Springdale alum Robert Turano talks to students about career as actor

Just last week, Robert Turano finished wrapping up a top guest star appearance on “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”

On Friday, the television and stage actor visited his alma mater, Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School, to talk about his career with seventh and eighth grade students.

“Just to come back here and walk these halls, see the renovations they’ve made, see where people are in their lives, it’s just a whole lot of fun,” said Turano, 68.

Turano graduated from Springdale in 1972 and earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and theater arts from the University of Pittsburgh. He then became artistic director of Fine Line Theatre Company in Oakland and worked in local shows.

“I didn’t really know what I was going to do with a theater degree. All I knew was that that’s where my passion was,” Turano told the students. “That was my dream, and I was going to somehow make a living, as an actor or director or something, in the arts.”

Turano moved to New York in 1983 and worked other jobs while trying to get into show business. He broke into television playing Bernardo Sandoval on “Guiding Light.”

“If you have that drive, if you have that passion, if you have the desire to learn, if you take your studies seriously, you will find a way to make something out of yourself in this business,” Turano said.

Finding a way to work up the performing arts ladder, Turano soon appeared on TV shows, movies, Broadway and in commercials. Students viewed clips he starred in, including commercials for the New York Lottery and Citizens Bank, as well as TV shows “Unforgettable” and “Law & Order: SVU.” He has appeared on every iteration of the “Law and Order” franchise.

“I liked watching the videos he showed,” said student Cara Leahy, 14. “It was cool to see the stuff he was in.”

Turano also took students through an acting exercise, in which they performed a scene from “Annie Jr.” When Turano is in the Pittsburgh area, he often teaches a master class to students at Point Park University.

Eighth grader Talon Mater, 14, said he enjoyed getting to watch Turano’s acting clips, participate in the acting vignette and get to hear Turano’s story.

Turano’s presentation to students was timely. On April 22, he was inducted into Allegheny Valley’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

School counselor Andrea Sadowski said Turano’s visit was one of a series of career lessons at Springdale. She said a number of alumni are returning to the school to discuss their careers with current students.

Goals of the program, Sadowski said, are to get students familiar with careers and to celebrate alumni and their work.