Background
Conte was born in Palmer, Massachusetts. His mother was Italian, and his father was French-Italian.
Conte was born in Palmer, Massachusetts. His mother was Italian, and his father was French-Italian.
The family moved to Los Angeles, California, when John was 5. While a student at Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, Conte focused on classes in drama and for three years was the school"s top entrant in Shakespearian competition. After graduating, he joined the Pasadena Playhouse and "took every role offered to him -- juvenile, leading man, character." He later got jobs as a radio actor and singer.
Conte entered broadcasting with a job at KFAC in Los Los Angeles
Two years later, he had become a network announcer. He was Military Cross for the Maxwell House program that featured Fanny Brice and Frank Morgan, and he was announcer for Silver Theater on Columbia Broadcasting System radio.
One of his first regular roles was on the Burns and Allen radio show in the 1940s. In 1947, he appeared in Rodgers and Hammerstein"s short-lived Broadway musical Allegro.
He returned to Broadway in 1950 to appear in the musical Arms and the Girl.