Antonio Sabáto, an actor known for classic films like Grand Prix and Escape from the Bronx, as well as a short stint as Aldo Damiano on The Bold and the Beautiful, has died.
The actor's son, Antonio Sabáto Jr. (ex-Dante Damiano, B&B; ex-Jagger Cates, General Hospital), shared the sad news of his father's death, which happened following the 77-year-old's admission to intensive care early this month due to COVID-19 complications.
"This morning our Papa' Antonio Sabato, Sr. sadly passed away peacefully at 11:15am Pacific Time," Sabáto Jr. wrote on Instagram. "His many years as a successful actor and screenwriter both in Italy and the United States were his artistic passion. He had so many interests including boating the islands surrounding Italy, Formula 1 racing, culinary cooking and many more. His generosity was ever present and his sense of humor and personality could fill a room. However, nothing was more important to him or held his attention more than his love for his children and grandchildren Jack Antonio, Mina Bree and Antonio III. Our hearts are broken today, we will miss him dearly and we send our love with him. We love you Papa' and we will see you again."
Sabáto started his acting career in 1966 in the Italian film Lo scandalo. Later that year, he starred in Grand Prix, an Academy Award-winning American film that also starred James Garner and Eva Marie Saint. He went on to appear in a slew of films of mixed genres, like the 1968 spaghetti western One Dollar Too Many, the 1978 science fiction film War of the Robots, and the 1997 crime drama High Voltage.
Sabáto's final credit is a seven-episode 2006 stint on The Bold and the Beautiful, in which he played the role of Aldo Damiano opposite his son, Sabáto Jr., who at the time was playing the role of Dante Damiano on the CBS soap opera. As B&B fans may recall, Dante was an Italian who helped a presumed-dead Taylor (Hunter Tylo) escape Prince Omar of Morocco before he came to Los Angeles and romanced Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), Bridget (Ashley Jones), and Felicia (Lesli Kay).
In addition to his son, Sabáto is survived by a daughter, Simonne.
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