Joseph Anthony Lala (November 3, 1947 – March 18, 2014) was an American musician and actor. In 1966, he co-founded the rock band Blues Image.

Life and career Lala was born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, into a family of Italian-American background. His father left the family when Joe was a child, so he was raised by his mother on her own. Lala's mother, Janie Cacciatore, an avid dancer, took her son to as many shows as she could. Lala spoke fluent Spanish and Italian.

He started out playing the drums in several Florida bands, before forming the band Blues Image. He also occasionally sang lead vocals, most notably on the song "Leaving My Troubles Behind". As a drummer and percussionist, he worked with The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Manassas, The Stills-Young Band, The Bee Gees, Whitney Houston, Joe Walsh, Andy Gibb and many others. Lala played the trademark congas that drove the Bee Gees' 1976 US chart-topper "You Should Be Dancing", subsequently included on the multi-million-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Lala provided the wide selection of percussive effects on Barbra Streisand's 1980 worldwide No. 1 album Guilty, and contributed to Whitney Houston's eponymous 1985 debut album.

Throughout his career, Lala accumulated 32 gold records and 28 platinum records. He played on the movie soundtracks of Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive, D.C. Cab, Streets of Fire, All the Right Moves, Breathless, Defiance, The Lonely Guy and Airplane!. A severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome ended Lala's career as a percussionist. It kept him from performing full-time, but he continued to record with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, the acoustic band Firefall, Dan Fogelberg, Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart and many others. Joe Lala was the last in the drummer stool for the handful of concerts given in February 1973 by the disintegrating Byrds.

He made the most of his Italian-American background and his mastery of Spanish, Cuban and Puerto Rican accents with TV roles in Miami Vice, General Hospital, Melrose Place, Seinfeld, Hunter, and Who's the Boss?, and starred in a summer replacement show named Knight & Daye. He portrayed another native of Ybor City, Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, in Ali: An American Hero, and co-starred with Andy Garcia in For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story. His films included Active Stealth, Sugar Hill, On Deadly Ground, Deep Sleep, Havana (with Robert Redford), Out for Justice, Marked for Death, Eyewitness to Murder, and Born in East L.A., plus many more.

Lala also guest-starred on several animated shows: Batman: The Animated Series, Pinky and the Brain, Quack Pack, The Angry Beavers, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, Danger Rangers, ChalkZone, Johnny Bravo, Ozzy & Drix, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, and many more. Additionally, he voiced Kun Lan in the 2005 video game Killer7.

Lala was married to voice director Ginny McSwain from 1996 until their divorce in 2004.

In the mid-2000s, Lala retired from acting to care for his mother, who had dementia. Lala coached young actors at the Italian Club in his native Ybor City. Joe Lala died from complications of lung cancer on March 18, 2014, at the age of 66.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 Out for Justice Vermeer 1997 Demolition University Carlos Ramos Direct-to-video 1998 Golgo 13: Queen Bee Don Roccini, Gomez (voice) English dub; direct-to-video 1999 Our Friend, Martin Reporter, Demonstrator (voice) Direct-to-video A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. Active Stealth Salvatore Direct-to-video 2000 An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster Bootlick (voice) Direct-to-video 2001 Monsters, Inc. Augustus "Spike" Jones (voice) 2002 The Hunchback of Notre Dame II Guard (voice) Direct-to-video

Television Year Title Role Notes 1995 Pinky and the Brain Francois (voice) Episode: "Napoleon Brainaparte" What-a-Mess Additional Voices 3 episodes 1996–1997 Superman: The Animated Series Electrician, Maitre D' (voice) 2 episodes 1997 The Legend of Calamity Jane Additional Voices 13 episodes 1998 Oh Yeah! Cartoons Fox, Old Timer, Max (voice) 2 episodes 1999, 2002 Hey Arnold! Miller, GIs, Cops (voice) 2 episodes 1999 The Angry Beavers El Grapadura, Alien (voice) Episode: "Norberto y Daggetto en El Grapadura y el Castor Malo" Johnny Bravo Raoul (voice) Episode: "Mama's New Boyfriend" Batman Beyond Spike, Sailboat Captain (voice) 2 episodes 2001 Static Shock Security Guard (voice) Episode: "Replay" Time Squad Leonardo da Vinci (voice) Episode: "Daddio DaVinci" 2002 Samurai Jack Owner, Engineer, Passenger, Baba Looey (voice) Episode: "Couple on a Train" 2003 Ozzy & Drix Hector's Dad (voice) 2 episodes 2004–2006 The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius Harp Estevez (voice) 4 episodes 2004–2005 The Batman Crime Bosses, Bomb Technician (voice) 2 episodes 2005 All Grown Up! Enrique, Doctor (voice) Episode: "Dude, Where's My Horse?" Danger Rangers Hector, Joey Clams, Raccoon Dad (voice) Episode: "Water Works" 2006 W.I.T.C.H. Guard, Mayor (voice) Episode: "X is for Xanadu" (Final role)

Video games Year Title Role Notes 1992 It Came from the Desert Koolman 1999 Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned Train Conductor, Vittorio Buchelli, Bartender 2005 Killer7 Kun Lan

Collaborations

With Gypsy In the Garden (Metromedia Records – KMD 1044, 1971)

With Barbra Streisand Guilty (Columbia Records, 1980)

With Stephen Stills Manassas (Atlantic Records, 1972) Down the Road (Atlantic Records, 1973) Stills (Columbia Records, 1975) Illegal Stills (Columbia Records, 1976) Thoroughfare Gap (Columbia Records, 1978) Right by You (Atlantic Records, 1984) Man Alive! (Pyramid Records, 2005)

With Dionne Warwick Heartbreaker (Arista Records, 1982)

With David Crosby Oh Yes I Can (A&M Records, 1989)

With Joe Walsh The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get (ABC Records, 1973)

With Dan Fogelberg Souvenirs (Epic Records, 1974) Nether Lands (Epic Records, 1977) Twin Sons of Different Mothers (Epic Records, 1978) The Innocent Age (Epic Records, 1981) Windows and Walls (Epic Records, 1984) Exiles (Epic Records, 1987)

With Don Felder Airborne (Asylum Records, 1983)

With Bill Wyman Monkey Grip (Atlantic Records, 1974)

With Ringo Starr Stop and Smell the Roses (RCA Records, 1981)

With Neil Diamond Beautiful Noise (Columbia Records, 1976)

With Jackson Browne Hold Out (Asylum Records, 1980)

With Kenny Rogers Eyes That See in the Dark (RCA Records, 1983)

With Graham Nash Earth & Sky (Capitol Records, 1980) Innocent Eyes (Atlantic Records, 1986)

With Neil Young Trans (Geffen, 1982)

With Rod Stewart A Night on the Town (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)

With Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young CSNY 1974 (Rhino Records, 2014)

References

External links