Antonio Sabàto Jr.

Antonio Sabàto
Born (1972-02-29) February 29, 1972
Rome, Italy
Occupation Actor, model
Years active 1990–present
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Political party Republican
Spouse(s)
Alicia Tully Jensen
(m. 1992; div. 1993)

Cheryl Nunes
(m. 2012; div. 2016)
Partner(s) Virginia Madsen (1993–1998)
Kristin Rossetti (2000–2007)
Children 3
Parent(s) Antonio Sabàto Sr.
Website Campaign website

Antonio Sabàto Jr. (born February 29, 1972) is an Italian-American model, actor, and aspiring politician. Sabàto first found fame in the 1990s, posing as an underwear model for Calvin Klein and appearing as Jagger Cates on the soap opera General Hospital from 1992 to 1995. By the early 2000s, Sabàto's career had started to wane, most of his acting credits attributed to guest appearances, reality TV, and low budget films. In recent years, Sabàto has received attention in the media for his involvement in politics and in 2017, he filed to run for U.S. Congress against incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Julia Brownley in California's 26th district.[1]

Youth

Sabàto was born in Rome, the capital city of Italy, on 29 February 1972, a Leap Day. His father is Antonio Sabàto Sr., a film star of Italian heritage born in Sicily. His mother, Yvonne Kabouchy, is a realtor from Prague, and is of Czech and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage; her own mother was a Holocaust survivor.[2][3][4][5][6] He has one sibling, a sister named Simonne. Sabàto and his family moved to the United States from Italy in 1985 and he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1996.[4] He received his high school diploma from Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles, California.[7] His parents are divorced; his mother remarried California-based businessman George F. Kabouchy in 1997.[8][9]

Career

Modeling

Represented in Los Angeles by fashion agent, Omar Albertto,[10] Sabàto first gained attention as a Calvin Klein underwear model. In 1990 he appeared in Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" music video along with actor Djimon Hounsou, who is also a former CK underwear model (and also represented by Albertto).

Acting

Moving into acting, from 1992 through 1995 he appeared on the soap opera General Hospital, the science fiction series Earth 2 and on the prime time soap opera Melrose Place.

Throughout the late 1990s, he starred in various TV movies and direct-to-video films, as well as a supporting role in the 1998 feature film.

In 2003 he played the protagonist's lover Pablo in the movie Testosterone filmed in Argentina with Sonia Braga, David Sutcliffe, Jennifer Coolidge, Celina Font and Leonardo Brezicki.

From 2005 to 2006, Sabàto played Dante Damiano on the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, and in 2008, Sabàto reprised his role of Jagger Cates on the second season of General Hospital: Night Shift.[11]

Sabàto made an appearance on Bones as a bouncer from a Jersey Shore club in season 6, episode 3, "The Maggots in the Meathead" in 2010.[12]

In 2013 he played Father Zaragosa in the television series The League.

Reality television

In 2005, Sabàto appeared on But Can They Sing?, a celebrity reality singing competition on VH1, coming in 5th place.

He competed in the 2008 NBC competition Celebrity Circus, which he won. He noted during the show that both his mother and his mother's father had been circus performers.[13]

In August 2009, Sabàto starred in My Antonio, a reality show on VH1 in which female contestants competed to win his heart. The show notably featured Sabàto's ex-wife, Tully Jensen, as one of the contestants (she came in 3rd place), and his mother also appeared on the show, providing advice. The show's winner was Brooke Barlow.[14]

Sabàto and his family appeared on ABC's Celebrity Wife Swap on January 31, 2012. His then-fiancé Cheryl Moana Marie Nunes traded places on the show with WWE wrestler Mick Foley's wife, Colette Foley.

Sabàto competed on season 19 of Dancing with the Stars in 2014. He was paired with professional dancer Cheryl Burke,[15] and they finished in 8th place.[16]

Hosting

Since 2014, Sabàto has served as the host of a 30-minute long syndicated home remodeling show, Fix It and Finish It.[17][18]

Politics

2018 Congressional campaign

On Monday, May 8, 2017, Sabàto filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission announcing plans to run for the 26th district Congressional seat in California as a Republican against incumbent Democrat Julia Brownley.[19] He came in second place in the Primary with 23.1% of the vote and will face Brownley in the General Election.

Views on illegal immigration

Regarding illegal immigration, Sabàto has said, "There should be no shortcuts for those who don't want to pay or wait".[20] He supports Trump's wall on the southern border, and has said, "We need a wall."[21]

Views on Barack Obama

Sabàto has made many harsh statements regarding former U.S President Barack Obama, including saying he has "no guts," accusing him of destroying the U.S. economy, and asserting that Obama should be arrested and sent to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[22] The former Democrat has also implied that Obama is the reason he left the Democratic Party.[22]

For several years, Sabàto has maintained that, in his opinion, Obama is not a Christian but a Muslim, despite Obama having told the public on numerous occasions that he is a Christian.[23] The first instance of such a claim came in 2016, when Sabàto, after making a speech at the Republican National Convention, told ABC News "I don't believe he follows the God that I love and the Jesus that I love," and "If you follow his story, if you read his book, if you understand about Obama, I mean, that's not a Christian name, is it?"[24] When pressed for evidence to back up his claims, Sabàto answered that it's "in his heart."[25] Two years later, in 2018, he reaffirmed his belief that Obama is a Muslim when appearing on The View, saying "If he's [Obama's] not a Muslim, we should call him President Barry," and "What I was saying was, he changed his name to Obama because he followed the Islam religion when he was growing up so, I felt that once you're in that religion, you stay for the rest of your life."[26] Contrary to Sabàto's statement, the former president did not change his name to Obama – his birth name is Barack Hussein Obama II – and, in his youth, Obama did, in fact, go by the nickname Barry.[27][28]

Views on Donald Trump

Sabàto endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2016.[29] He spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in support of the party's presumptive nominee.[30]

Sabàto claimed that after he expressed his support for Trump, he was blacklisted from Hollywood.[31] He later compared his struggle to find work in show business with that of being Jewish during the Holocaust and said celebrities mocked him on the social media website Twitter.[32][33]

Personal life

Sabàto is currently married to Cheryl Moana Marie Nunes, whom he wed in 2012, and the two separated in December 2016.[34][35][36] After Sabàto filed for divorce, Nunes alleged that Sabàto was abusing prescription drugs and had failed to complete even one month of a three month long drug rehabilitation program; Sabàto said that he was addicted to prescription sleep aids, not benzodiazepines as Nunes claimed, but did admit that he had a problem with substance abuse in the past, specifically crystal meth.[37][38] He was previously married to Tully Jensen, from 1992 until 1993, and has three children, a son with Virginia Madsen; a daughter and a son with his estranged wife.[39]

Sabàto is a Christian but has, on several occasions, said that he also identifies as being Jewish.[40][41][42][43][44]

He has several tattoos, including the Batman logo on his lower back and the yin yang symbol surrounded by Chinese characters on his arm.[45]

Filmography

Title Role Year(s) Notes
Love Will Never Do (Without You) Extra 1990 Music video for Janet Jackson
Il ragazzo delle mani d'acciaio Kevin Foster 1990 Italian film
Fuga da Kayenta Emiliano 1991 Italian film
...Se non avessi l'amore Pier Giorgio Frassati 1991 TV film
General Hospital Jagger Cates 1992-1995 TV show
Moment of Truth: Why My Daughter? A.J. Treece 1993 TV film
Jailbreakers Tony 1994 TV film
Earth 2 Alonzo Solace 1994-1995 TV show
Melrose Place Jack Perezi 1995 7 episodes
Her Hidden Truth Detective Matt Samoni 1995 TV film
If Looks Could Kill John Hawkins 1996 TV film
Padre papà Don Giuseppe 1996 TV film
Thrill Jack Colson 1996 TV film
Code Name: Wolverine Harry Gordini / Wolverine 1996 TV film
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Bob Stanford 1996 TV show
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child Mario 1997 Episode: Thumbelina
High Voltage Johnny Clay 1997
The Perfect Getaway Randy Savino 1998 TV film
Circle Jeremy Bonner 1998
The Big Hit Vince 1998
Tribe Jack Osborne 1999 4 episodes
Fatal Error Dr. Nick Baldwin 1999 TV film
Ally McBeal Kevin Wyatt 1999 Episode: The Green Monster
Goosed Dr. Steven Stevenson 1999
Wasteland Jack 1999 Episode: Double Date
The Outer Limits Chad Warner / Sid Camden 2000 Episode: Skin Deep
The Chaos Factor Jack Poynt 2000
Charmed Bane Jessup 2000 2 episodes
Vola Sciusciù Tony 2000 TV film
Guilty as Charged Sergeant Hawks 2000 TV film
Final Ascent David 2000 TV film
Mindstorm Dan Oliver 2000
Shark Hunter Spencer Northcut 2001
Longshot Tommy Sutton 2001
Hyper Sonic Grant Irvine 2002
Seconds to Spare Paul Blake 2002 TV film
Dead Above Ground Sergeant Dan DeSousa 2002
See Jane Date Timothy Rommelly 2003 TV film
Wasabi Tuna Fredrico 2003
Bugs Matt Pollack 2003 TV film
Testosterone Pablo Alesandro 2003
Half & Half Carlo 2004 Episode: The Big Double Date with My Mate Episode
Becker Linda's boyfriend 2004 Episode: DNR
The Help Dwayne 2004 7 episodes
Joey Kyle 2005 Episode: Joey and the Tonight Show
Jane Doe: Til Death Do Us Part Joey Angelini 2005 TV film
Crash Landing Major John Masters 2005
The Bold and the Beautiful Dante Damiano 2005-2006
But Can They Sing? Himself 2005 Reality TV show
Deadly Skies Richard Donovan 2006 TV film
Reckless Behavior: Caught on Tape Greg Vlasi 2007 TV film
Destination: Infestation Ethan Hart 2007 TV film
Bad Girl Island Michael Pace 2008 TV film
Ghost Voyage Michael 2008 TV film
General Hospital: Night Shift Jagger Cates 2008 14 episodes
NCIS Dale Kapp 2008 Episode: Road Kill
Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas Henry Lee Lucas 2009
Ugly Betty Himself 2009 Episode: The Fall Issue
Scrubs Himself 2009 Episode: Our Drunk Friend
Princess of Mars John Carter 2009
My Antonio Himself 2009 Reality TV show
Celebrity Circus Himself / Contestant 2009 Reality TV show
CSI: NY Davi Santos 2010 Episode: The Formula
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Ross Matthews 2010 Episode: #18.89
Rizzoli & Isles Jorge 2010 Episode: I Kissed A Girl
Bones Terror 2010 Episode: The Maggots in the Meathead
Balls to the Wall Sven 2011
God Reschedules Rapture 2011 Short film
Hot in Cleveland Leandro 2011 Episode: Dancing Queens
Secrets from Her Past Dr. Shawn Tessle 2011 TV film
Celebrity Wife Swap Himself 2012
The Three Stooges Handsome Guy #1 2012
Little Women, Big Cars A.J. 2012
Little Women, Big Cars 2 A.J. 2012
Femme Fatales Bart 2012 Episode: Gun Twisted
Baby Daddy Gerard 2013 Episode: All's Flair in Love and War
Castle Ramon Russo 2013 Episode: Need to Know
The League Father Zaragosa 2013 2 episodes
Hell's Kitchen Himself 2013
All I Want for Christmas Mike Patterson 2014 TV film
Fix It and Finish It Himself / Host 2014
Intikam Varol 2015
Hometown Hero Jason 2016 TV film
Dance Night Obsession Miguel 2016
Dark Paradise Dario 2016 TV film
The Encounter Dr. Max Huber 2016 Episode: Just Believe
Inspired to Kill Paul 2017 TV film
Malibu Dan the Family Man Frane Calloway 2017 Episode: Filthy Poor
Hilton Head Island Jude Trisk 2017 Episode: Genesis
Antonio: Down Under Antonio 2017 TV mini-series
One Nation Under God Senator Viera In post-production

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mehta, Seema (May 9, 2017). "Actor Antonio Sabato Jr. to run for Congress against Rep. Julia Brownley". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  2. ↑ Carter, Alan (1993-04-23). "Raising TV's Pulse Rate". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  3. ↑ Lovece, Frank (2008-07-21). "Reality Check". Newsday.
  4. 1 2 Elkin, Michael (2009-08-13). "The Mysteries of a Mystery Woman". The Jewish Exponent. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  5. ↑ Hoffman, Allison (2009-08-13). "A Nice Jewish Boy: Hunky Antonio Sabato Jr. looks for love on TV, with help from his mother". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  6. ↑ "Nate Bloom writes a weekly column on Jewish celebrities | Tampa Jewish Federation". www.jewishtampa.com. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  7. ↑ MENDOZA, N. F. (1995-10-08). "WITH AN EYE ON . . . : Watch out: Amanda meets her 'Melrose' match in the hunky form of Antonio Sabato Jr". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  8. ↑ "Star Tracks". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  9. ↑ "Los Angeles County". Los Angeles Times. 1987-12-16. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  10. ↑ "Omar Albertto on FASHION NET". www.fashion.net.
  11. ↑ "General Hospital: Night Shift Returns on July 22 with Antonio Sabato Jr". BuddyTV. 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  12. ↑ "Antonio Sabato, Jr. To Bring Some Jersey to Bones". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  13. ↑ Rocchio, Christopher (2007-07-17). "Antonio Sabato Jr. wins NBC's Celebrity Circus reality series". Reality TV World. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  14. ↑ Duncan, JJ (October 26, 2009). "'My Antonio' Winner Brooke Barlow Says She and Antonio Haven't Spoken for Months". Zimbio.
  15. ↑ Elizabeth Wagmeister (2014-09-04). "'Dancing With The Stars' Season 19 Cast — 'DWTS' Celebrities Announced". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  16. ↑ Reiher, Andrea (2014-10-27). "'Dancing With the Stars' Season 19 week 7 scores and elimination results – Zap2It". Zap2it.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  17. ↑ "Antonio Sabato Jr. | Fix It and Finish It". Fixitandfinish.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  18. ↑ "Fix It and Finish It". Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  19. ↑ Jerkovich, Katie (May 9, 2017). "This Actor Who Spoke At RNC Just Declared Plans To Run For Congress". Daily Caller. Washington, DC. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  20. ↑ "CNN on Twitter - Antonio Sabato Jr.: "There should be no shortcuts for those who don't want to pay or wait"". 18 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016 – via Twitter.com.
  21. ↑ Stahl, Jeremy (2016-07-18). "Here Are the Most Random, Oddest Speakers from the First Day of the GOP Convention". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  22. 1 2 Morrow, Brendan (2017-05-08). "Antonio Sabato Jr.'s Political Views: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  23. ↑ "The quiet impact of Obama's Christian faith". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  24. ↑ "Sabàto, after RNC speech, says Obama 'absolutely' a Muslim". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  25. ↑ "Antonio Sabato Jr. Believes Obama Is a 'Muslim President'". Us Weekly. 2016-07-19. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  26. ↑ "Antonio Sabato Jr. Insists Barack Obama Is Muslim On "The View" (VIDEO)". Gossip Cop. 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  27. ↑ "When Barry Became Barack". Newsweek. 2008-03-22. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  28. ↑ "Trump on Birtherism: Wrong, and Wrong - FactCheck.org". FactCheck.org. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  29. ↑ Jonathan, Robert. "Antonio Sabato Jr. sounds off on Trump and Cruz." Inquisitr. 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  30. ↑ Tim Tebow: Speaking slot at Trump convention 'a rumor', Associated Press (July 14, 2016).
  31. ↑ O'Neal, Sean (August 4, 2016). "Antonio Sabato Jr. says Hollywood has blacklisted him for supporting Trump". Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  32. ↑ Setoodeh, Ramin (August 3, 2016). "Antonio Sabato Jr. Says Hollywood is Blacklisting Him for Supporting Donald Trump". Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Antonio Sabato Jr. Compares Being Blackballed By Hollywood To Holocaust: 'It's Happening to Me'". www.mediaite.com. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  34. ↑ "Antonio Sabato Jr". People. 1994-05-09.
  35. ↑ Rizzo, Monica (2012-10-26). "Antonio Sabato Jr. Marries Cheryl Moana Marie in Hawail". People. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
  36. ↑ Goldblatt, Daniel (15 May 2017). "Antonio Sabato Jr.'s Estranged Wife Cheryl Alleges He Has Drug Abuse Issues Amid Divorce Filing". People. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  37. ↑ "Congressional hopeful Antonio Sabato Jr. accused of drug abuse by wife". Salon. 2017-05-15. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  38. ↑ "Antonio Sabato Jr.'s Estranged Wife Cheryl Alleges He Has Drug Abuse Issues Amid Divorce Filing". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  39. ↑ "Just married! Antonio Sabato Jr sweeps new bride Cheryl Moana Marie off her feet during intimate wedding ceremony in Hawaii". Mail Online. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  40. ↑ Bandler, Aaron (2017-12-22). "Q&A with Antonio Sabato Jr., Republican Candidate for Congress — Jewish Journal". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  41. ↑ "GOP candidate Antonio Sabato Jr. repeats claim that Obama is Muslim in bizarre interview". Salon. 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  42. ↑ "Actor Antonio Sabato Jr. Tells TheBlaze Why He's 'A True Believer in Jesus' (Plus: His Take on Christianity in Hollywood)". TheBlaze. 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  43. ↑ "Nate Bloom writes a weekly column on Jewish celebrities | Tampa Jewish Federation". www.jewishtampa.com. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  44. ↑ "A Nice Jewish Boy - Tablet Magazine – Jewish News and Politics, Jewish Arts and Culture, Jewish Life and Religion". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  45. ↑ "Antonio Sabato Jr". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
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