Frank DeKova
Frank De Kova (March 17, 1910 - October 15, 1981) was an American actor, who was best known for playing parts in the TV series The Untouchables: "Louis 'Little New York' Campagne" in "The Unhired Assassin" (episode # 1.20, February 25, 1960), "Louie Campagna" in "The Frank Nitti Story" (episode # 1.28, April 28, 1960), "Bugs Donovan" in "The Waxey Gordon Story" (episode # 2.4, November 10, 1960), "Judge Foley" in "The Underground Court" (episode # 2.18, February 16, 1961), "The Man" in "The Maggie Storm Story" (episode # 3.20, March 29, 1962), and "Anthony 'Tough Tony' Lamberto in "A Fist of Five" (episode # 4.10, December 4, 1962). Lamberto would be his most often repeated character role in the series.
He also featured in series like "Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans" (1957), "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" (1957), "The Californians" (1958), "Cheyenne" (1958, 1959, 1961, 1962), "Buckskin" (1959), "The Rifleman" (1959), "Black Saddle" (1959), "Gunsmoke" (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959), "Laramie" (1959), "The Deputy" (1959), "Rawhide" (1959), "Wagon Train" (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965), "Gunslinger" (1961), "Maverick" (1961), "Frontier Circus" (1961), "The Dakotas" (1963), "Daniel Boone" (1964), "It Takes a Thief" (1968), "The High Chaparral" (1968), "Cannon" (1976), and... "Little House on the Prairie" (1979).
He played in many movies, including "The Mob" (1951, as "Culio"), "The Brothers Karamazov" (1958, as "Capt. Vrublevski"), "The Scarface Mob" (1959, as "Jimmy Napoli"), "The Man from Laramie" (1955, as "Padre"), "The Lone Ranger" (1956, as "Chief Red Hawk"), "The Ten Commandments" (1956, as "Abiram"), "The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond" (1960, as "Chairman", "Atlantis, the Lost Continent" (1961, as "Sonoy", "Portrait of a Mobster" (1961, as "Anthony Parazzo"), and an uncredited appearance in "Viva Zapata!" (1952, as "Colonel Guajardo").
Zappa and Frank DeKova
Zappa mentioned him in his list of influences inside the album sleeve of Freak Out! (1966), under the heading: "These People Have Contributed Materially In Many Ways To Make Our Music What It Is. Please Do Not Hold It Against Them", though misspelled as "Frank De Cova". Other actors from The Untouchables are also mentioned in this same list: Joe De Santis, Bruce Gordon and Herman Rudin.
