The Biography

Erik Rhodes (born Ernest Sharpe; February 10, 1906 - February 17, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actor best remembered for his comedic performances as delightful hyperactive Italian gentlemen in the classic Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Hollywood musicals The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Top Hat (1935). With a good baritone voice, he was successful, both prior to and subsequent his film career, in Broadway musicals.