CAROLE CORTLAND RUSSO is an actress/singer whose featured roles in film, television and theatre have won her much acclaim. Among her many stage roles was Eva Peron in EVITA, Mama Rose in GYPSY and Aldonza in MAN OF LA MANCHA.
She won a Carbonnel Award Nomination from the South Florida Critics for Mother in A NEW BRAIN and The Countess in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. In New York, she was lauded by Cabaret Critics and developed a reputation as a Singer’s singer.
Carole was raised by her Uncle, Vincent “Jimmy Blue Eyes” Alo ~ one of the most significant crime figures of the twentieth century and a giant among Mafiosi. His life was filled with wise guys, celebrities and crooked politicians. Always a secretive man, in time, he began to talk. Carole took notes as he tallied up the score. “Was I a good guy or a bad guy?” Jimmy asked. “I’m an enigma, even to myself.”
The soul of a gangster is a mystery Carole struggles with ~ even today. Being raised in the Damon Runyon world of her family has given her a rich story to tell. Most of all, she would like to set the record straight as she promised her Uncle she would.
Carole lives with her husband, Joe, in a 1924 Florida farmhouse with Sophia, the tortoiseshell cat and Sam, the world’s smartest dog.