Nick Santino(1965-2012)

Nick Santino was born in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 5 months he was put in St. Joseph's orphanage home. For the next 16 years, he bounced around several foster homes for a total of 9. At age 16/17 he decided to make his own life. He managed to get a small apartment and started several neighborhood businesses in addition to construction and garbage hauling. He put himself through college earning an Engineering Degree, and then an MBA in Finance. Upon entering the business world he realized that his New York accent was not going to be an asset to his future and proceeded to learn better diction. Living in NYC surrounded with actors and actresses somehow Nick ended up doing a two year program at American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and was cast for an off Broadway version of Frankie and Johnny (1991), then Fool for Love (1985). He continued to do several theater ensembles and improvisation groups before he was cast as Officer Anton in All My Children (1970). After a year of being on sets of Soaps and independent films Nick observed and was intrigued by the technical aspects of film and television production and decided to do a test project with no training or experience and took a small leap as a producer /director. This resulted in a light hearted short called Steel Crossings (1998). Nick's Steel Crossings (1998) was presented to several networks for series consideration. From 1999 to 2001 Steel Crossings (1998)was screened at several film festivals and won awards including "Best Short Drama".