The Secret Nelson Sardelli

Nearly every online photo of Las Vegas lounge singer Nelson Sardelli (b. 1934) shows him either with Jayne Mansfield, his romantic partner for a few months in 1963 and 1964, or with Mariska Hargitay, his once-secret daughter, whom he finally met in the early ’90s. Sardelli popped up in Hargitay’s recent film My Mom Jayne, though his likely paternity had been mentioned in early biographies like Raymond Strait’s The Tragic Secret Life of Jayne Mansfield, and Eve Golden’s Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It.

Sardelli was of Italian parentage, but born and partly raised in Brazil. As a young man he worked at General Motors’ Brazil plant. This led him to move to Michigan to get closer to the action in the auto manufacturing field. He served briefly in the U.S. army in the late ’50s, and also in construction. On the side he sang in night clubs and roadhouses and even taught dance at an Arthur Murray school. He finally got a foothold in Vegas with regular performances at the Thunderbird Casino, and even opened for Judy Garland. One of the “highlights” of his act is said to have been a “gay cowboy” routine, which probably went over like gangbusters in his time, but was surely dated long before the premiere of Brokeback Mountain.

In addition to Vegas venues like the Thunderbird and The Flamingo, Sardelli was also popular in Atlantic City and other resorts around the country and abroad. And she he met and romanced Mansfield at a time when she was separated from Mickey Hargitay. The two appeared together in a West German movie called Homesick for St. Paul a.k.a. Adios, New York (1964). Sardelli and Mansfield parted ways before Mariska’s birth. Hargitay knew Mariska wasn’t his daughter, but raised her as such anyway.

Other than his footnote in the Mansfield/Hargitay saga, Sardelli’s place in the show biz annals is pretty small. He was in the films Myra Breckinridge (1970) and Fake-Out (1982), the latter directed by another Mansfield ex, Matt Cimber, with the incredible cast of Pia Zadora,Telly Salavas (and his brother George), Desi Arnaz Jr, Larry Storch, and Buddy Lester. Sardelli also was on the tv talk shows of Mike Douglas, Bob Braun, and David Letterman, et al.

For more on show biz history consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.