Ernie Sabella

Last updated

Ernie Sabella
Ernie Sabella.jpg
Sabella in 2015
Born
Ernest Sabella

(1949-09-19) September 19, 1949 (age 74)
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian
Years active1976–present
Spouse
Cheryl Sabella
(m. 1999)

Ernest Sabella [1] (born September 19, 1949) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Pumbaa from The Lion King franchise, voicing the character in all media except the 2019 film. Sabella's TV roles include Mr. Donald "Twinkie" Twinkacetti in Perfect Strangers (1986-1987), George Shipman in A Fine Romance , and Leon Carosi in Saved by the Bell (1991). His work in Broadway theatre includes starring roles in Guys and Dolls, Chicago, Curtains, and Man of La Mancha .

Contents

Life and career

Born in Westchester County, New York, Sabella graduated from the University of Miami, [2] where he studied at the Department of Theatre Arts and performed at the university's Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.

His stage credits include The Robber Bridegroom (1976), Little Johnny Jones (1982), Guys and Dolls (1992) as Harry the Horse, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996), Chicago as Amos Hart (replacement), Man of La Mancha (2002, as Sancho Panza) and Sweet Charity (2005). [3]

Film credits include Quiz Show (1994) as the car salesman, In & Out (1997) as Aldo Hooper, Disney's The Lion King (1994) and multiple sequels and spin-offs as Pumbaa. He also has worked with Nathan Lane, who had voiced Timon, in Guys and Dolls , Mouse Hunt , The Producers (in a deleted scene) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum . In the latter production, Sabella portrayed Marcus Lycus while Lane played Pseudolus. Sabella also joined Lane for his Saturday Night Live monologue, where they sang "Hakuna Matata".

On television, Sabella portrayed apartment manager Lou Donatelli in the Jason Bateman comedy It's Your Move (1984–85). [4] He appeared in an episode of Cheers titled "Love Thy Neighbor" (Season Four Episode Eight air date November 21, 1985) [4] in which he played the role of a private investigator named Santo Carbone, who was Carla Tortelli's cousin. He played store owner and landlord Donald Twinkacetti on Perfect Strangers (1986–1987). [4] He played Leo in the short-lived situation comedy Encore! Encore! starring Nathan Lane (2000). [4] Sabella had a five-episode stint on Saved by the Bell in 1991 as Leon Carosi, [4] an uptight resort manager and owner who employed the main cast's characters. Leah Remini was featured as his daughter. His other recurring roles include the lazy teacher Mr. Petrachelli on That's So Raven (2003), the floundering attorney Harland Bassett on The Practice (2000-2001), and characters on Newhart (1983). [4]

In the Quantum Leap episode "Catch a Falling Star", he played the dual role of Manny, a stage actor, and Sancho Panza, Manny's character in a touring production of Man of La Mancha. Sabella had a brief appearance as a naked man on a subway train in a 1992 episode of Seinfeld titled "The Subway". [4]

He starred in a series of television commercials for NyQuil cold medicine in 1994 and was seen in a MasterCard commercial (2007), as well as Lynx in 2008.

Sabella co-starred as Sidney Bernstein in the Broadway musical comedy Curtains , which opened officially on March 22, 2007 [5] and ran until June 29, 2008.

He played the role of apartment building superintendent Leon in the 9th episode "Hold Outs" of the 6th season (2015) of the CBS police procedural drama Blue Bloods . [4]

In 2015, Sabella reprised his voice role as Pumbaa in the TV pilot film The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar.

In 2016, Sabella became a full-time cast member for the Disney Junior television series The Lion Guard . [6]

Personal life

Sabella met his wife Cheryl near the backstage door following a Broadway performance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1996; they married in 1999. [7] [2] His wife works as a computer programmer in their home town. [2]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1984 City Heat Ballistics Expert
1986 Tough Guys Hotel Clerk
1988 Fright Night Part 2 Dr. Harrison
1990FaithStanley
Going Under The Mole
1994 The Lion King Pumbaa Voice
Quiz Show Car Salesman
1995 Roommates Stash
1996Around the World with Timon & PumbaaPumbaaVoice, direct-to-video
1997 In & Out Aldo Hopper
Mouse Hunt Maury, the Cat Care Society Owner
1998 The Lion King II: Simba's Pride PumbaaVoice, direct-to-video
1999 The Out-of-Towners Getaway Driver
2001 Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse PumbaaVoice, direct-to-video
2004 The Lion King 1½
2010 Listen to Your Heart Tony
2015 The Challenger Frankie
2016 Bakery in Brooklyn Dave

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1980Broadway on ShowtimeSing Song, Big Harp2 episodes
1982 St. Elsewhere PatientEpisode: "Pilot"
1982–1984 Cagney & Lacey Cabbie2 episodes
1983 The New Odd Couple PolicemanEpisode: "My Strife in Court"
13 Thirteenth AvenueVlastock SpoltechzepTelevision film
Newhart Ed Halstead, Police Officer3 episodes
1983–1984 Knots Landing Frank Edmunds2 episodes
1983–1987 Hill Street Blues Pauli, Paulie Shellcop, Paulie4 episodes
1984 Alice FranklinEpisode: "Vera, the Horse Thief"
Oh Madeline PhelpsEpisode: "Monday Night Madeline"
The Facts of Life HusbandEpisode: "All by Herself"
The New Mike Hammer Salvatore Juno2 episodes
Domestic Life Ralph PomeroyEpisode: "Showdown at Walla Walla"
100 Centre Street Harry PikeTelevision film
Punky Brewster Elroy KramerEpisode: "Parents Night"
1984–1985 It's Your Move Lou Donatelli18 episodes
1985 Diff'rent Strokes BenEpisode: "Sam's Missing"
Hardcastle and McCormick Clyde WhitleyEpisode: "Strange Hold"
Cheers Santo Carbone, Stan2 episodes
CopacabanaSam GropperTelevision film
1986 It's a Living Walter CliffEpisode: "Gander Gap"
Benson BoEpisode: "Parade Rest"
1986–1987 Perfect Strangers Mr. Donald 'Twinkie' Twinkacetti22 episodes
1987 Roxie Vito Carteri6 episodes
Married... with Children Mr. PondEpisode: "Peggy Sue Got Work"
Hunter EarnieEpisode: "Turning Point"
1988 Sledge Hammer! Al FrescoEpisode: "The Secret of My Excess"
Mr. Belvedere Mr. PlumerEpisode: "Roommates"
1989 A Fine Romance George Shipman13 episodes
Open House Episode: "Murder, He Wrote"
My Two Dads Officer RingerEpisode: "Dad Patrol"
Quantum Leap Manny, Sancho PanzaEpisode: "Catch a Falling Star - May 21, 1979"
1990 Coach ErnieEpisode: "Men Don't Heal"
1990–1991 Good Grief Tyrone, Flipper2 episodes
1991 Babes MoEpisode: "The Last Temptation of Marlene"
Murphy Brown JulianEpisode: "Small"
Saved by the Bell Leon Carosi6 episodes
Major Dad PhilEpisode: "Lady in Waiting"
1992 Seinfeld Naked ManEpisode: "The Subway"
A Different World Campus SecurityEpisode: "The Cat's in the Cradle"
Davis Rules CoachEpisode: "Strike Down the Band"
Dangerous Curves Jack KiltyEpisode: "Die Laughing"
Just My Imagination Arnold MayerTelevision film
1994 Mad About You MauriceEpisode: "Till Death Do Us Part"
1995 Pins and Needles MarvinTelevision film
Blame It on ErnieUnknown roleUnknown episodes
1995–1999 Timon & Pumbaa Pumbaa, Bampuu, GopherVoice, main role
1997 Disney's One Saturday Morning PumbaaVoice
1998–1999 Encore! Encore! Leo5 episodes
1999–2001 The Practice Harland Bassett4 episodes
1999 Malcolm & Eddie Mort DiamondEpisode: "The Tapawingo Witch Project"
Annie Mr. BundlesTelevision film
2000Find Out WhyPumbaaVoice, 8 episodes
Providence Lou Keppler3 episodes
2001 Ed Gary SwirdlockEpisode: "Hook, Line and Sinker"
2001–2002 House of Mouse PumbaaVoice, 14 episodes
2003 That's So Raven Mr. Petrachelli2 episodes
2015 Blue Bloods LeonEpisode: "Holds Out"
2015 The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar PumbaaVoice, television film
2016–2019 The Lion Guard Pumbaa [8] Voice, 10 episodes

Video games

YearTitleRole
1995 Animated Storybook: The Lion King Pumbaa
Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Pinball
The Lion King: Activity Center
Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games
1998The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Active Play
2000 The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure
2003Timon & Pumbaa Virtual Safari
2004Who Wants to be King of the Jungle
2005 Kingdom Hearts II
2007 Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix

Theme park attractions

YearTitleRole
1995–2018 Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable Pumbaa
2008–2013 Wild About Safety

Theatre

YearTitleRoleNotes
1976–1977 The Robber Bridegroom Big Harp, Little Harp [3]
1982Little Johnny JonesWhitney Wilson [3]
1992 Guys and Dolls Harry the Horse [3]
1996 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Marcus Lycus [3]
1997 Chicago Amos HartReplacement [3]
2002 Man of La Mancha Sancho Panza [3]
2004–2005 Sweet Charity Herman [3]
2007–2008 Curtains Sidney Bernstein [3]

Awards and nominations

Related Research Articles

<i>Man of La Mancha</i> Musical

Man of La Mancha is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes and his 17th-century novel Don Quixote. It tells the story of the "mad" knight Don Quixote as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. The work is not and does not pretend to be a faithful rendition of either Cervantes' life or Don Quixote. Wasserman complained repeatedly about people taking the work as a musical version of Don Quixote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Lane</span> American actor (born 1956)

Nathan Lane is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been seen on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. Lane has received numerous awards, including three Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, the Olivier Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Lane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, The New York Times hailed Lane as "the greatest stage entertainer of the decade".

<i>Timon & Pumbaa</i> (TV series) 1995 American animated television series by Disney

The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa is an American animated buddy comedy television series created by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was based on Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King, centering on Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog as they continue to live by their problem-free philosophy hakuna matata. Compared to most other The Lion King media, the tone of the series is more slapstick comedy-oriented.

<i>The Lion King 1½</i> 2004 animated Disney film

The Lion King 1½ is a 2004 American animated direct-to-video musical comedy film produced by the Australian branch of DisneyToon Studios and released direct to video on February 10, 2004. The third and final installment released in the original Lion King trilogy, it is based on The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa and serves as an origin story for the meerkat/warthog duo Timon and Pumbaa while the film is also set within the events of The Lion King (1994). A majority of the original voice cast from the first film returns to reprise their roles, including Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella as the voices of Timon and Pumbaa, respectively. The plot of the movie is inspired by Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a tragicomedy that tells the story of Hamlet from the point of view of two minor characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sancho Panza</span> Character in Don Quixote

Sancho Panza is a fictional character in the novel Don Quixote written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote and provides comments throughout the novel, known as sanchismos, that are a combination of broad humour, ironic Spanish proverbs, and earthy wit. "Panza" in Spanish means "belly".

<i>Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable</i> Film formerly shown at Epcot

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable was a 70 mm documentary, shown in the Harvest Theater in The Land pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. It opened on January 21, 1995, replacing Symbiosis. The main narrator of the story was Simba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Coco</span> American stage and screen actor (1930–1987)

James Emil Coco was an American stage and screen actor. He was the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award, a Cable ACE Award and three Obie Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award, an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Coco is remembered for his supporting roles in the films Man of La Mancha (1972), Murder by Death (1976) and Only When I Laugh (1981).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Hibbert</span> British actor

Edward Hibbert is an American-born British actor and literary agent. He played Gil Chesterton in the TV series Frasier. He also voiced Zazu in several installments in The Lion King franchise, replacing Rowan Atkinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timon and Pumbaa</span> Fictional meerkat and warthog duo from Disneys The Lion King franchise

Timon and Pumbaa are an animated meerkat and warthog duo introduced in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and its franchise. Timon was played through his many appearances by Nathan Lane, Max Casella, Kevin Schon, Quinton Flynn, Bruce Lanoil in the Wild About Safety shorts and Kingdom Hearts II, while Pumbaa is voiced by Ernie Sabella, and was portrayed by Tom Alan Robbins in the original cast of the Broadway musical. In the CGI remake, the characters are portrayed by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, respectively. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella first came to audition for the roles of the hyenas, but when the producers saw how well they worked together, they decided to cast them as Timon and Pumbaa.

"The Phone Message" is the ninth episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, and the fourth of the show's second season. The episode concerns protagonist Jerry Seinfeld dating a woman who likes a commercial for cotton Dockers he dislikes. Meanwhile, his friend George Costanza leaves an obnoxious message on the answering machine of his girlfriend, and goes to great lengths to prevent her from hearing it.

"The Subway" is the 30th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 13th episode of the show's third season. It aired on January 8, 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hakuna Matata (song)</span> 1995 song from The Lion King film

"Hakuna Matata" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. The music was written by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. The song is based on Timon and Pumbaa's catchphrase in the movie, Hakuna matata, a Swahili phrase meaning "No worry(ies)". It is characterized by its simple 4/4 time, upbeat message and catchy lyrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Alan Robbins</span> American actor

Tom Alan Robbins is an American actor known for his roles in theatre and television.

Kevin Schon is an American voice actor who is known for his voice-over work in video games, movies and television shows. He is best known as a voice double for Nathan Lane for animated media, most notably as Timon in the Timon & Pumbaa television series and in various other Disney related projects.

<i>Don Quixote</i> (1947 film) 1947 Spanish film by Rafael Gil

Don Quixote or Don Quixote de la Mancha is the first sound film version in Spanish of the great classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. It was directed and adapted by Rafael Gil and released in 1947. A huge undertaking for Spanish cinema in its day, it was the longest film version of the novel up to that time, and very likely the most faithful, reverently following the book in its dialogue and order of episodes, unlike G.W. Pabst's 1933 version and the later Russian film version, which scrambled up the order of the adventures as many film versions do. Characters such as Cardenio, Dorotea, and Don Fernando, which are usually omitted because their respective subplots have little to do with the main body of the novel, were kept in this film.

The Lion King is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional media. The success of animated original 1994 American feature film, The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, led to a direct-to-video sequel and prequel, a live-action remake in 2019, a television film sequel, two spin-off television series, three educational shorts, several video games, merchandise, and the third-longest-running musical in Broadway history, which garnered six Tony Awards including Best Musical. The franchise, led by the musical's box office at $8.1 billion, is the highest-grossing entertainment property. The franchise as a whole has EGOT-ed, meaning it has won the four biggest awards of American show business.

<i>Wild About Safety</i> Educational series

Disney's Wild About Safety is an educational series that features short films that were produced by Disney Educational Productions, Duck Studios, and Underwriters' Laboratories. The series is directed and produced by Dave Bossert, and written by Douglas Segal. The music is composed by Mark Watters, and the video was edited by Melissa Time using Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ernie Sabella Biography". FilmReference.com. Film Reference. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "A real character: Actor Ernie Sabella sets up shop in Southern Nevada" Las Vegas Sun, January 17, 2002
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sabella Broadway" ibdb.com, retrieved February 15, 2018
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Ernie Sabella Credits" tvguide.com, retrieved February 15, 2018
  5. Bacalzo, Dan (January 4, 2007). "Full Cast Set for Broadway's Curtains: Ernie Sabella Joins Musical". TM Theater News. TheaterMania Inc. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
  6. Lion Guard ew.com
  7. Gladstone, Douglas. "Remember The Naked Subway Rider In Seinfeld? Meet Ernie Sabella" Westchester Magazine, June 2014
  8. "James Earl Jones and Ernie Sabella Will Reprise Their "Lion King" Roles in Movie Sequel". playbill.com.