Originating from Agrigento, Sicily, and arriving in the United States as a toddler, he was born Oswaldo Silvestri Trippilini Rolando Vincenza Castellano before adopting the stage name Wally Cassell after a suggestion from Mickey Rooney. After early work as a dancer, he turned to acting, entering film in 1942 with minor, often uncredited parts before securing a contract with MGM through Rooney’s as…
