Background
Born in Manhattan, Cimino was the son of Andrea and Leonilda Cimino. His father was a tailor.
Born in Manhattan, Cimino was the son of Andrea and Leonilda Cimino. His father was a tailor.
Cimino was initially interested in pursuing a career as a violinist, and studied the instrument at the Juilliard School when he was a teenager.
Leonardo"s most well known roles are in the 1983 science fiction miniseries, V as Abraham Bernstein and the 1987 feature film The Monster Squad as the "scary German guy."
While studying the violin he became interested in acting and dancing, and began studying those as well. In 1936, at the age of 18, he made his professional stage debut in a supporting role in the world premiere of Gladys Bronwyn Stern"s Middle Manitoba in Suffern, New York which starred actor Ernest Truex. lieutenant wasn"t until a decade later, however, that Cimino would become dedicated full-time to an acting career.
During the late 1930s and early 1940s he studied acting, directing and modern dance at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.
After the outbreak of World World War II, Cimino joined the United States Army in 1942. He notably participated in the invasion of Normandy, landing with the second wave on June 6, 1944.
After returning to the United States in 1945 he continued to study the performing arts at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Notably studying dance with Martha Graham.
In 1946 he made his Broadaway debut in a revival of Cyrano de Bergerac which starred and was directed by José Ferrer.
lieutenant was the first of many projects that Cimino would collaborate with Ferrer on. He went on to appear in nearly 20 Broadway productions over the next four decades, including a 1962 adaptation of East. M. Forster’s Passage to India and a 1985 revival of The Iceman Cometh. He frequently appeared Office-Broadway in Shakespear plays at the Public Theater, including Egeon in The Comedy of Errors (1975) alongside Ted Danson and Danny DeVito.
He also appeared in productions in Regional theatres across the United States during his career.
In 1970 he was awarded the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor in a Principal Role for his performance in The Manitoba in the Glass Booth at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Cimino made guest appearances on television shows, some of those appearances range from Naked City, Kojak, The Equalizer and Law & Order.
Cimino died on March 3, 2012 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in Woodstock, New New York