Ralph’s Obituary Saratoga Springs, NY – Ralph Ciancio, age 89, passed away at Saratoga Hospital on January 16, 2019. He was born on December 1, 1929 in Pittsburgh, PA to Carmella DeLeo and Alfonso Ciancio. With his talent as an acrobat and ten dollars in his pocket he left for New York City at age 18 to try his luck in the entertainment industry.
After only a few days he was approached by The Fontaines, a well-established adagio dance team with whom he toured the country, appearing on some of America’s first popular Television shows including Milton Berle’s Cavalcade of Stars. Later he joined the acrobatic troupe, Mac, Russ and Owen, and toured the country with Edgar Bergen and his sidekicks Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. The Korean War cut his career in show business short in 1951 when he was drafted into the United States Army.
There he took up reading, and after his discharge he used the G.I. Bill and numerous jobs to work his way through college and graduate school. Ralph received a B.A. from Duquesne University in 1957, an M.A. in 1958 from Penn State, and a Ph.D. in 1965 from the University of Pittsburgh. As a teacher at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University), he was recommended to Skidmore College where he taught literature and composition from 1965 to 2000.
He published on Richard Wright, Eugene O’Neill, William Styron, Saul Bellow, William Faulkner, Sherwood Anderson, Nathaniel West, Albert Camus, and Vladimir Nabokov, the subject of his Moseley Faculty Research Lecture at Skidmore in 1997. His uncompromising work ethic, love of language, and inspiring teaching led his colleagues and former students to create the Ralph A. Ciancio Prize for Excellence in Teaching, awarded each year to an outstanding Skidmore professor. Above all else, Ralph Ciancio spent his life loving and caring for his family; first and foremost his dear wife Mimi who he referred to as “the great serendipity of his life,” during a toast on their 50th wedding anniversary.
He is also survived by his three adoring sons, Lee, Claude, and Paul; daughter-in-law, Lori; by his four grandchildren, Rachael, Michael, Ralph (R.J.), and Anthony; and by his sister, Adeline Toth and her daughter Pamela Paciaron. He will also be greatly missed by his extended family, friends, and neighbors, and all who had the opportunity to experience his warm heart, generous nature, and infectious humor. Burial will be private at the convenience of the family.
A memorial service and reception will be held at 2:00 on Saturday, February 9th at The Surrey Williamson Inn, Skidmore College; 815 North Broadway; Saratoga Springs, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Ralph’s name to The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; bazelon.org; phone — (202) 467-5730, or Shelters of Saratoga; sheltersofsaratoga.org; phone — (518) 581-1097. Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Homes of 628 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs (584-5373).
Online remembrances may be made at www. burkefuneralhome.com.
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