Erik Rhodes

MINI BIO:

Rhodes graduated from the University of Oklahoma, won a scholarship to study acting in New York, and landed his first Broadway role, although a mere eight lines, in A Most Immoral Lady (1928). Rhodes, an accomplished baritone, was then cast in a few Broadway musicals: The Little Show (1929), Hey Nonny Nonny! (1932), and — Gay Divorce (1932) starring Fred Astaire. His memorable performance as the high-spirited Italian 'co-respondent' Rodolfo Tonetti, impressed RKO Executives and he was cast in the 1934 film, The Gay Divorcee, directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Rhodes would reunite with Sandrich, Astaire and Rogers (and Eric Blore and Edward Everett Horton) one year later to play Italian dressmaker, Alberto Beddini, in Top Hat (1935).

Although many fans probably remember Erik Rhodes best as those passionate Italian characters -- Tonetti and Beddini -- he was an expert in dialects and accents overall, and could convincingly play non-Italian roles as well such as his 'straight English' speaking characters David Scott-Frensham in Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938) and Max Corday in Charlie Chan in Paris (1935).

Rhodes continued to act on Screen, TV and Broadway through the late 60s (with an additional isolated TV appearance in 1976, The Adams Chronicles). Most notably however, he appeared in some solid Broadway runs during the 50s and 60s: Can-Can, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Barefoot in the Park.