Ron Karabatsos Explained

Ron Karabatsos
Birthname:Ronald Christ Karabatsos
Birth Date:April 22, 1933
Birth Place:Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
Death Place:Beaumont, Riverside County, California, U.S.
Occupation:Actor
Yearsactive:1981–2004
Children:2, 4 stepchildren (from Beverly)

Ronald Christ Karabatsos (1933–2012) was an American character actor.

Early life

Karabatsos was born on April 22, 1933, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA, to Constantine and Antoinette Karabatsos, first-generation immigrants from Greece.[1] He grew up in Union City, New Jersey, where young Ronald graduated from Emerson High School.

Military and police service

Upon graduating from high school, Karabatsos was drafted in the U.S. Army spending most of his service time in the Korean War. After he was released from the military, he joined the police department of his home city, retiring after 28t years as a homicide detective.[1]

Movie career

In 1982, while still on the police force, Karabatsos was approached to act a part in the Sidney Lumet movie Prince of the City.[2] Most New York critics[3] and Roger Ebert[4] wrote positive reviews on the movie. James Wolcott dissented, concluding that the film "[wore] its liberal pieties like a crown of thorns," although he reserved praise for Karabatsos' work, writing that he "carries his hulk with impressive menace as a slime-souled bail bondsman."[3] Critic David S. Machlowitz,[5] though agreeing with Wolcott's take on the movie, wrote that Karabatsos "is superb as [the] bloated, belligerent bail bondsman."

Karabatsos went on to act in some thirty movies and two hundred TV shows,[1] moving to live in California. He starred in the 1982 made-for-TV-movie Hear No Evil as Lt. Lew Healy.[6] [7] [8]

He died on April 17, 2012, five days before his 79th birthday, in Beaumont, California, from a non-communicable disease, survived by wife Janell, daughter Dawnne Rigsby, and an extended family.[1]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1981Prince of the City Dave DeBennedeto
1983Flashdance Jake Mawby
1984The Cotton Club Mike Best
1987Cold Steel Fishman
1987 Aldo
1989Wedding Band Bruno Kavoles
1990My Blue Heaven Ritchie
1990Hollywood Heartbreak L.R. Sharkey
1991Rich Girl Rocco
199129th Street Philly "The Nap"
1991Where Sleeping Dogs Lie Stan Reeb
1991Dead in the Water Mike Welch
1993We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story Voice
1995Get Shorty "Momo"
1996Baby Face Nelson Frankie "Big Frankie"
2000The Crew Pauly "Fat Pauly"
2004Surviving Christmas Deli Man (final film role)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ronald Christ Karabatsos. Obituary . April 25, 2012 . . February 20, 2021.
  2. Krebs, Albin; and Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. "Trying to Tell the Heroes from the Villains", The New York Times, July 24, 1981. Accessed August 26, 2023. "But as one of the most villainous characters he cast Ron Karabatsos, a Union City, N.J., detective making his movie debut."
  3. News: Wolcott . James. James Wolcott . October 1981 . Dirty Work. . February 20, 2021.
  4. News: Ebert . Roger . Roger Ebert . January 1, 1981 . Prince of the City. RogerEbert.com. February 20, 2021.
  5. News: Machlowitz . David S. . December 1981 . Lawyer on the Aisle: The lawyer as puppeteer and puppet. ABA Journal. February 20, 2021.
  6. Book: Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland and Company. New York City. 2011. 2nd. 978-0786464777.
  7. Book: Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. Zoetrope Publishing. New York City. 1st. 2. 1985. 978-0918432612.
  8. Web site: Hear No Evil. Turner Classic Movies. Turner Broadcasting System. United States. March 13, 2018.