Chestnut Hill actor Sam Gugino will star in “The Outsider,” a political comedy, at DCP (Dutch Country Players) Theatre in Telford, Montgomery County, from June 13 through 22.

Gugino, 78, who has acted in a dozen area theaters, took up acting seriously after a 50-year career as a food and wine professional. 

Gugino has performed at Old Academy Players in East Falls, the Walnut Street Theater in Washington Square West, Town & Country Players in Bucks County, Footlighters Theater in Berwyn, and Playcrafters in Skippack, among others. After his performance in “Grapes of Wrath” at Allens Lane Theater, Local theater reviewer Hugh Hunter described Gugino as “a commanding presence as the former preacher who now approaches labor organizing with missionary zeal.”

On top of all of these appearances, Gugino is hoping for more roles. In an interview with the Local, Gugino said, “I tried out many times at Stagecrafters [Theater] but never got a role there.”

Originally from Buffalo, NY, Gugino came to Pennsylvania in 1966 to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BA in history. Gugino, who grew up in a family of passionate cooks, also graduated from the Philadelphia Restaurant School in 1976.

After graduating from restaurant school, Gugino ran two restaurants owned by former South Philadelphia State Sen. Vince Fumo. Gugino was the chef/manager at Vincenzo's in South Philadelphia for one and a half years, then for Avanti in Center City for one and a half years. “They both got good reviews,” he recalled, “but we could never get ahead of the curve regarding expenses in either one.”

He met his wife, Mary Lee Keane, a Corning, New York, native, more than 50 years ago. “We moved in together on Sept. 1, 1975,” he told the Local, “and celebrated our 10th anniversary by getting married, but we consider ourselves to have been married since we moved in together, almost 50 years ago.”

Gugino made the transformation from preparing food to writing about it as the restaurant critic for the Philadelphia Daily News from 1986 to 1988. He moved to California to take a job from 1988 to 1994 as food editor at the San Jose Mercury News, where, in 1993, his column was named “Best in the U.S.” by the National Association of Food Journalists. 

From 1994 to 2000, he wrote four cookbooks. His “Cooking to Beat the Clock” (1998) was named one of the 10 best cookbooks of the year by Amazon.com. His wine columns in the Newark Star Ledger earned runner-up in the American Food Journalists' Best Column category. He also wrote often for New York Times and was nominated for a James Beard Journalism Award in 1997 for one of these Times stories. This year, he published a memoir/cookbook, “Eat! You'll Get Hungry; a Family Food Saga” (now available in ebook and print form).

For 20 years, Gugino was a contributing editor and columnist for Wine Spectator magazine; he spent five years in Northern California and six in New York City before returning to Philadelphia in 2000. After his time for Wine Spectator magazine, Gugino “more or less” retired in 2014, but he still gives occasional wine tasting classes, often for charity.

In 2016 and 2017, Gugino had a column in the Chestnut Hill Local, reviewing area BYOB restaurants and making wine suggestions. Gugino still maintains his samcooks.com website to share his experiences with good food and wine.“I was always into cooking. Everyone in my family was into cooking. It was amazing to see my mom operate.”

Gugino is also proud of continuing to share his Italian heritage through food. Both of his sets of grandparents were from Sicily. 

“As a food and wine professional, I am most proud of having the Inquirer write that my first restaurant, Vincenzo's, was 'where they serve the best Italian food.'" 

After his “more or less” retirement, Gugino was bitten by the acting bug. He started by taking acting classes at Lantern Theater in Center City. “I had very good teachers there,” Gugino said, “especially K.C. MacMillan and Charlie Delmarcelle. Charlie said, 'You can do it.' Then I got a call in 2017 from a South Jersey theater, Breaking the Box, near Trenton, for 'Titus Andronicus,' by Shakespeare. Friends came. There was a decent turnout. Then Allens Lane Theater for 'Grapes of Wrath' and many more. You have to go into a play knowing that you may screw up, say the wrong line, etcetera. And part of the story of my acting career is long drives to and from theaters.”

The role he is most proud of is Sigmund Freud in “Freud’s Last Session.”

“At the risk of seeming immodest, I can honestly say that the play was better than the movie of the same name that came out in 2023, starring Anthony Hopkins as Freud.”

The Guginos have lived on Gravers Lane for 14 years and on Highland Avenue for 11 years before that.

To see clips of Gugino's acting roles, visit samgugino.com. For "The Outsider" ticket information, visit dcptheatre.org . Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.