Addotta was born in Rockford, Illinois to Frank and Josephine Addotta (née Bucalo). He had an older half-sister named Kathie from his mother's previous marriage. His mother left when Addotta was two years old and took Kathy with her. His father abused him both emotionally and physically, and eventually placed him in an orphanage when he was four years old. His paternal grandmother Francesca Addotta then took him in to live with her.[4] His grandmother and his grandfather Jesper ("Gaspare") had both come to the US from Sicily. In his autobiography, Confessions Of A Comedian, Addotta describes his grandmother as an associate of the Bonanno crime family.[5] She died when he was 15. His grandmother had wanted him to become a priest, but he became a barber instead and managed a salon. He married his first wife, Mary, in 1962. Mary died in 1966; the couple had two children.[6][2] Addotta had another child with his second wife, Lynn. Aged 27, he moved with his family to Los Angeles to try his luck at comedy. After performing several months at The Comedy Store, his career as a stand-up comedian took off.[7]
Addotta was the father of three children: Victor, Katheryn and Frank.[8] He has one grandchild by his daughter Katheryn, and two grandchildren by his son Frank.[citation needed]
