Albert Salmi
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Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. He is perhaps best known for his roles in The Twilight Zone, The A-Team and Rawhide. On April 22, 1990, Salmi murdered his ex-wife, Roberta Salmi, before committing suicide.
Biography edit
Salmi was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Finnish immigrant parents. He attended Haaren High School in Manhattan. Following a stint in the United States Army during World War II, Salmi took up acting as a career, studying method acting at the Actors Studio in Manhattan with Lee Strasberg.
Salmi met actress Peggy Ann Garner while the two were performing in the National Company touring production of Bus Stop in 1955. They were married on May 18, 1956, in New York City. Their only child, Catherine Ann "Cas" Salmi, was born on March 30, 1957; Catherine died in 1995 of heart disease at the age of 38.
Salmi married Roberta Pollock Taper in 1964. The couple had two daughters, Elizabeth and Jennifer. In 1983, the family moved from Los Angeles to Spokane, Washington, where Salmi went into semi-retirement, taking occasional acting roles. Salmi later taught acting and appeared in community and regional theater.
In February 1990, Albert and Roberta Salmi separated. He moved into their Idaho condominium, while Roberta remained in the family home in Spokane. She filed for divorce on February 6. According to court documents, Roberta Salmi claimed that her husband was an alcoholic who physically abused her when he drank. She also claimed that Salmi threatened her on several occasions, and she was in fear for her life. Roberta later took out a restraining order against her husband. In response to her claims in the court documents, Salmi denied physically abusing Roberta and blamed their estrangement on her emotional issues.
On April 23, 1990, Albert Salmi and his estranged wife Roberta were found dead in their Spokane home by a friend who stopped by to check on her. According to newspaper accounts, Salmi fatally shot Roberta in the kitchen of her home, before shooting himself in an upstairs room.
On April 26, Salmi's funeral was held at the Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home, after which he was cremated and placed in a niche at Greenwood Memorial Terrace cemetery in Spokane.