It’s November and it’s time for one of my favorite blog series, “What a Character.” Up today is Cosmo Sardo. Born in 1909 in Boston, he was lucky to keep his foot after an accident at age 14 when a car hit his bike and ran over his foot.  After high school he majored in theatrical arts at the University of Massachusetts. Sardo began his career as a model in print ads for many companies including Sears Roebuck, Eddie Bauer, and Pepsi Cola.

Sardo made a reputation for himself in Boston theatrical circles before being cast in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” in a downtown Los Angeles Theater in 1934.

In 1939 he made his way to Hollywood where he began a career in the film industry. If you can think of a profession, he probably played it: bartenders, retail clerks, postmen, bankers, waiters, detectives, reporters, businessmen, con artists, butlers, tailors, military men, cosmetologists, and barbers, which he perfected in real life. He even played a corpse in The Corpse Came COD.

Sardo’s father told him if he moved to Hollywood, he had to have a trade to fall back on. He got a job at John’s Barbershop which just happened to be located under Central Casting. And one day it paid off when he was offered a job. Sardo had always wanted to be an actor, so he left his barbershop to take acting classes. He said that his wife thought he was crazy and left him, but I could never find any source showing his marriage. I’m guessing this is one of those articles publicists made up. He signed with Warner Brothers in 1946 to play a barber in Humoresque because they knew he had owned a barber shop.

Later, he opened Cosmo’s Hairstyling Salon of Hollywood where so many famous clients were taken good care of. It was around the corner from Schwab’s Drugstore, the famous spot where so many careers were apparently launched. He would cut hair between his acting assignments. In an interview in the sixties, he said that most actors “usually don’t want their hair cut. They want it trimmed. I can make a man look like he never had a haircut at all.” Sardo also offered massage, face contouring, and mud packs.

This guy had an amazing 578 acting credits. His first job was the big-screen film Brother Orchard in 1940. His last was as a priest in Hill Street Blues in 1984.

His first television appearance was in 1952 in The Adventures of Superman. He would go on to make tons of appearances on shows. He never was a regular cast member for a show, but he often starred as many different characters on many episodes for the most popular shows. For example, he appeared on Charlie’s Angels 6 times, Columbo 7 times, The Love Boat 10 times, Bewitched 13 times, Batman and Man from UNCLE 14 times, The Untouchables and Have Gun Will Travel 15 times, and a whopping 81 Bonanza appearances where he often portrayed a bartender.

When he wasn’t cutting hair or making movies or television episodes, he could be found instructing at the Pasadena Playhouse, worshiping at his Catholic church, working for the Democratic party, and dining or golfing at the Los Angeles Country Club.

After his death, his biography said that he never married, so he devoted his retirement to help charitable and religious organizations. He passed away in 1989.

It is frustrating trying to tell the stories of these great character actors. There is almost no personal information about them apart from their birth, their death, and their career. As a barber, I’m sure Cosmo had a lot of great stories he could share.

I don’t know how many haircuts he gave, but with 578 acting credits which translated into 878 individual appearances, this was one busy man. How fun that he had a trade and attained his dream job and kept doing both successfully until his retirement.