Robert Sacchi, an Italian-born actor, enjoyed a brief yet lucrative career, largely due to his uncanny resemblance to the iconic Hollywood star, Humphrey Bogart. This striking similarity was first noticed during his high school years in New York's Bronx, where it would eventually lead to him impersonating Bogart in various film, television, and stage productions.
Sacchi's screen career began in 1972, with a string of minor roles, before he gained greater fame eight years later as the suave gumshoe Sam Marlowe in the 1980 film "The Man with Bogart's Face." This complex, Chandleresque mystery was produced and written by Andrew J. Fenady, who drew inspiration from his own novel. To add an authentic film noir feel, the film featured a gallery of performers who had once co-starred with the real Bogart.
Ironically, there was a real-life Sam Marlowe, a black private detective who operated in 1940s Los Angeles, allegedly employed by the likes of Gable, Dietrich, and Chaplin, and possibly even the inspiration for Raymond Chandler's famous creation, Philip Marlowe.
In addition to his acting career, Sacchi authored a book about ghetto kids in the 1930s and 1940s who went on to achieve fame in the boxing ring, titled "Willie Pep Remembers - Friday's Heroes." Robert Sacchi passed away on June 23, 2021, at the age of 89, in Los Angeles.
