Maybe He Was Italian After All

I’m still rolling on the floor after reading Howard Mann’s piece “If You Want a Mobster Role, You Need to Go to Temple” (The Rules of Hollywood, July 23). His all-too-true read on Hollywood typecasting for ethnic roles is similar to other complaints I’ve heard from friends for years: “Why is a white guy playing an Asian?” or “Why are the Italian mobsters played by Jews?”

The penultimate moment came when Iron Eyes Cody was held up as an example of a Native American actor by a casting guy quoted by Mann’s friend. Iron Eyes Cody, of course, was born to Italian immigrant parents!

Hans Hansen

Valencia