Al Onorato, co-founder of the Casting Society, has died at the age of 88
Al Onorato, co-founder of the Casting Society of America and casting director for such series as Bewitched, Police Story, Fame and The Patridge Family, has died. He was 88 years old.
Onorato died April 21 in Los Angeles, his nephew Chris Onorato said.
In 1982, Onorato, along with Mike Fenton and Joe Reich, founded the Casting Directors Society of America (then called the American Society of Casting Directors). He and Jerold Franks - his Independent Casting partner Onorato/Franks - won the CSA Artios Award for Best Casting for the 1989 comedy film Cafe Baghdad 1989. At the 34th Annual Artios Awards in 2019, Onorato received a lifetime achievement award from the organization.
"The Casting Society mourns the passing of Al Onorato, whose passion, dedication and love of casting was instrumental in the founding of our organization in 1982. Al helped create what CSA is today - a global organization with more than 1,200 members and a resource for the entertainment industry worldwide", the Casting Society of America said in a statement. "We will miss Al's talent, spirit and, above all, friendship. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends".
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As a talent manager, Onorato was instrumental in launching the careers of Kristin Chenoweth, Katie Holmes, Mark Harmon, Sean Murray and Elijah Wood, and helped revitalize the career of Gwen Verdon.
Alfred Louis Onorato was born on November 10, 1935, in Jersey City, New Jersey. He graduated from Hackensack High School and Fairleigh Dickinson University. After college, Onorato began his career in entertainment, working as a secretary at NBC Studios in New York City.
Onorato's other credits as a casting supervisor and/or casting director include "The Fall Guy", "Fantasy Island", "Hawaii Five-O", "The Wild Wild West", "Bridget Loves Bernie", "Police Woman", "The Silence at Bethany", "CHiPs", "David Cassidy - Man Undercover", "Capitol", "Mr. Merlin" and "Freddy's Nightmares", as well as in the daytime soap operas "General Hospital", "Days of Our Lives" and "The Young and the Restless".
He is survived by siblings Edward, Ronald and Veronica, sisters-in-law Helen and Susan, brother-in-law Jack, and several nephews and a niece.