Robert Davi

Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1953) is an American actor and jazz singer. He has played such roles as Vietnam veteran and Special Agent Johnson in Die Hard, the villainous Jake Fratelli in The Goonies, and Al Torres in Showgirls. However, Davi is perhaps best known for playing lead villain and drug lord Franz Sanchez in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill as well as FBI Special Agent Baily Malone in the NBC television series Profiler. Classically trained as a singer, Davi launched his professional singing career in 2011 performing Frank Sinatra classics. He opened as a headliner at The Venetian, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 23, 2012. --- Davi was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, the son of Maria (née Rulli) and Sal Davi. His mother was anItalian American and his father was a native of Southern Italy; Davi spoke Italian during his childhood. He attended Seton Hall, a Catholic high school in Patchogue (Long Island), New York. He has two sisters, Yvonne Davi (deceased), and Michelle (Davi) Queal. He graduated from Hofstra University, the same alma mater as fellow James Bond villain Christopher Walken. Davi was drawn to Hofstra because of the school's Shakespearean "round" theatre. Davi made his motion picture debut in Contract On Cherry Street, in which he shared the screen with, Frank Sinatra. Since then he's continued to work with the biggest names in Hollywood – Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Benicio del Toro, James Franco, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bruce Willis, and Roberto Benigni, among others. He's been in such movies as The Goonies, Die Hard, Showgirls, Son of the Pink Panther, and in the 1989 Bond film Licence to Kill as the villain Franz Sanchez, a South American drug lord and murderer. --- Even as far back as high school, Davi received acclaim for his singing, being awarded first place in the prestigious New York State School Music Association’s — Solo Competition, singing Vincent Youmans' Without A Song. As a young man, Davi studied classically under several of the top vocal teachers, Samuel Margolis and Danial Ferro of Juilliard and later, opera great Tito Gobbi. Davi did in fact damage his voice, claiming he was baritone with the heart of a tenor and had pushed too hard, too early. However, it isn't until recently that he has become successful as a singer. With a thirty-piece orchestra, Davi recorded his first album at the famous Capitol Records Building in Hollywood (where Frank Sinatra recorded on many occasions). The album contains all-new arrangements by composer Nic. tenBroek; it was produced by Phil Ramone, engineered by Dan Wallin, and mixed by Al Schmitt. The album, "Davi Sings Sinatra — On The Road To Romance", was released October 24, 2011. --- Davi's children are Sean Christian Davi (born 1981), with Jeri McBride, and Ariana Marie Davi (born April 3, 1990), Frances Davi (born 1992), and Isabella Davi and Nicholas Edward Davi (twins, born on January 11, 2001), with Christine Bolster.