Actors

George DiCenzo

George DiCenzo

George DiCenzo was an American character actor, voice actor, and acting teacher from New Haven, Connecticut. His acting career lasted for about 30 years, and he had previously served as an associate producer for the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" (1966-1971). His best-remembered live-action role was portraying Sam Baines (Marty McFly's maternal grandfather) in the time-travel-themed science fiction film "Back to the Future" (1985). As a voice actor, he is primarily remembered for portraying stranded astronaut John Blackstar in "Blackstar" (1981) and the tyrant Hordak in "She-Ra: Princess of Power" (1985-1986). DiCenzo received his acting training from Milton Katselas (1933- 2008), the acting instructor who founded the Beverly Hills Playhouse. He later served as an apprentice teacher under Katselas, before branching out on his own. He used both New York City and Philadelphia as his home-base at various points in his teaching career. Towards the end of his career, DiCenzo voiced roles in a few video games. His better known role in the field was voicing crime lord Ennio Salieri in the crime-themed video game "Mafia" (2002). In the video game, Salieri eliminates a rival crime lord and becomes the de facto ruler of a fictional city in 1930s Illinois. He starts mistreating his own henchmen, until one of them turns against him and betrays Salieri to the authorities. The game had a number of sequels, but DiCenzo never had a chance to voice Salieri again. DiCenzo had his final film role in the drama film "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" (2006). The film was an adaptation of a memoir by film director Dito Montiel, concerning the troubling experiences which convinced him to abandon his family and few remaining friends in 1986. DiCenzo effectively retired afterwards, due to his declining health. DiCenzo died in August 9, 2010 due to sepsis (blood poisoning). He was 70-years-old at the time of his death, and was living in Pennsylvania. He was buried in the North and Southampton Churchyard, located at Churchville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. DiCenzo is fondly remembered for a number of memorable roles in his career, but he was better known for his voice rather than his face.
George Dinsmore

George Dinsmore

George was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania to Gloria Wyatt (Shaffer) and Bob Dinsmore. He has two brothers: His has two younger brothers Jim (2 1/2 years younger) and Jake (26 years younger). At age 5, he appeared on the TV show "Romper Room" in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. When he was 10, his parents moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he toured Southeast Florida and the Bahamas with the Florida Singing Sons Boy Choir. After ninth grade, they moved to Cape Coral, Florida. George studied Television Production his junior year and was encouraged to audition for the school musical where he was cast as a dancing waiter. His senior year he added Drama and Choir to his schedule and was cast in two lead roles in "The Invisible Man" and "Flower Drum Song." George attended Troy State University. The first show he auditioned for was the opera "Carmen" and he was cast as Corporal Morales, where he met his future wife Tiffany McDonald. He appeared in a few other shows in the ensemble but had to work to eat, and theatre slipped away. He graduated with a double major in Computer & Information Science and Business Administration. While in college his parents divorced and both remarried. George found a job as a computer programmer with a small company that would lay him off over Thanksgiving, and then rehire him the following Monday, rather than pay him for the holiday. While there he married Tiffany on Leap Year Day. He left that job to open a Subway franchise, which quickly became three. During that span, they had two children - Bree and Connor. His father's second marriage gave George his second brother, who was born the year between his own children. A few years later they sold the Subways and George returned to college. He took a Speech class where he was again encouraged to audition for a show and landed the lead in "Cheatin'." While still in graduate school, he was offered a programming job in Tallahassee and the family was off the Florida. From there he switched to consulting and over the course of seven years they moved to Massachusetts, Tennessee, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. It was in the Columbia, South Carolina a decade later that George rediscovered acting. After his second show he was disappointed in his work and decided it wasn't for him when another director invited him to audition. He took a chance, was cast, and things began to happen. He was seen onstage and asked to play a role for ETV, which led to annual work. He found a love of Shakespeare and was made an SC Shakespeare Company member after he played Don John in Much Ado About Nothing. His first major film role was a direct-to-DVD movie in 2010 called Our Father Takes a Bride, which was shown on late-night TV in Puerto Rico. In 2016 he filmed his first movie released to theaters called Faith's Song.