Jimmy Durante

James Francis Durante (/dəˈrænti/ də-RAN-tee, Italian: [duˈrante]; 10th February 1893 – 29th January 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist.

Jimmy Durante’s distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and prominent nose endeared him to audiences, making him one of the United States’ most familiar and beloved personalities from the 1920s through the 1970s.

He affectionately referred to his nose as the schnozzola (Italianisation of the American Yiddish slang word schnoz, meaning “big nose”), and the term became his enduring nickname.