davi joined the cast of television’s “Stargate: Atlantis,” which earned Davi many science fiction fans. He has also shown his comedic strength in films such as “The 4th Tenor” with Rodney Dangerfield and “The Hot Chick,” produced by Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler.
Robert has enjoyed his most reccent success of several films including a few of his most recent with the 2018 musical journey-based documentary, ‘Davi’s Way’, ‘Mob Town’ released by Leonardo Dicaprio’s Appian Way Productions and recent releases like ‘Mott Haven: Cash for Keys’ – official selection of Chandler’s Film festival.
Davi is an entertainer few can rival, he is both star on the screen and jazz scene with the start of his first studio album in October of 2011, “Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance,” which he recorded at the famous Capitol Records in Hollywood. Phil Ramone, one of the industry’s most accomplished and respected music producers having achieved 33 Grammy nominations and 14 Grammy Awards, produced the album. Within weeks of its highly anticipated release, the album soared onto Billboard Magazine’s Top 10 Jazz Chart taking the Number 6 spot for several weeks.
Legendary producer and arranger Quincy Jones has said this after seeing Davi perform, “I have never heard anyone come this close to Sinatra’s sound and still be himself. Many try, but Robert Davi has the voice, the tone, the flavor and the swagger. He absolutely touched me down to my soul and brought back the essence and soul of Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.”
Broadway luminary Chazz Palminteri recently remarked after catching a performance: “Once there was Sinatra an now there is Davi. Robert Davi sang and left the audience breathless.”
He is currently boasting his latest single for a great cause with ‘Corona Virus, Stay Away from The Door’ ( a parody of ‘River, Stay Away from my Door’ with proceeds benefiting Samaritan’s Purse® working with the likes of GRAMMY- Award winning saxophonist, Kenny G and Randy Waldman.
Davi always loved to sing and entertain. At 15, he won the prestigious New York State School Music Association Solo Competition for Voice. As a young adult he studied under legendary opera star Tito Gobbi, Dan Ferro of Juilliard, Samuel Margolis (who taught Robert Merrill) and most recently, renowned voice-builder Gary Catona who Davi says is “the teacher he was looking for.” Davi was singing long before Sinatra personally selected him at the age of 20 to play Mickey Sinardos in the 1977 NBC TV drama “Contract on Cherry Street.” This was a moment that would catapult him into the limelight and finally convince his parents that he is destined to have a successful career in the arts.
In support of his subsequent music releases Davi has touring the U.S. and world with his live stage show, receiving standing ovations. He has performed at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas for a three-night engagement, the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza with a 55-piece orchestra, the National Italian-American Foundation’s (NIAF) special tribute to the 25th anniversary of its Lifetime Achievement Award to Frank Sinatra at the Washington Hilton in D.C., the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, Calif., with David Foster at the Beverly Hilton, and in August of 2013,Ed Mangano presented him at Long Island’s Eisenhower Park where more than 10,000 people attended. In November of 2012, Davi released a Christmas single where all the proceeds went to the Salvation Army. He recently completed a tour of Australia in June 2014 where he received standing ovations and marvelous reviews for his Tribute to the American Songbook and Sinatra.
Besides working in film, television, music and helping raise his six children, Davi keeps busy volunteering his time with such charities as The Dream Foundation, Exceptional Children’s Foundation, Heart of a Child Foundation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Youth Foundation, The Humane Society of the United States, Heart of a Horse, NIAF, The Order ‘Sons of Italy’ in America (OSIA), and UNICO. Since its inception in 1998, Davi has been the National Spokesperson for i-Safe America, which is regarded by many internet experts as the most complete internet safety program in the country and is available in grades K-12 in all 50 U.S. states. Among his numerous awards for career achievement and community involvement, Davi has received The George M. Estabrook Distinguished Service Award from the Hofstra University Alumni Association (past recipients include Francis Ford Coppola and William Safire). In 2000, Davi was awarded the FBI’s Man of the Year Award in Los Angeles. In 2004, Davi was named KNX radios’ “Citizen of the Week” for saving a young girl from a fire in her home. The same year, he also received the Sons of Italy’s Royal Court of the Golden Lion Award, including a $20,000 donation to a foundation in which he is involved.
July of 2014, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Long Island Film and TV Foundation, and in August of 2014, he was honored by the Lt. Det. Joseph Petrosino Association in America for his contribution to the arts. In June of 2015, Davi was chosen by the United Nations to celebrate the “Transformative Power of Music” at the General Assembly in New York and in September of 2015, performed for the U.N.’s 70th Anniversary Celebration. He performed a tribute for Frank Sinatra’s 100th Birthday for the July 4th PBS special for more than 500,000 attendees outside the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. with approximately 15,000,000 television viewer. Davi is on The Steering Committee for George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute and is the only entertainer among 28 members, which consists of mainly senators and former heads of the FBI and CIA. Davi has developed Civilian Patrol 93, which is currently at Homeland Security, where a lesson plan is being written. He is a frequent contributor for Fox News, Fox Business, and MSNBC.
Social Links –
Check out Robert’s new song for charity! ingroov.es/virus-stay-away-from